Tokyo Marathon 2027 — Dates, Lottery Window & Entry Fee

Tokyo Marathon 2027 takes place on Sunday, March 7, 2027, with the gun going off at 9:10 a.m. JST from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku. If you're chasing an entry, the date that matters most is the general-entry lottery window: August 14–28, 2026, with results announced September 18, 2026. Here's the full go-info — fee, course, and exactly how overseas runners get in.

This is the race's 20th-anniversary edition, one of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors, and the Tokyo Marathon Foundation has expanded the field to up to 40,000 entries for the milestone year — up from the previous 39,000-runner cap.

Quick facts (as of July 2026)

• Date: Sunday, March 7, 2027, gun time 9:10 a.m. JST
• Start: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1, Nishi-Shinjuku
• Finish: Wadakuramon crossing on Gyoko-dori, in front of Tokyo Station
• Distance: 42.195 km, net-downhill point-to-point course
• Entry fee: ¥19,800 for Japan residents / $230 USD for overseas applicants
• Cutoff time: 7 hours (9:10 a.m.–4:10 p.m.; wheelchair division: 2 hours 30 minutes)
• Minimum age: 19 as of race day (born on or before March 7, 2008)
• Spectating: free along the entire course

Entry schedule — five routes, one deadline most runners need

Tokyo Marathon runs five parallel entry routes rather than a single lottery, and the application windows don't overlap:

For most overseas runners without an existing ONE TOKYO GLOBAL membership, the General Entry lottery (Aug 14–28, 2026) is the route that matters. It's open worldwide — not restricted to Japan residents — to anyone 19 or older who expects to finish inside the cutoff, though a block of spots is reserved for Tokyo residents and for ONE TOKYO members who've missed the draw for three straight years. Crucially, you only pay the ¥19,800/$230 entry fee if you're selected, between September 18–30, 2026 — entering the draw itself is free.

How overseas runners actually get in: three real paths

1. General lottery — the same draw as Japan residents; you pay nothing unless picked. It's the cheapest way in, but odds are far from guaranteed given the size of the applicant pool each year.
2. Charity entry — apply to a partner charity through the official RUN with HEART platform (runwithheart.jp) between June 24–July 9, 2026, then donate to secure one of roughly 5,000 charity bibs. Most partner charities accept international applicants, though a handful restrict entries to Japan residents, so check each charity's own rules first. Minimum donation amounts are set individually by each partner charity — confirm the current figure on runwithheart.jp before you commit.
3. Guaranteed-entry travel packages — official tour operators (for example, US-based Marathon Tours & Travel) sell packages that bundle a guaranteed bib with hotel, expo access, and race-day support, bypassing the lottery entirely. Pricing runs into the thousands of dollars per person (2027 packages start around $5,300), but it's the most reliable option for runners who can't risk missing out.

There's also a ONE TOKYO GLOBAL membership track built for repeat overseas applicants (application July 31–Aug 13, 2026, results Sept 1, 2026), plus a small virtual-run lottery series that awards a handful of guaranteed future-year entries to runners worldwide who complete qualifying virtual races.

The course

The 42.195 km route starts outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku, runs through Iidabashi and Kanda toward Akihabara, loops through Asakusa past Kaminarimon Gate and Senso-ji, then heads west again through Ginza and Nihonbashi before skirting the Imperial Palace grounds on the final stretch to the finish at the Wadakuramon crossing in front of Tokyo Station. It's a largely flat, net-downhill design — one reason Tokyo has become a genuine personal-record course among Marathon Majors regulars.

Watching for free

You don't need an entry to be part of race day — the course is free to watch along its full length, with the biggest crowds around Asakusa's Kaminarimon Gate and the Ginza stretch. Trains near the route fill up from early morning, so plan to reach your viewing spot well before the 9:10 a.m. start.

All dates above reflect the official schedule published by the Tokyo Marathon Foundation as of July 2026 — always confirm final details on marathon.tokyo before you apply, since fee windows and result dates are set by the organizer and can be adjusted.

---

Racing in Japan? All eight 2026–2027 marathons, entry windows and how overseas runners get a guaranteed bib: Japan Marathons guide.