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SUMO / INSIDE SUMO

YouTube proves vital for sumo in era of changing accessibility

<i>Rikishi</i> train at the Otake stable in April 2017. While the sport of sumo hasn't changed, the ways in which fans engage with it has, and Otake <i>beya</i> recently joined the growing list of stables with their own YouTube channels.

Rikishi train at the Otake stable in April 2017. While the sport of sumo hasn't changed, the ways in which fans engage with it has, and Otake beya recently joined the growing list of stables with their own YouTube channels. | John Gunning

By John Gunning
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Dec 17, 2025

Otake beya this week joined the growing list of sumo stables to have a dedicated YouTube channel.

Otake’s first video was an hourlong effort that opened with the new stablemaster and his successor discussing the recent handover.

That was followed by footage of training and behind-the-scenes coverage that also doubled as an introduction to the stable’s wrestlers.

Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night’s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.

Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights

By Tomoko Otake

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan’s landscape that they often go unnoticed.

Why Japan’s utility poles won’t be disappearing anytime soon

By Alex K.T. Martin

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