Tokyo

Sports

Japan's traditional national sport is sumo, where huge wrestlers compete against each other in a five-meter ring. Six tournaments are held annually, about every other month, and are broadcast on national television. The center of sumo in Tokyo is the Ryokugo Kokugikan.

In terms of popularity, sumo is outstripped by baseball, which has been played in Japan since the 1870s and has been known as yakyu ("field ball") since World War II. Six teams are based in the Tokyo area, most with sponsorship from large corporations. Two of these teams, the Tokyo Giants and the Nippon Ham Fighters, play in the Tokyo Dome, Japan's first indoor stadium, with a capacity of 56,000, at Korakuen.

Golf is also a major athletic preoccupation for Tokyoites, though golfers who can afford membership in a club have to travel two hours outside the city.