Tokyo Marathon 2027

• ▸Charity entry: Jul 14 – Aug 13, 2026
• ▸ONE TOKYO member / semi-elite entry: Jul 31 – Aug 13
• ▸General lottery (incl. Tokyo residents): Aug 14, 11:00 – Aug 28, 17:00 JST — put it in your calendar now
• ▸Lottery results: Sep 19, via My Entry. That's hotel-booking day
• ▸Entry fee: ¥19,800 domestic / USD 230 overseas. A record 40,000 runners for the 20th anniversary
• ▸Baggage check (¥1,200) must be requested at entry — there's no adding it later, so decide up front

You pick up your bib at Tokyo Big Sight (South Halls) before race day — there is NO race-day pickup. This is the single easiest way to ruin your Tokyo Marathon, so plan around it.

• ▸Hours: Thu Mar 4 & Fri Mar 5, 10:00–20:30 / Sat Mar 6, 10:00–17:30
• ▸Bring photo ID — it's checked in person, and no one can pick up for you
• ▸Traveling from afar? Arrive in Tokyo by Saturday 17:30 at the very latest. Arriving Friday buys you calm and shorter lines

• ▸Gates open at 7:00, with security checks at the entrance (no bottles, cans or PET bottles)
• ▸Baggage drop closes at 8:30, start-block lineup at 8:45 — miss it and you start from the very back. (Last year's times; we'll update when the 2027 handbook is out)
• ▸Tochomae Station is closed on race morning. Walk from Shinjuku or Seibu-Shinjuku — think of it as your warm-up
• ▸Your gate number is printed on your bib and differs by runner. The winning pattern: be at your gate by 6:50, walk in at 7:00, drop your bag, hit the toilet, then line up
• ▸A throwaway poncho or an old sweater keeps you warm after bag drop — small thing, big comfort

The course loops through central Tokyo — Suidobashi, Kanda, Nihonbashi, Asakusa's Kaminarimon, Ryogoku, Monzen-nakacho, Ginza, Tamachi, Hibiya — before finishing at Tokyo Station. With the subway you can cheer 2–3 times.

• ▸The classic pattern: catch the early kilometers around Suidobashi/Kanda, hop the subway to Ginza for the middle-to-late stages, then walk to the Marunouchi finish
• ▸Kaminarimon is the photogenic spot — and the most crowded. With small kids, the Ginza–Nihonbashi sidewalks are easier to move around
• ▸The pace table in "Will you beat the cutoffs?" below doubles as a spectator schedule — worth a screenshot

Here's the thing about the finish area: big public baths are scarce around Gyoko-dori. The most reliable plan is a hotel with a communal bath.

• ▸SUPER HOTEL Premier Yaesu (in the hotel list above) opens its carbonated-spring bath at 15:00 — walk from the finish straight into the tub
• ▸Mitsui Garden Nihonbashi Premier's hinoki bath also opens at 15:00, and the 12:00 checkout means one more soak in the morning
• ▸Heading home the same day? Scout one sauna/spa near Tokyo Station before race day — everywhere gets busy

For the morning after, try a slow 2–3 km stroll from Marunouchi around the Imperial Palace outer gardens — flat, few traffic lights, plenty of benches. Perfect for sore legs.

• ▸Tokyo and Otemachi stations have escalators, so you can keep stair-climbing to a minimum
• ▸Walk shorter and slower than usual. If your legs protest, the benches at Wadakura Fountain Park make a fine pit stop
• ▸Souvenirs? Tokyo Station has you covered — and you can roll straight onto the Shinkansen afterwards