Hurrah, it stopped raining and we woke to bright blue sky & sunshine, which makes exploring Tokyo much easier, umbrellas can really slow you down. It was a mix of old & new today: sumo, which we never managed to catch while we were here, followed by dinner at the New York Grill in the Park Hyatt hotel (of Lost in Translation fame) with surely the best view of night time Tokyo.

I was of the view that this was something that we needed to tick off our Japan bucket list, but I was unconvinced that I would find the spectacle of two stout men, wrestling in nowhere near enough clothing enthralling, how wrong can you be. I was astonished at how much fun you can have watching a sport you know barely anything about. My thanks to the very kind American gentleman, two seats down from us, who was something of an aficionado on the subject, and volunteered to answer any questions we might have. About an hour in he may have regretted the offer, being unaware of my need to know capacity.

The day’s bouts start at about 8.30am (actually this being Japan, they will have started exactly at 8.30am) with the more junior, and/or less accomplished competitors and as the day progresses the quality of contestants steadily improves, so that by the last match you have definitely moved into the Premier League. Each bout is highly ritualistic, with much leg raising and flesh slapping and then several instances of the two Sumos squaring up to one another before peeling away to towel themselves down and throw more salt into the ring (the biggest salt tosser, you really couldn’t make this up, is hugely popular with the crowd and gets rapturous applause). After three, or it may have been four, rounds of facing off, they rush at one another and start to wrestle/slap/push and shove in a fight that lasts about a minute. The winner is the one who either pushes his opponent out of the ring or causes him to fall down or to touch the floor with his hands. The match can change in an instant. One Sumo can look as if he is on the verge of victory, only for his opponent to spin round, unbalance him and he’s out of the ring and on a couple of occasions into the crowd. The front rows need to come with a serious Health & Safety warning – Sumo incoming!

The costumes are ring and costumes are fabulous – each referee has unique and elaborate robes. They adjudicate a couple of matches and are then replaced by another, in completely different colours and patterns, just beautiful. The tournament hall was half empty when we arrived at 2.45pm, but by the end of the session at 5.30pm it was packed, with everyone shouting support for their favourite Sumo. So, would we go again – absolutely and if you ever get the chance to go – do it.