Missed the Kyoto Marathon 2027 Lottery? A Donation Entry Is Open Until October 28

Kyoto, Japan

1Will the Kyoto Marathon Hold an Additional Lottery?

The official notice stops at "may be held," with no date and no number of spots. As it reads, if some winners don't pay their entry fee by October 19, those open spots go back to people who weren't selected. The general entry fee is ¥18,500 for Kyoto city residents and ¥19,500 for everyone else, plus a separate handling fee.

There isn't much to do while you wait. Results are posted not only by email but also on your My Page at RUNNET, the entry site, under "Entry History → Lottery Application List." Organizers made it clear up front that they won't resend results emails that never arrive because of a wrong address, and that they aren't responsible if that causes you to miss the payment.

Group applications get just one email, sent to the group's representative, and organizers won't answer questions about results by phone. An additional-lottery email could also get buried somewhere in the representative's inbox, so for the next few weeks, the place to check once a day is that one My Page screen, not your email.

Kyoto MarathonSun, February 21, 2027 · D-119 · Kyoto, JapanSee race details

Kyoto, Japan

2Kyoto Marathon Hometown Tax Entries Start at ¥100,000

The surest way to skip the lottery is a donation to the Kyoto City Sports Promotion Fund: ¥100,000 or more for the marathon, or ¥200,000 or more for the pair ekiden, in which two people split the full marathon distance. Donations are accepted by credit card only, first come, first served, until 5 p.m.

on October 28, 2026. Even in a September 8 update on application numbers, organizers made a point of noting that this entry was still open. About a week after you donate, excluding weekends and holidays, the race office emails you a dedicated hometown tax entry link on RUNNET, where you register and pay the entry fee by November 6.

The entry fee is separate from the donation, so the real cost starts at ¥118,500. The donor and the runner can be different people, but once the entry is confirmed, it can't be transferred, and donations aren't refunded for any reason. Donors also get a family pass that lets up to 3 people per runner into part of the finish area and a dedicated cheering section.

Under the hometown tax program, the portion of a donation above ¥2,000 is deducted from Japanese income and residence taxes, up to a limit. So for people who pay taxes in Japan, the actual cost can drop to as little as ¥2,000 within that limit. Don't pay taxes in Japan?

Then the full ¥100,000 stays a race expense, with no deduction.

Kyoto, Japan

3A ¥180,000 Hotel Package Adds a Room and a Morning Ride to Your Entry

The hotel package Kyoto offers as a hometown tax gift bundles 1 Kyoto Marathon entry and a hotel stay for 1 person in exchange for a ¥180,000 donation. The number of nights and the application deadline aren't in the race's official information, so check the listing on the hometown tax portal. There are two hotels to choose from: Vessel Hotel Campana Kyoto Gojo, with a single room and breakfast, and Urban Hotel Kyoto Shijo Premium, with a double room for solo use and no meals.

Both have large communal baths, and organizers went out of their way to note that they're open on race day, too. What sets the package for the 2027 race apart from the standard donation entry is the morning ride. A chauffeured car takes you from the hotel to the start area, leaving at 6:45 a.

m. and arriving at 7 a.m.

The start, TAKEBISHI Stadium Kyoto (Nishikyogoku Athletic Park), is on the west side of the city. On the morning of the 2026 race, the runner behind the YouTube channel Silly Daddy PH headed for the train station around 7 a.m.

and said, "It's almost 7:00 a.m. So the race starts at 9:00.

So at least we'll have time." On a morning when a field of 16,000 converges on the same start line, the package's premium is the price of swapping that train ride for a car.

Kyoto, Japan

4Live Outside Japan? Kyoto Marathon Entry Is First Come, First Served for 3,000 Runners

For runners who live outside Japan, the math is different from the start. The overseas-resident allocation wasn't a lottery. It took 3,000 runners on a first-come, first-served basis, with an entry fee of ¥35,000.

The allocation for the 2027 race opened at 10 a.m. Japan time on July 16, 2026, and stayed open until 5 p.

m. on September 30, with applications going through JTB Sports Station, the travel agency listed on the official English-language page. That's nearly twice the general entry fee, but it was a spot you could get just by being on time, with no need to gamble on a lottery with about 3.1 applicants per spot.

The Kyoto Marathon is held on the third Sunday in February every year, so if the schedule holds, overseas runners aiming for the 2028 race should circle mid-July 2027 on their calendars. Whichever route gets you in, you pick up your bib in person at Miyako Messe (Kyoto International Exhibition Hall) starting two days before the race, and you'll need to show an original ID document: 1:30 p.m.

to 8 p.m. on February 19 and 10:30 a.

m. to 7 p.m.

on February 20. There's no proxy pickup and no race-day pickup, so the day you arrive in Kyoto has to be the day you get your bib. And the course?

The runner behind the YouTube channel RunBry, which is named for running 52 marathons in 52 weeks, said of the 2026 race: "Pretty undulating course. It's about 850 ft and about 251 m. Lots of turns as well."

And then: "I know a lot of people kind of crashed out because of the undulations. I took the first half slow." The runner went through halfway in 1:38, ran the second half in 1:29, and finished in 3:07.

Okinawa, Japan

5Same Day, February 21: The Okinawa Marathon Takes Entries Until December 13

If you're letting Kyoto go but have kept Sunday, February 21, 2027, open, where in Japan is a full marathon still taking entries? The 31st Okinawa Marathon. The course starts and finishes at Okinawa Prefectural Sports Park, with room for 13,500 in the marathon and 3,000 in the 10K.

The general marathon entry fee is ¥10,000 (¥8,000 for high school students and runners 65 and older), about half of Kyoto's. Entries are open online and at convenience-store kiosks until December 13, 2026, but close early if the field fills. The time limit is 6 hours, 15 minutes, with five cutoff points—15 minutes more breathing room than Kyoto.

Unlike Kyoto, which passes seven World Heritage temples and shrines, Okinawa runs near Katsuren Castle and Kadena Air Base. It's not a race you'd pick as a stand-in for Kyoto's course. But if all you want is to keep one plan—a full marathon in Japan on February 21—this race, which waits for you until December 13, is still there.

31st Okinawa Marathon 2027Sun, February 21, 2027 · D-119 · Okinawa, JapanSee race details

Kochi, Japan

6Kochi Ryoma Marathon Closed 6 Days After Its "Hurry" Notice—but 2 Ways In Remain

What about the Kochi Ryoma Marathon in Shikoku, on the same day? On October 13, organizers posted a notice titled "We're raising the full marathon entry cap! Please hurry and enter!"

Six days later, on October 19, general entries closed. With a cap of 10,000 runners, a ¥13,000 entry fee, and a 7-hour time limit, it's a forgiving race for first-time marathoners. The Shizuoka Marathon on March 14 went even faster.

It opened first-come, first-served entries at 8 p.m. on October 1, 2026, and announced the next day that the full marathon had reached capacity.

That doesn't mean every way into Kochi is closed. One is the Kochi Ryoma Marathon's hometown tax allocation, open until 11:59 p.m.

on October 23. The other is the entry transfer service organizers announced on October 20. Spots from registered runners who can no longer race may come back through official channels, so that notice is worth watching, too.

If you're looking at other February races in Japan while waiting on Kyoto's additional lottery, what happened in Kochi and Shizuoka in October is the reason to watch for capacity announcements before you worry about deadlines.

Kochi Ryoma Marathon 2027Sun, February 21, 2027 · D-119 · Kochi, JapanSee race details