Course Map
Route based on 2024 course — may differ slightly from this year.
About this Race
The Tokyo Marathon is the Abbott World Marathon Majors' Asian flagship, a largely flat, fast point-to-point course that starts beneath the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku and finishes near Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace. The route rolls past Asakusa's Senso-ji temple, Ginza, and the city's mix of neon modernity and quiet tradition, on famously immaculate, well-marshaled streets. Run in early spring, it is celebrated for flawless organization, polite and enthusiastic crowds, and conditions that increasingly tempt fast times. A couple of gentle rises and a few out-and-back sections are the only real test of pacing discipline. It suits runners who prize precision, hospitality, and a smooth course, and those collecting the Majors star in one of the world's most orderly big-city races.
Course Insight
Tokyo is the most orderly of the Majors: a fast, near-flat course that drops gently out of Shinjuku early and tempts you to cash in free speed you'll badly want back later. Long out-and-back sections let you eyeball the leaders and your rivals, motivating and dangerous in equal measure, so resist racing strangers in the first half. The crowds are vast but disciplined, a steady wall of sound rather than chaos. Wind off the bay on the later waterfront and Asakusa stretches can turn an easy split into a grind. Cold February air means start cool and trust you'll warm into it; the flat run-in to Tokyo Station rewards anyone who paced that early downhill with restraint.
Difficulty Breakdown
Mostly due to tough late hills.
Course Details
- Course type
- Point-To-Point
- Elevation gain
- 195m
- Elevation loss
- 445m
- Highest point
- 134m
- Lowest point
- 5m
- Net elevation
- -250m
- Start
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku
- Cutoff time
- 7h 0m
Course Records
- Men's
- 2:02:16 — Benson Kipruto (Kenya), 2024
- Women's
- 2:14:29 — Brigid Kosgei (Kenya), 2026
Race History
The Tokyo Marathon was first held in 2007, created by merging two earlier races into a single mass-participation event through the heart of the Japanese capital. It rapidly became one of the world's most sought-after marathons, and in 2013 it was added as the sixth and first Asian member of the Abbott World Marathon Majors. Famed for its flawless organization and orderly, enthusiastic crowds, it has increasingly become a fast course attracting elite fields and quick times. Run each spring, it now draws a huge international lottery field of tens of thousands of finishers.
Plan Your Trip
Everything you need to know to get there, get settled, and get to the start line.
- Nearest airport(s)
- Tokyo Haneda (HND), Narita (NRT)
- Best area to stay
- Shinjuku for staying right at the start with endless hotels, Marunouchi by Tokyo Station for finish-line proximity and upscale rooms, and Asakusa for traditional ryokan and value near the course.
- Getting to the start
- The start is at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku; take the Toei Ōedo line to Tochomae or any line to Shinjuku, then follow the crowds for the short walk to security and corrals.