Races

PACERTRIP CITY EDITIONJP / RACE GUIDE

Lake Toya Marathon

The city you want to run becomes your next trip.

Toyako
JP

663highland · CC BY 2.5663highland · CC BY 2.5Suicasmo · CC BY-SA 4.0663highland · CC BY 2.5洞爺湖町 · CC BY 4.0

Race date Date TBD: Date TBD
City · Distance: Toyako · 42.195km · 10km · 5km
Entry fee: ¥11,500Varies by event and entry period
Status: TBDSee how to enter ↗

Official website ↗D-day as of Nov 15, 2026

About the race Runner stories How to enter Course Race Prep Travel

Why you dream of this race

THE DREAM

ABOUT THE RACE

A day you'll remember,
long past the finish line.

A May full marathon in Hokkaido that circles the shore of Lake Toya.

You run beside the lake and fresh greenery, and at 30 km you receive a rice ball made from the town's specialty rice.

The finisher's gift even includes a free hot-spring bathing ticket, so you can soak in an onsen right after finishing.

The road to your own record

Picture the course in advance
and find the pace that fits you.

When the city cheers

Streets lined with cheers, runners all around.
You'll be part of that scene.

The trip that follows the run

Take it slow with the finish still in you,
and meet the city all over again.

Stories from runners who've been there.

From the joy of finishing to the tough moments — read what runners wrote themselves.

Race reports: 3

alovesunRan in 2025 · Finish time 5:28:30

“Either way, the Lake Toya Marathon is a pretty tough course, with constant ups and downs.”

Finished the 2025 race a minute and a half ahead of time limit. The long climb after the turnaround and the hills after 30 km were tough, but the lake stays in view on the left for a long stretch. Getting there from Sapporo by bus is recommended.

Quoted from the original · translated

Original quote

ともあれ、洞爺湖マラソンはアップダウンが連続するので結構タフなコース。

Read the original on note(alovesun)

転妻の日々是散文〜in北海道(mayu225mayu)Ran in 2024 · Finish time 4:30+

“This is my 8th full marathon, and it's the first time I've walked this much.”

It was hot for May, but the shade from trees along the course helped. Aid stations were about every 5 km, with sponges and water in between, and the shiso juice at 30 km mark was especially good.

Quoted from the original · translated

Original quote

こんなに歩いたフルマラソンは8回目にして初めてです。

Read the original on 転妻の日々是散文〜in北海道

山中真Ran in 2024 · Finish time 2:56:07

“I'd say the race itself passes.”

The runner wrote that the course has small ups and downs and a big hill up to 15 km, then is almost flat after that. The shade and breeze along the lake were nice, but it was too warm for a fast time.

Quoted from the original · translated

Original quote

レースそのものは合格点だと思う。

Read the original on note(mt_yamanka)

We translated a short line from each public race report and summarized the experience. Finish times are as stated by the author, and past editions may differ from this year's weather and operations.

See it on video,
feel it through their stories.

Preview the course and read what runners who went before you wrote.

This may be from a past edition. Check the organizer for this year's course and operations.

The way in that fits you

YOUR ENTRY

How to reach the start line —
start with what fits you.

Here are the ways to enter and what each requires.
Check the organizer's page for whether entries are open.

First come, first served

Entry cost ¥11,500

Entries are accepted only online through RUNNET.

Entries close once the field is full, even within the entry period.

Full marathon: age 18 or over (high school students excluded)

Organizer's page

Overseas residents

Entry cost TBD

The entry page has separate GLOBAL ENTRY desks in English and Traditional Chinese.

Overseas entry fees are not shown on the official page.

Organizer's page

Other

Entry cost TBD

This race takes part in RUNNET's transfer system ('ゆずれ~る'), which lets you take over the entry of a participant who can no longer run.

Organizer's page

Other · Marathon

Entry cost TBD

If you apply through the furusato nozei (hometown tax) program, you receive the address of the early-entry window.

For 2026, applications had to be in by March 2 (2026 edition).

Apply through the furusato nozei (hometown tax) site

Organizer's page

Official race website Entry options

From the start line to the finish

RACE WEEK

Your 42.195km

Know the course and time limit, and race day comes into focus.

Runners start · local timeFrom 9:00

Time limit5 hours 30 minutes

5 hours 30 minutes (ends at 14:30, gun time)

Event	Gather	Start	Time limit	Entry fee	Field size
マラソン42.195km	08:20	09:00	14:30	¥11,500	4,500
10km	—	10:00	—	¥5,000	—
5km	—	10:10	—	¥5,000	—

START · FINISH

わかさいも本舗洞爺湖

Start · Google Maps

Cutoff
5km 9:45 · 15km 10:55 · 21.1km 11:55 · 30km 13:00 · 40.2km 14:15

Runners start · local time — Full marathon starts at 9:00 / 10 km at 10:00 / 5 km at 10:10 (based on the 2026 edition)

The Lake Toya Marathon is a spring race in Hokkaido that marked its 52nd edition in 2026.

Held in mid-May after the snow melts, it is called the first race in Hokkaido where you can run a full marathon,

and many runners come to test their condition ahead of the Hakodate and Hokkaido marathons that follow.

The course starts in front of Wakasaimo Honpo on the main street of Toyako Onsen,

first runs clockwise along the lake for a little over 3 km and returns, then circles the lake counterclockwise.

As a result, you run the same road out and back until about 6 km after the start.

The lake is mostly on your left, but there are long stretches through forest, so there is quite a lot of shade.

It looks flat, but it isn't: small ups and downs keep coming, including a big hill before 15 km, and another long hill comes after 30 km,

so race reports always include the phrase "tougher than expected." Aid stations are every 2.5 km,

alternating water and sponges, 14 in all, and at 20 km and 30 km local food is served;

the Takarada rice ball at 30 km is made from rice locals call "legendary." Just before the finish,

you pass along the lakeside promenade and enter the lakeside plaza.

The 2027 date hasn't been announced yet,

so you'll have to wait for the entry notice to see whether it lands in mid-May again (this description is based on the 2026 edition).

Participant benefits

Timing chip

Water stations

Aid stations

Finisher medal

Event T-shirt

Finisher certificate

Bag drop

Changing rooms

To the start line,
step by step.

Pick up your bib, check your wave.
So on race morning, you can just run.

Bib pickup

Finisher's gift pickup and the pre-race party (17:30–19:00) are held in the same building.
There is no large-scale expo.
The day before, 14:00–18:00 (based on the 2026 edition)

Toyako Cultural Center

lobby

Google Maps Directions

Stations & transport near the venue

Getting to the startJR Toya Station (bus to Toyako Onsen)
Getting to the finishToyako Onsen lakeside promenade

Source · checked Nov 10, 2026

More details

Getting to the start

JR Toya Station (bus to Toyako Onsen)

The start is in the Toyako Onsen lakeside town; the official site lists JR Toya Station and New Chitose Airport as the main access points. About 2.5 hours by bus from New Chitose Airport, or about 1h40 by limited express from Hakodate to JR Toya Station.

By car: 103 km from Sapporo via Nakayama Pass, 93 km from Chitose via Bimyo Pass. Temporary car parks are provided on race day; street parking is not allowed.

Map

Getting to the finish

Toyako Onsen lakeside promenade

Finish is behind Wakasaimo Honpo on the lakeside promenade, a short walk from the start area.

Map

Source · checked Nov 10, 2026

READY TO RUN

From race morning to after the finish.

Your start time, fuel and bag drop.
Know them ahead and the run feels easier.

Toyako is about 2.5 hours by bus from New Chitose Airport, so arriving and staying overnight the day before is the safer choice.

The race also ran a paid bus of its own, so check the race guide.

If you drive, the temporary lots fill early and the shuttle timing is tight;

one race report says the lot was full and the runner only boarded the shuttle 15 minutes before the start.

Your bib and timing chip are mailed to your home around the end of April, so don't forget them.

Lose them and it's ¥1,000 on race day.

On the day before, 14:00–18:00, you can pick up your participation gift (T-shirt, tote bag, towel and hot-spring ticket) in the lobby of the Toyako Cultural Center,

and a pre-race party starts the same day at 17:30.

The start is at 9:00, with assembly at 8:20–8:50.

Blocks A–G are assigned by reported time, and latecomers go to the last block,

G. The time limit is 5 hours 30 minutes, but the first cut-off point closes at 9:45 at 5 km.

Because the first 6 km is an out-and-back, the race cuts off early for safety.

The last cut-off point, at 40.2 km, closes at 14:15.

Baggage is left in the Cultural Center hall, and the changing room is inside the tourist information center.

Even in May, temperatures vary from year to year: one year was hot, and another stayed below 20°C with a chilly wind, so pack a rain poncho and thin gloves.

You get cold quickly once the sweat cools.

If you book lodging in the lakeside onsen town, you can walk to the start line,

and soaking in a hot spring right after the finish with the ticket you receive is one of the big joys of this race.

In the lakeside park near the finish there's also a statue named Moonlight, a good spot for a souvenir photo.

Times are local to Toyako. Check the latest official information before the race.

A trip built around the race

STAY A LITTLE

MAKE IT A RUNTRIP

The race is one day,
the trip can be longer.

From a hotel that makes race morning easy,
to the meals and views you'll enjoy with the medal on.

The Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort

Hotel · 574m · 9-minute walk

9.0/10(1382)

View on Booking.com

Hokkaido Toyohira Gorge Onsen Admission Ticket

¥1,353

Lake Toya Marathon

About Lake Toya Marathon — what makes it special

A day you'll remember,long past the finish line.

The road to your own record

When the city cheers

The trip that follows the run