Tokyo Marathon 2027 : the course km by km, the cut-offs, race week and travel

Tokyo spends all its height at once. The start at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building stands 40.8 m above Tokyo Bay, and the road falls about 37 m by km 8. After that the course never leaves a band 4.6 m deep, and the whole marathon climbs 16 to 18 m. What makes it hard is not the ground but the shape: three turn-arounds, two crossings of the Sumida, and a gun-time limit with eight cut-off points that the back of a 40,000 field starts chasing thirty minutes after the gun.

The course runs point to point, from West Shinjuku to the Wadakura-Gate intersection on Gyoko-dori, in front of Tokyo Station. The organiser publishes a table of kilometre points with the expected passing times of the lead runner and the rearmost runner, and the kilometres below follow it. Heights are from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan’s 1 m laser elevation model, sampled along the walked course. The organiser’s 2027 course page still carries the 2026 course illustration, so check its course page before you set your pacing.

Km 0 to 8: downhill out of Shinjuku

The start is at Building No. 1 of the Metropolitan Government complex, on the high ground of West Shinjuku. The road loses 28 m by km 5 and about 37 m by km 8, a long, gentle downhill through the first cut-off point at the Ichigaya-Mitsuke intersection (km 4.9) and on past Tokyo Dome at about km 7 and Suidobashi. It is the only stretch of the race where gravity helps, and so the easiest place to bank time you pay for later. The organiser’s own table does not do it: its lead runner goes through 1 km in 2:54 and holds 2:54 a kilometre to the finish.

Km 8 to 13: Akihabara and the first turn

From km 8 the road is flat. The course runs through the Sudacho intersection (km 9.2) and Akihabara, where the table puts the 10 km point, to its first turn-around at Ueno-hirokoji (km 10.6). It comes back south through Kanda to Nihonbashi at about km 13.3, the stone bridge of 1911 that marks kilometre zero of Japan’s road network, now under an expressway built in 1964.

Km 13 to 21: Asakusa and the Sumida

Past the Hisamatsucho intersection (km 15.4) the course heads north to Asakusa and runs a loop past Kaminarimon, the Thunder Gate of Senso-ji, at about km 18.3, with Tokyo Skytree in view across the river. At km 20 it crosses the Sumida on Kuramae Bridge for the first time, and halfway falls at Ryogoku, just after the Midori 1-chome intersection (km 20.9).

Km 21 to 30: Monzen-nakacho and back over the river

East of the river the course reaches its lowest ground, 0.5 m above the bay near km 24, and turns through 180 degrees by Tomioka Hachimangu shrine in Monzen-nakacho (the organiser’s turn point is at km 23.95). It is the sharpest corner of the race. The road comes back through the Fukagawa 1-chome intersection (km 24.7), recrosses Kuramae Bridge at km 28, passes the Asakusabashi intersection (km 29.2) and reaches km 30 at the Meijiza theatre.

Km 30 to 37.5: Nihonbashi, Ginza and the run south

The course passes Nihonbashi again near km 31.9 and comes into Ginza, crossing the 4-chome junction under the Wako clock tower at about km 33.4, just before the Sukiyabashi cut-off point at km 33.5. From there it runs south, past Zojo-ji temple with Tokyo Tower behind it at about km 36.2, to the last turn-around at Tamachi Station (km 37.5).

Km 37.5 to the finish: Hibiya and Marunouchi

After the Tamachi turn there are 4.7 km left. The course comes back through the last cut-off at the Shiba Park Ground-mae intersection (km 38.5), past Zojo-ji again at about km 38.9, up Hibiya-dori and along Marunouchi Naka-dori to the finish on Gyoko-dori, 2.9 m above the bay and 37.8 m below the start.

Tokyo measures every runner’s official time from the gun, and the 7-hour limit closes the finish at 4.10pm. The organiser’s table expects the rearmost runner to cross the start line at 9.40am, thirty minutes after the gun, which leaves 6 hours 30 minutes of running. That matches the 6 hours 30 minutes the organiser asks every entrant to be capable of.

The finish is not the tightest point, though. The eight intermediate cut-offs, all marked provisional by the organiser, fall at these clock times:

• Ichigaya-Mitsuke, km 4.9: 10.25am
• Sudacho (South), km 9.2: 11am
• Hisamatsucho, km 15.4: 11.55am
• Midori 1-chome, km 20.9: 12.45pm
• Fukagawa 1-chome, km 24.7: 1.20pm
• Asakusabashi, km 29.2: 2pm
• Sukiyabashi, km 33.5: 2.35pm
• Shiba Park Ground-mae, km 38.5: 3.20pm

For a runner who crosses the line at 9.40am, the finish allows 9:15 a kilometre, but the intermediate points ask for about 8:42 to 8:54 a kilometre all the way to km 38.5. The tightest is Sudacho at km 9.2, which allows 80 minutes from the start line. The organiser says a runner who misses a cut-off, or falls well behind the race pace, may be asked to stop. If you start near the back, run the first 10 km to the Sudacho time, not to the finish time.

Expo and bib pick-up

The Tokyo Marathon EXPO 2027 is in the South Halls of Tokyo Big Sight, at 3-11-1 Ariake, Koto-ku, on the bay and well away from the start. It is open on Thursday 4 and Friday 5 March from 10am to 9pm, and on Saturday 6 March from 10am to 6pm, with admission free. Packet pick-up inside runs from 10am to 8.30pm on the first two days and closes at 5.30pm on the Saturday.

The rules are strict. Every runner collects in person, there is a photo-ID check, nobody can collect for you, and there is no pick-up on race day: a runner who does not collect in those three days cannot start. You are given a wristband at pick-up that stays on until the finish. The full list of what to bring will be in the Runner Guidebook, which the organiser expects in mid-February 2027.

Around the race

For the 20th edition the organiser runs Tokyo Marathon Square from 5 to 7 March at the Shinjuku Sumitomo Building’s Sankaku Hiroba, near the start line, with open press conferences, symposia and a post-run party; session times are still to come. On Saturday 6 March the Friendship Run, an approximately 5 km fun run, goes off in three groups at 10am, 11.30am and 1pm from the Taito River Side Sports Center athletics field. A Blue Impulse demonstration flight is planned for race day, with its time and route not yet announced.

Race morning

The wheelchair marathon starts at 9.05am and the marathon at 9.10am. Your entry gate and starting corral are assigned to you and cannot be changed for any reason. The times that matter most on the morning, when the gates open and when the corrals close, are not out yet: like the start-area layout, they go into the Runner Guidebook in mid-February. A start-area medical station is provisionally open from 7am to 10am.

Bag drop

Baggage check is not included. In 2027 it is an optional extra of USD 12 (JPY 1,200) that had to be chosen at entry and cannot be added afterwards. Its hours and location will be in the Runner Guidebook.

Aid on the course

The 2027 aid stations are not published yet. In 2026 there were 15, at km 5, 7, 10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 22, 25, 27, 30, 32, 35, 38 and 40. Most served Pocari Sweat and water, km 7 and km 12 had water only, and km 20, 25 and 30 added sponges. Five Omotenashi Aid points, at km 17, 22, 27, 32 and 38, handed out food that included pickled plum, chocolate, a cream-filled roll and a doll-shaped pancake. A sign stood 150 to 300 m before each station. Medical stations on the course stay open from the first runner until about 15 minutes after the last has passed, and runners with a disability may run with one guide runner.