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An independent journal from JapanReporting & photography by Michihiro Taguchi

Kyushu Basho 2026: Dates, Tickets and Venue for the November Sumo Tournament in Fukuoka

Onosato pushes Hiradoumi down on Day 6 of the 2025 Kyushu basho

The Kyushu basho 2026 is the November grand sumo tournament, held at Fukuoka Kokusai Center in Fukuoka from Sunday, November 8 to Sunday, November 22, 2026. The ranking list (banzuke) for it is released on October 26, 2026. Advance tickets went on sale on September 19, 2026, and as of September 26, 2026 the Japan Sumo Association’s ticket page for this tournament says tickets are sold out and points buyers to its official fixed-price resale service.

Kyushu is the last of sumo’s six grand tournaments (honbasho) each year, and the only one held on the island of Kyushu. Like every honbasho it runs for fifteen straight days, Sunday to Sunday, with each top-division wrestler fighting once a day. This page collects the dates, the door times for each day, what seats cost at this venue, how to get there, and how to follow it from outside Japan. Every date and price below is copied from the Japan Sumo Association or the venue’s own site; the sources and the day we checked them are listed at the end.

Front entrance of Fukuoka Kokusai Center with the Grand Sumo Kyushu Basho banner and paper lanterns
The front of Fukuoka Kokusai Center during a past Kyushu basho. The banner shows that year’s dates, November 12–26 (2017). Photo by Michihiro Taguchi.
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Kyushu basho 2026 dates

Four dates matter for this tournament. The first has already passed: tickets went on sale in September, about seven weeks before the opening day.

WhatDate
Advance tickets on saleSeptember 19, 2026 (Sat)
Banzuke (rankings) releasedOctober 26, 2026 (Mon)
Day 1 — opening day (shonichi)November 8, 2026 (Sun)
Day 8 — midpoint (nakabi)November 15, 2026 (Sun)
Day 15 — final day (senshuraku)November 22, 2026 (Sun)
Source: Japan Sumo Association, Grand Tournament Schedule (official English site), checked September 26, 2026. Days of the week and the Day 8 date are counted from those dates.

For the other five tournaments of the year, and the dates for 2027 and 2028, see Honbasho: sumo’s six grand tournaments. The rankings you see on our current banzuke page are the ones for the September tournament until the November list comes out on October 26.

Day-by-day schedule and door times

Doors open at 8:45 a.m. on Days 1 to 12, later on the last three days: 10:30 a.m. on Days 13 and 14, and 10:00 a.m. on the final day. The lower divisions fight first, so the morning hall is quiet; the top division, makuuchi, comes in the late afternoon.

DayDateDoors open
Day 1November 8, 2026 (Sun)8:45 a.m.
Day 2November 9, 2026 (Mon)8:45 a.m.
Day 3November 10, 2026 (Tue)8:45 a.m.
Day 4November 11, 2026 (Wed)8:45 a.m.
Day 5November 12, 2026 (Thu)8:45 a.m.
Day 6November 13, 2026 (Fri)8:45 a.m.
Day 7November 14, 2026 (Sat)8:45 a.m.
Day 8 (nakabi)November 15, 2026 (Sun)8:45 a.m.
Day 9November 16, 2026 (Mon)8:45 a.m.
Day 10November 17, 2026 (Tue)8:45 a.m.
Day 11November 18, 2026 (Wed)8:45 a.m.
Day 12November 19, 2026 (Thu)8:45 a.m.
Day 13November 20, 2026 (Fri)10:30 a.m.
Day 14November 21, 2026 (Sat)10:30 a.m.
Day 15 (senshuraku)November 22, 2026 (Sun)10:00 a.m.
Source: Japan Sumo Association, ticket information for the November 2026 tournament in Fukuoka (Japanese), checked September 26, 2026. Times are the association’s plan and can change; its page is the final word on the day.

Kyushu basho 2026 tickets: sold out, and the official resale route

Advance tickets for the November tournament went on sale on September 19, 2026, through the association’s official ticket service, Ticket Oosumo, which has an English version. When we checked on September 26, 2026, the association’s Japanese ticket page for the Fukuoka tournament carried the notice that tickets are sold out, with a link to the fixed-price resale service run through Ticket Oosumo. That service is the official way to pick up a seat someone else has released, at the original price.

The same page states that reselling tickets is prohibited under the association’s terms for spectators, and the English ticket site warns that it is not responsible for tickets sold through other websites. If a site you don’t recognize is offering Kyushu seats, treat it with caution. For how the official ticket system works in general, see how to get sumo tickets.

Seat types and face-value prices in Fukuoka

Fukuoka Kokusai Center has three floors of seating for sumo. Ringside cushion seats and the Japanese-style boxes (masu-seki) are on the first and second floors; the third floor has Western-style chairs. Boxes are sold whole, not per person. These are the association’s prices for this tournament, including tax. The resale service is a fixed-price one, so these face values are also the reference for a resale seat.

SeatWhereSold asWeekdayWeekend
Tamari-seki (ringside)1F, next to the ring1 person¥20,000¥20,000
Masu S (box)1F, rows 1–4Box for 4¥52,000¥56,000
Masu A (box)1F–2F, rows 5–8Box for 4¥44,000¥52,000
Masu B (box)2F, rows 9–10Box for 4¥38,000¥40,000
Masu C (box)2F, row 11Box for 4¥32,000¥34,000
Two-person Masu C2F, rows 12–13Box for 2¥19,000¥19,000
Pair seat with table2F, row 142 people¥19,000¥19,000
Chair S3F, front side (shomen)1 person¥5,500¥6,000
Chair A3F, far side (mukō-shomen)1 person¥4,500¥5,000
Chair B3F, east and west sides1 person¥2,500¥3,000
Chair C3F, east and west sides1 person¥2,000¥2,500
Wheelchair space—User + 1 companion¥10,000¥10,000
Source: Japan Sumo Association, price list for the November 2026 tournament at Fukuoka Kokusai Center (Japanese), checked September 26, 2026. “Weekend” means Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Prices include tax; the association’s English ticket guide notes that a handling fee is charged on top. Smaller two- and three-person boxes and special package seats are left out.

Two rules from the same price list are worth knowing before you look for a resale seat: anyone aged 4 or over on the day needs a ticket, and the ringside tamari-seki are for ages 16 and up only. For what each seat type is like to sit in, see how to watch sumo live.

The venue: Fukuoka Kokusai Center

The November tournament is held at Fukuoka Kokusai Center, 2-2 Chikkohonmachi, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 812-0021. The association’s schedule lists the same venue for the November tournaments of 2027 and 2028. It is not right next to a station, so plan for a walk or a bus. The buses in the table are Nishitetsu city buses: at Hakata Station they leave from stop F in front of the Fukuoka Center Building (No. 88 is bound for Chuo Futo, No. 99 for Hakata Futo), and in Tenjin from stop 2A in front of Tenjin Solaria Stage (No. 80 for Chuo Futo, No. 90 for Hakata Futo).

FromTakeGet off / time
Gofukumachi Stn (subway)WalkAbout 12 min
Nakasu-Kawabata Stn (subway)WalkAbout 15 min
Hakata Stn, stop FBus 88Kokusai Kaigijo / Sun Palace-mae
Hakata Stn, stop FBus 99Kokusai Center / Sun Palace-mae
Tenjin, stop 2ABus 80Kokusai Center / Sun Palace-mae
Tenjin, stop 2ABus 90Hakata Futo Iriguchi
Fukuoka AirportSubway, then busVia Hakata Station
Sources: walking times and the airport route from the venue’s official access page (Fukuoka Convention Center, Japanese); bus routes from the Japan Sumo Association’s access page for the November 2026 tournament (Japanese). Both checked September 26, 2026. Stop names are romanized from the Japanese. We did not walk the routes ourselves.

Michihiro Taguchi, who writes our sister site in Japanese and has covered this tournament in person for years, put the choice plainly in his 2018 guide to the Kyushu basho: Gofukumachi on the subway is the closest station, it is still a bit of a walk, but at least you can predict how long it takes; the buses are for people who know them well. Buses back to Hakata and Tenjin do leave from in front of the venue, he wrote, but they are packed and stop at a lot of lights, so the subway is the more comfortable choice even with the walk. On the first day of the 2025 tournament he noted again that the venue is not easy to reach and that he ended up walking quite a way.

Row of sumo nobori banners outside Fukuoka Kokusai Center
Nobori banners carrying wrestlers’ names line the approach to the venue. Photo by Michihiro Taguchi.

Parking, re-entry and other house rules

  • Parking: the association’s notes for spectators say there is no parking, so don’t plan to drive.
  • Re-entry: you can leave and come back as many times as you like until 5:00 p.m., through the re-entry gate. Keep your ticket with you.
  • Waiting for wrestlers: the association asks fans not to wait around the venue for wrestlers arriving or leaving, because it disturbs the neighbors.

Source: Japan Sumo Association, notes for spectators at the November tournament in Fukuoka (Japanese; the page says it reflects information as of October 25, 2025), checked September 26, 2026. Re-entry rules differ by venue, so don’t assume the Tokyo rules apply here.

How to watch the Kyushu basho from outside Japan

If you can’t get a seat, you can still follow every day. NHK WORLD-JAPAN, the international English service of Japan’s public broadcaster, runs a GRAND SUMO Highlights page, and for the September 2026 tournament it also listed a GRAND SUMO LIVE program (checked September 26, 2026). Check its schedule for the November listings. For the results themselves, the association’s English site publishes the daily bouts and each wrestler’s win–loss record, and our guide to the yusho explains how the championship is decided on the final weekend.

What happened in Fukuoka last year

The November 2025 tournament ended with Aonishiki winning his first championship in Fukuoka. Earlier in that tournament, on Day 6, yokozuna Onosato beat Hiradoumi (below).

Onosato pushes Hiradoumi down on Day 6 of the 2025 Kyushu basho
Onosato overpowers Hiradoumi on Day 6 of the 2025 Kyushu basho at Fukuoka Kokusai Center. Photo by Michihiro Taguchi.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Kyushu basho 2026?

From Sunday, November 8 to Sunday, November 22, 2026. The banzuke for it is released on Monday, October 26, 2026 (Japan Sumo Association schedule, checked September 26, 2026).

Where is the November sumo tournament held?

At Fukuoka Kokusai Center, 2-2 Chikkohonmachi, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka. The nearest subway stations are Gofukumachi (about 12 minutes on foot) and Nakasu-Kawabata (about 15 minutes), according to the venue’s own site.

Can I still get Kyushu basho tickets?

As of September 26, 2026, the association’s ticket page for the Fukuoka tournament says tickets are sold out. The official way to find a seat now is the fixed-price resale service through Ticket Oosumo, where released tickets are sold at face value. The association prohibits resale outside its terms.

How much are tickets for the Fukuoka sumo tournament?

On the association’s 2026 price list, third-floor chairs cost ¥2,000 to ¥6,000 per person, standard four-person boxes cost ¥32,000 to ¥56,000 per box, and a ringside tamari seat is ¥20,000. Weekend prices are higher than weekday prices for most seats, and a handling fee is added.

Is there parking at Fukuoka Kokusai Center for the sumo?

The association’s notes for spectators say there is no parking for the tournament. Use the subway or a Nishitetsu bus from Hakata Station or Tenjin.

Sources

All checked on September 26, 2026. Japan Sumo Association: Grand Tournament Schedule (English) for the tournament, banzuke and on-sale dates; ticket information for the November tournament (Japanese) for door times and the sold-out notice; price list (Japanese); access (Japanese) for address and buses; notes for spectators (Japanese) for parking, re-entry and age rules; How to Buy (English) for the handling fee. Official ticket service: Ticket Oosumo (English) and its resale guide (Japanese). Venue: Fukuoka Kokusai Center access (Japanese). Broadcasts: NHK WORLD-JAPAN GRAND SUMO. Taguchi’s notes on the journey are from his Kyushu viewing guide (November 1, 2018) and his Day 1 report from the 2025 tournament (November 2025), both in Japanese.

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The Sumo English edition

English explanations and adaptations draw on the sources identified in each article. Michihiro Taguchi supplies the reporting and original photographs in our Japanese archive; English editing and AI-assisted translation are the responsibility of The Sumo.

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