Races

Japan’s race calendar is packed into the cool months. Big-city races use a lottery; many smaller ones are first come, first served, and sell out within days. Here is the season ahead.

Updated daily. Each date checked against its official site on 11 October 2026.

Sun 18 Oct
Tokyo Legacy Half東京レガシーハーフ
Half marathon starting and finishing in the National Stadium.
Entry closed. Come and watch.Official site
Sun 25 Oct
Yokohama Marathon横浜マラソン
The port city’s big marathon, half an hour from Tokyo.
Entry closed.Official site
Sun 8 Nov
Chiba Aqualine Marathonちばアクアラインマラソン
Run out over Tokyo Bay on the Aqualine. Held every other year.
Entry closed.Official site
Sun 22 Nov
Tsukuba Marathonつくばマラソン
A flat, fast autumn course in Ibaraki, a classic for a personal best. Starts at 8:50.
General entry opened on 5 July: check the official site for places.Official site
Sun 6 Dec
Shonan International Marathon湘南国際マラソン
A coastal course on the Shonan shore. Runners must carry their own bottle: no paper cups.
Marathon entry closed in the spring.Official site
Sat 12 Decand Sun 13 Dec
Mt. Fuji Marathon富士山マラソン
Around Lake Kawaguchi with Mount Fuji in view. The 15th edition runs over a weekend.
Entry closed.Official site
Sun 14 Feb
Saitama Marathonさいたまマラソン
Flat and fast, just north of Tokyo.
Marathon sold out on 17 July (first come).Official site
Sun 21 Feb
Kyoto Marathon京都マラソン
Temples and shrines from Takebishi Stadium to Heian Shrine.
Lottery done.Official site
Sun 21 Feb
Ome Marathon青梅マラソン
The classic hilly 30 km in the western Tokyo valleys, plus a 10 km.
First come, 15 August to 3 November 2026.Official site
Sun 28 Feb
Osaka Marathon大阪マラソン
A fast, flat big-city course. It absorbed the Lake Biwa elite marathon in 2022 and is a men’s national-team selection race.
General entry closed; charity places open.Official site
Sun 7 Mar
Tokyo Marathon東京マラソン
The 20th edition, with 40,000 runners. A World Marathon Major from Shinjuku to Tokyo Station.
Lottery closed in August; results out.Official site
Sun 14 Mar
Nagoya Women’s Marathon名古屋ウィメンズマラソン
Guinness-certified as the world’s largest women’s marathon, starting and finishing at the dome.
Lottery results out 2 October.Official site
Sun 21 Mar
Itabashi City Marathon板橋Cityマラソン
Tokyo’s own flat marathon along the Arakawa riverbank: 10,000 runners, a 7 hour limit.
Entry opened on 1 September 2026.Official site
Sun 18 Apr
Kasumigaura Marathonかすみがうらマラソン
A flat lakeside course in Ibaraki, run together with an international blind marathon.
Entry from 1 December 2026.Official site

Tokyo Marathon

A World Marathon Major through the whole city: out of Shinjuku, east through Kanda to the turn at Ueno-hirokoji, across the Sumida twice, through Ginza, out to Tamachi and back to Tokyo Station.

7 March 2027Marathon starts at 9:10, wheelchair race at 9:05

40,000 runnersThe 20th edition, the largest yet

7 hoursThe finish closes at 16:10, with cut-offs along the way

¥19,800Domestic entry; overseas entry is US$230

Tokyo Metropolitan Government0 km
Ichigaya5 km
Jinbocho8 km
Ueno-hirokoji turnaround10.6 km
Nihonbashi13 km
Komagatabashi, Asakusa18 km
Ryogoku21 km
Tomioka Hachimangu turnaround23.95 km
Ginza33 km
Shiba Park, by Tokyo Tower36 km
Tamachi Station turnaround37.5 km
Wadakura-mon, Tokyo Station42.195 km

General lottery

Entry opens in August for the following March. For 2027 it ran from 14 to 28 August 2026, with results in September. Expect to lose a few times.

Charity places

5,000 places, with a minimum donation set by each charity (usually ¥100,000 to ¥200,000) on top of the entry fee. Applications open in late June; donations close at the end of August.

ONE TOKYO

The Tokyo Marathon Foundation’s free club. Members get a separate draw for runners who have lost three years in a row.

Race week

From the EXPO on Thursday 4 March to the finish on Sunday 7 March. Early March in Tokyo averages a high of 14.2°C and a low of 5.0°C, so plan for a cold wait at the start. The 2027 details come from the organisers; lines that mention 2026 come from last year’s Runner Guidebook and may change.

1 December 2026
Book the Friendship Run
The official 5 km fun run on Saturday 6 March 2027, on the track at Taito Riverside Sports Center, in groups at 10:00, 11:30 and 13:00. 2,000 places, first come, first served, from 12:00 Japan time (the date is still tentative). ¥9,900 for overseas residents; age 12 and up, and able to run 5 km in 40 minutes.
Sources: Friendship Run
20 February to 31 March
Keep your Running Festa badge
Runners at Tokyo Marathon events get a button badge. Show it at participating shops for gifts and discounts.
Sources: Tokyo Running Festa
4 to 6 March
Collect your bib at the EXPO
Tokyo Big Sight, South Halls, free entry. Bib pick-up runs 10:00 to 20:30 on 4 and 5 March and 10:00 to 17:30 on 6 March, in person only, with photo ID (a passport for visitors). There is no pick-up on race day, and the wristband you get stays on until the finish.
Sources: EXPO and bib pick-up · Runner FAQ
Saturday 6 March
Keep the day before simple
In 2026 the organisers asked runners not to camp near the start the night before, and warned that some products sold at the EXPO may be banned on race day. Read the 2027 Runner Guidebook when it comes out.
Sources: 2026 Runner Guidebook, rules
Sunday 7 March, early
Get to Shinjuku in good time
The start is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1, by Shinjuku and Nishi-Shinjuku stations. In 2026 the gates opened at 7:00 and closed at 8:45, and plastic bottles were not allowed through security. The wheelchair race starts at 9:05 and the marathon at 9:10.
Sources: Race outline · Runner FAQ · 2026 Runner Guidebook, start
Sunday 7 March
Check a bag only if you paid for it
Bag check is only for runners who applied for it at entry. In 2026 it took the official bag only (540 by 480 mm), with no phone or valuables inside.
Sources: Runner FAQ · 2026 Runner Guidebook, rules
After the finish
Find your people
The finish is on Gyoko-dori by Tokyo Station and closes at 16:10. Family and friends wait at a Meet Area in the finish area, and where you collect your bag depends on your bib colour. In 2026 the walk to the changing area took about 30 minutes.
Sources: Runner FAQ · 2026 Runner Guidebook, finish

Where Japanese races take entries

RUNNET

Japan’s main race portal. Most domestic races take entries here, and it lists which entries open each week.

Open

Sports Entry

The second big portal for road races and trail events.

Open

e-moshicom

Smaller and newer events, fun runs and trail races.

Open

Watch the Hakone Ekiden

On 2 and 3 January, university teams relay a sash 217.1 km from Otemachi to Lake Ashi and back. It is one of the most watched sporting events in Japan. Good places to stand:

Otemachi, for the start (2 January) and the finish (3 January).
Rokugo Bridge, after km 17 of the first leg.
Gontazaka hill, on the second leg.
The Route 134 coast on the third leg, with Mount Fuji behind the runners.
The climb of the fifth leg, to its high point near 874 m, then the torii at Hakone Shrine.

The World Marathon Majors

Tokyo is one of seven World Marathon Majors, and each one has its own finisher medal. Finish the original six, every Major but Sydney, and you also earn the Six Star Medal. Niz, who keeps this guide, hopes to collect all seven one day.

Tokyo, in March.
Boston and London, in April.
Sydney, around the end of August (a Major since 2025).
Berlin in September, Chicago in October, New York City in November.

World Marathon Majors

A plan that knows what today is for

Tell it how much you run, how many days you have and which race you are aiming at. Every day it gives you one thing to do, and it adapts when life gets in the way: a lighter week when you are tired, short runs when you travel, walk-run when something hurts. It stays on this device. No account.

Tokyo MarathonSunday 7 March 2027

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Another marathonChoose your own date

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