Shimotori ensured himself of his seventh promotion to the top division with his 10-5 performance at the rank of "jūryō" 2 in January 2009, and came through with a winning record at "Maegashira" 14 in March. He could score only 4-11 at "Maegashira" 8 in September 2009 but his final day victory over Masatsukasa kept him in the division. In the May 2010 tournament he was on the leaderboard early on after going 6-0 and then 8-2, although he finished on 10-5. This was his first top division winning record in double figures since January 2004. He maintained his top division position until he turned in a poor 2-13 record at "Maegashira" 11 in January 2011, which would have seen him demoted to "juryo" had the March 2011 tournament not been cancelled.