Where should you stay for the Tokyo Marathon?

Tokyo Marathon 2027: the key facts

From the organiser's general information page:

• Date: Sunday 7 March 2027.

• Start: 9:10am at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku. The wheelchair marathon starts at 9:05am.

• Time limit: 7 hours, so the course closes at 4:10pm. Runners who miss a cut-off point may be stopped.

• Course: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Suidobashi, Ueno-hirokoji, Kanda, Nihombashi, Asakusa Kaminarimon Gate, Ryogoku, Monzen-nakacho, Ginza, Tamachi, Hibiya, finishing at Tokyo Station / Gyoko-dori Avenue.

• Expo: Tokyo Big Sight South Exhibition Halls in Ariake, 4 and 5 March (10am to 9pm) and 6 March (10am to 6pm). The organiser's June 2026 release schedules number pick-up at the Expo across the same three days.

• Tokyo Marathon Square: 5 to 7 March at the Shinjuku Sumitomo Building's Sankaku Hiroba, near the start line.

The organiser also plans a Blue Impulse aerobatic flight on race day, with the time and route still to be announced. Some race-day details are marked as coming later, so check marathon.tokyo before you travel.

Where to stay, ranked by distance to the start

1. Nishi-Shinjuku. The skyscraper district west of Shinjuku Station, where the start is. Many of the big hotels here are a short walk from the Metropolitan Government Building, and Tochomae Station (Toei Oedo Line) is under it. Tokyo Marathon Square is here too. The catch: these are among the first rooms to go for race weekend, and prices reflect it. After the race you need a train back from Tokyo Station.

2. Shinjuku (east side and around the station). More choice and more price levels, from business hotels to large chains, a 10 to 20 minute walk from the start depending on the hotel. The catch: Shinjuku Station is the busiest in Japan, and race morning adds 40,000 runners. Our where to stay in Tokyo guide covers Shinjuku as a base.

3. Marunouchi and Tokyo Station. The finish is on Gyoko-dori, the avenue running from Tokyo Station towards the Imperial Palace. Stay here and you walk to your hotel after the finish, which many runners value more than an easy start. The JR Chuo Line runs direct from Tokyo Station to Shinjuku in about 15 minutes. The catch: premium business-district prices, and an early train on race morning.

4. Ginza and Hibiya. On the course in the late miles and a walk from the finish. Good for families who want to watch in the closing stages and meet the runner afterwards. The catch: expensive, and roads on the course are closed during the race, so cross where marshals allow.

5. Nihonbashi. Also on the course and close to Tokyo Station, often a little cheaper than Marunouchi. The catch: the same early-train problem for the start.

If you are flying in, Haneda is the easier airport for central Tokyo; see our Haneda vs Narita guide.

When to book

We have no published figure for how fast race-weekend rooms sell. As a general rule for major marathons, book refundable rooms as soon as you have an entry, then cancel if plans change. Entries opened on 31 July 2026 for general runners and 24 June 2026 for charity places, per the organiser, so many runners have been booking since the summer.

Plan to arrive by Friday 5 March at the latest. The Expo, where numbers are collected, is open 4 to 6 March and closes at 6pm on the Saturday, and it is in Ariake on Tokyo Bay, not near the start. Allow half a day for the trip there and back from Shinjuku on the Rinkai Line or the Yurikamome.

Early March in Tokyo is cool, before the cherry blossom. Our best time to visit Tokyo has the month-by-month picture.

Race-day logistics for runners and supporters

• Trains, not taxis. Roads in central Tokyo close along the course for most of the day. Trains run normally; a Suica or Pasmo card avoids ticket queues (IC card guide).

• Supporters: the course loops back on itself, so you can see a runner more than once. Asakusa (Kaminarimon Gate), Ryogoku and Ginza are all on the route and connected by subway. Ryogoku is also home to the sumo hall; see where to stay for sumo.

• Meeting after the finish: agree a meeting point away from Gyoko-dori itself, which is busy with finishers.

• Check-out on Monday: book the Sunday night. Leaving on a long-haul flight the evening of a marathon is hard on the body, and a checkOut of 8 March is what the hotel search above assumes.

Want to stay longer? Our Tokyo guide and day trips from Tokyo fill the recovery days.

Frequently asked questions