With any luck you’ll spot a sumo wrestler out and about in Ryogoku, the riverside neighbourhood that is home to Kokugikan, Tokyo’s distinctive sumo stadium. Across the water is Kuramae, another old neighbourhood that has long been famous for its craft workshops and still hums with industry.

The historic center of Japanese wrestling, riverside Ryogoku is home to Ryogoku Kokugikan arena, which hosts sumo and boxing, as well as classical concerts. Nearby Ryogoku Edo Noren is a dining street resembling an Edo-period village, where restaurants serve chanko nabe, the traditional protein-rich stew favored by wrestlers. In the striking, modern Edo-Tokyo Museum, scale and life-sized models recreate feudal life.