The Complete Guide to the World Marathon Majors · Ian
Tokyo Marathon 2027: The First-Timer's Complete Guide to Finishing Inside 7 Hours
The second installment of our series taking a deep read of each of the eight World Marathon Majors. This one covers the course and nine cutoffs of the 20th Tokyo Marathon on March 7, 2027, plus the expo, race-morning logistics, and how to go after a spot in 2028.
At the 2026 Tokyo Marathon, one runner started a first-ever marathon from the very last corral, K. That runner is the face of the YouTube channel Running in Japan.
Along the way, the runner passed the 5:30 pacer, then the 5:00, before catching the 4:30 group. The bill came late.
The walking started at 32K, and at 40K the same 5:30 pacer caught back up. Tokyo gives you seven hours.
But the last corral doesn't cross the start line until 30 minutes after the gun, and nine timed cutoffs wait along the course. A clock that looks generous shrinks by whatever you spend early.
March 7, 2027, marks the 20th edition. The field grows from 39,000 to 40,000, the largest ever, and with the 10.7K event dropped, every general entrant runs the marathon.
Finishers get a medal marking the 20th running. Dates and fees follow the race's official information as of November 10, 2026.
· Race day: Sunday, March 7, 2027; marathon starts at 9:10 a.m.
(wheelchair 9:05 a.m.)
· Time limit: 7 hours (finish closes at 4:10 p.m.)
; 9 cutoffs · Entry fee: $230 international; ¥19,800 for Japan residents (fees and tax included) · 2027 entry: general lottery, charity, and semi-elite all closed · Expo: Tokyo Big Sight, South Hall, March 4–6; bib pickup in person only · Average March temperature: 8.8°C (about 48°F)
1How the 40,000 spots are divided
Not everyone gets in through the general lottery. Here are the allocations the race's press release gave. · Charity: 5,000 · Members unsuccessful three times in a row: 4,000 · Tokyo residents' lottery: 1,000 · Semi-elite: 280 · Para division: 500 · The rest: general lottery The 2027 allocations are already full.
The general lottery closed in August, and results came out September 18. Charity applications passed capacity by the end of June, the race announced. An entry can't be handed to someone else or resold.
Packages that include an entry are sold only by the race's official travel agency and its partners. An entry bought through any other channel is void. Is there space left now?
The race website doesn't say. Ask the official travel agency directly.
Tokyo Marathon 2027Sun, March 7, 2027 · D-113 · Tokyo, JapanSee race details
2From the Metropolitan Government Building to Wadakura-mon: the Tokyo Marathon course in three turnarounds
The start line sits in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government No. 1 Building in Shinjuku. The course threads out between the high-rises, runs northeast to Akihabara, and makes its first turn at Ueno.
· 4K Kagurazaka-shita · 7K Korakubashi · 8K Jimbocho · 10K Akihabara · 10.6K turnaround Ueno-hirokoji · 13K Nihonbashi · 20K Kuramaebashi · 21K Ryogoku · 23.95K turnaround Tomioka Hachimangu · 30K Meijiza · 33K Ginza · 36K Shibakoen · 37.5K turnaround Tamachi · 41K Hibiya · Finish: Gyoko-dori at the Wadakura-mon intersection Midrace, the course crosses the Sumida River and loops east. The runner behind the YouTube channel Run the Rising Sun, back in Tokyo for a second time after 2023, looked back on the 2026 race and said the small climbs onto the Sumida bridges were tough. On this course, those bridges are among the few uphills.
The back half runs through the heart of the city. Past Ginza and Shibakoen, the last turnaround comes in front of Tamachi Station, and the finish is in front of Tokyo Station. On that second Tokyo, the runner remembers the crowds between Hibiya and Tamachi as enormous.
But the final kilometer or so from the Hibiya intersection to the finish felt unusually long.
3Nine cutoffs, and the times the last corral has to beat
The 2027 race guidelines print the scheduled cutoff times in a table. Miss the time at any point and your race is over. · 4.9K Ichigaya-mitsuke 10:25 a.
m. · 9.2K Sudacho 11 a.m.
· 15.4K Hisamatsucho 11:55 a.m. · 20.9K Midori 1-chome 12:45 p.
m. · 24.7K Fukagawa 1-chome 1:20 p.m.
· 29.2K Asakusabashi 2 p.m. · 33.5K Sukiyabashi 2:35 p.
m. · 38.5K Shibakoen 3:20 p.m.
· Finish 4:10 p.m. The last corral crosses the start line at around 9:40 a.
m. That leaves a little over 45 minutes for the 4.9K to the first cutoff, a walking pace of just over 9 minutes per kilometer. So plan your walking sections in advance.
Bank a few minutes between each pair of cutoffs, and you can afford to walk late in the race. The corral K first-timer built a big cushion early, then walked from 32K on. The Run the Rising Sun runner ran the first 5K slower than 5:00 per kilometer to save the legs, and that's the kind of running this table rewards.
4At the Tokyo Big Sight expo, the bib desk closes 30 minutes before the hall does
The expo runs for three days in the South Hall at Tokyo Big Sight. You pick up your bib in person with photo ID. No one can collect it for you, and there's no race-day pickup.
· Expo: Thursday, March 4, and Friday, March 5, 10 a.m.–9 p.
m. · Saturday, March 6, 10 a.m.
–6 p.m. · Bib pickup: until 8:30 p.
m. Thursday and Friday · until 5:30 p.m.
Saturday The corral K first-timer spent three or four hours on the expo's two floors and came away worn out. According to the runner behind the RunBry channel, early afternoon on day one was quiet, and the crowd was thickest right after doors opened that first day. Landing in Tokyo on Friday night?
Saturday at 5:30 p.m. is your last chance.
5Shinjuku on race morning: security screening and the cold of March
The official guide names Shinjuku Station and Nishi-Shinjuku Station as the closest stops. Tochomae Station, right under the Metropolitan Government Building, closes some exits on race day. There's a security check at the gates.
In 2026, the corral K first-timer had a filled plastic bottle taken away, and the Run the Rising Sun runner, on a second Tokyo, said screening was stricter than expected. The 2027 security and drink rules will appear in the runner's guidebook in mid-February. Baggage check is an add-on you choose at registration, and international entrants pay an extra $12.
Pickup areas are split by bib color. The average March temperature is 8.8°C (about 48°F). The runner behind the Shevs channel remembered the 2026 morning as about 6°C (43°F), with hands shaking during the wait for the start.
The Run the Rising Sun runner skipped a poncho because the day was clear, and regretted it in the cold. Wear a throwaway layer or a poncho into the start area, then drop it in the clothing collection bins just before the start.
6Missed out on 2027? The virtual run that could get you into the 2028 Tokyo Marathon
One way to chase a spot in the next race has already started: the "RUN as ONE GLOBAL" virtual run series, where you run a half-marathon distance anywhere in the world and upload your time. Per the race's announcement, finishers go into a lottery for 2028 entries, and the number it gives is 30 in total. A separate draw picks 50 ONE TOKYO global members who finish all 10 rounds.
If you're very fast, you can aim for the semi-elite "RUN as ONE" program. The standard for overseas runners is a 2:22 marathon for men and 2:50 for women. · Round 7: November 14–22 · Round 8: December 12–20 · Round 9: January 16–24, 2027 · Final round: March 20–28 · Entry fee: free for members · ¥1,500 for non-members The nearest round starts on November 14.
Editor's pick
Few Majors are as forgiving to a first-timer as Tokyo: seven hours, a mostly flat course, crowds that never thin out. Still, the clock is split into nine cutoffs. If you're in the last corral, write the cutoff times on your wrist and hold back over the first 5K.
Plan to hit the expo by Saturday afternoon at the latest, just to be safe. What if the March morning is especially cold? A throwaway layer for the wait at the start is as useful as that cutoff list.
The 5:30 pacer, met again at 40K. That's how the corral K first-timer had to pay back the time banked early.
Next dates: Round 7 of the virtual run, with 2028 entries at stake (November 14), and the runner's guidebook in mid-February 2027. On the race page, the course map links through to hotels near the start.
Our complete guide to the eight Majors continues with Boston.
Entry period · Accommodation
| Races | Itinerary | Entry period | INFO. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Marathon 2027 | Sun, March 7, 2027 | Fri, August 14, 2026 ~ Fri, August 28, 2026 | Accommodation · See race details |
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