By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Where
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building to Tokyo Station
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- March
- Dates
- Around the same dates every year
The race is held on 7 March 2027. General entry opened the previous July, was heavily oversubscribed and went to a random drawing, with results announced in September. The ballot for any given year closes roughly six months before race day.
If you want to run it, the ballot is the main route and it closes about six months before race day, so this is a decision made a year out rather than a trip you book. If you want to watch it, you need nothing at all: the course is public, free, and shaped so that a well-chosen corner shows you the field twice. Most visitors in Tokyo that weekend fall into the second category without realising the race is on.
What Tokyo Marathon actually is
The only World Marathon Major in Asia, and the one that reliably turns a whole city centre over to a running race for a morning. The course starts at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku and finishes near Tokyo Station, taking in Asakusa, Ginza and the approach to the Imperial Palace on the way, which means it passes most of what a first-time visitor came to see.
Where to watch Tokyo Marathon
- Anywhere the course doubles back. The route includes out-and-back sections, so a spectator standing at the right corner sees the same runners twice, around forty minutes apart. This is the single best piece of spectating knowledge for this race and it costs nothing.
- Asakusa, near Kaminarimon. The most photogenic stretch, with the temple gate behind the field, and correspondingly the busiest place to stand.
- Ginza. Wide pavements, easy to reach on several lines, and a long straight where you can see the runners coming rather than for the two seconds they take to pass.
- The finish near Tokyo Station. Ticketed grandstand seating exists and sells out, but the streets in the surrounding area are free and the atmosphere in the last kilometre is the best of the day.
Tickets and what it costs
Watching costs nothing and needs no arrangement. Running is the hard part. General entry runs as a lottery that opens the previous summer and closes well before the end of the year, and it is routinely oversubscribed to the point of a random drawing, so applying is a coin toss rather than a booking.
The routes that are not a lottery are worth knowing if you are set on running. Charity places are sold through the official programme at a higher cost that includes a fundraising commitment. Overseas tour operators hold allocations bundled with accommodation, which is the usual way international runners get in. Both need arranging the year before, not the month before.
Official information and booking: www.marathon.tokyo/en
Getting there
Do not plan to cross the course by road on race morning. Central Tokyo closes in a long ribbon from Shinjuku to the bay, and the closures last most of the day. The subway runs normally underneath all of it and is the only sensible way to move, which is another argument for picking a spectating spot on a line rather than one that looks good on a map.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Assuming you can enter the year you travel
The ballot closes about six months before race day and the drawing happens months ahead. Deciding to run it while planning a trip is deciding about the year after next.
Standing somewhere the runners pass once
Parts of the course double back. Pick one of those and you watch the same field twice for the same wait.
Booking a hotel across the course
Road closures run most of the morning and taxis cannot cross them. Being on the wrong side of the route turns a ten-minute journey into an hour underground.
Turning up in March dressed for spring
Early March in Tokyo is cold, and spectating is standing still for an hour or more. Runners are fine; the people watching them are the ones who suffer.
Other Tokyo events
Frequently asked questions
How do you get a place in the Tokyo Marathon?
Mostly by lottery. General entry opens the summer before the race and closes months ahead, and it is consistently oversubscribed enough that places go to a random drawing rather than to whoever applies first. The routes that avoid the ballot are official charity places, which cost more and carry a fundraising commitment, and tour operator packages that bundle a guaranteed entry with accommodation.
Can you watch the Tokyo Marathon for free?
Yes, anywhere on the course. The route is public street and there is no ticket, no wristband and no enclosure to buy into. Ticketed grandstand seating exists at the finish, but the free standing positions along the course are better value and, in several places, a better view.
Where is the best place to watch the Tokyo Marathon?
Somewhere the course doubles back on itself, because the out-and-back sections let you see the same runners twice from one spot, roughly forty minutes apart. Beyond that, Asakusa near the temple gate is the most photogenic and the most crowded, Ginza has the widest pavements and the longest sightlines, and the last kilometre near Tokyo Station has the best atmosphere.
Does the Tokyo Marathon disrupt the city?
Considerably, but only above ground. A continuous ribbon of central Tokyo from Shinjuku to the bay is closed to traffic for most of race morning, and taxis cannot cross it. The subway runs normally underneath and is unaffected, so the practical advice is to move by train that day and to avoid booking a hotel on the far side of the route from wherever you need to be.
What is the Tokyo Marathon course like?
Flat, fast and unusually scenic for a big-city marathon. It starts at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku and finishes near Tokyo Station, passing Asakusa, Ginza and the Imperial Palace approach, which means the route covers a large share of what a first-time visitor would want to see anyway.
Sources
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.