Ryogoku両国-Sumo and Hokusai　相撲と北斎

Enjoy the special atomosphere of RYOGOKU, SUMO, and HOKUSAI

You will be greeted by special dispalys at RYOGOKU staion JR line (also accessible via Oedo Subway Line). I especially liked the stairs. It is quite neat!

1 RYOGOKU, the home of SUMO

2 EDO-TOKYO MUSEUM

3 EDO-NOREN, very convenient shop for you

4 SUMIDA HOKUSAI museum- enjoy Hokusai and his Ukiyoe

5 Perfect lunch spot for you in RYOGOKU- try the sumo wrestlers`s Chanko-Nabe

1 RYOGOKU, the home of SUMO

RYOGOKU is the home of SUMO, as there is Kokugikan-Sumo-Stadium 国技館, right next to the West JR exit. There are 6 big Sumo tournaments in a year, each running for about 2 weeks. Half of that takes place here. (Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka hosting the rest.) If you are interested in buying tickets, this is available online. (click on online, go to the official site). Otherwise, you can join the bus/special tours who have good seats blocked for the tour group.

When there is no tournament, you can still go for the free museum and the shop in the stadium.

2 EDO-TOKYO MUSEUM

Next to the stadium is the Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum江戸東京博物館, closed from Oct 17 to Mar 18, due to renovation. This is my favorite museum, as their displays are great, for the entire family! Once it re-opens, please do visit. You will enjoy it!

Official twitter page below.

金曜日の博物館はミュージアムトーク！ 5月5日のテーマは「江戸城と町割り」です。お気軽にご参加ください。
集合は16:00に５階常設展示室の日本橋下です（常設展示観覧料が必要です）。お待ちしております！#江戸東京博物館　 #ミュージアムトーク pic.twitter.com/gtAQNFJ6px

— ギボちゃん（江戸東京博物館） (@edohakugibochan) 2017年5月3日

3 EDO NOREN-shop for you

Adjacent to the station West Exit is the new EDO NOREN, tourist information, lots of Japanese restaurants and shops. Well worth a visit.

4 SUMIDA HOKUSAI MUSEUM- enjoy Hokusai and his Ukiyoe works

SUMIDA HOKUSAI MUSEUM-about 10 minutes walk from the station. This museum specializes in Hokusai and related works, as Hokusai spent some time in this area, and was born here. Amazingly, he lived until his 90th year! (1760-1850) Back then, that was trully unusual. In the beginning of his career, he focused on producing art works of many themes, including actors, sumo wrestlers, and so on. In his later years, he made art for many books, helping to add depth and breadth to the books. In his 70s, he produced the famous `36 views of Mt. Fuji`. 富嶽三十六景　　Hokusai Sketches 北斎漫画 influeced a lot of Western artists. These were used as textbooks by his Japanese followers who were all over Japan, then.

For more information on Hokusai/Ukiyoe, check the Ukiyoe blog.

The exhibition that was on-Hokusai the Performer. (put on a public show to draw a huge daruma.)

The building of the museum is impressive, with a good view of Sky Tree.

No pictures inside the exhibitions…

Enjoy the museum shop.

5 Chanko Nabe or Chanko pot, Sumo-Wrestlers` speciality food

What to eat in this area? Lots of choices, but try the Sumo-Wresters` speciality. Chanko Nabe or Chanko pot. Lots of vegetables, meat, sometimes fish, great broth all in one pot! TOMOEGATA offers many choices and the atomosphere is very good as well. 3 minutes from the East exit JR station.