Running

Running is a popular sport in Japan, and one of the few sports the country excels at in international competitions. The Women's Marathon Gold Medalist from the 2004 Athens Olympics, Mizuki Noguchi, is a former student of Yamasho, in Ise. Japan hosts a ridiculous number of running events year round, but especially in the Autumn and Winter. Running events are typically referred to as マラソン, irrespective of the actual distance. Don't be thinking your elementary school kid who tells you about the "marason" she ran over the weekend is all that badarse; she probably did a 2km. Ekiden, essentially a long distance relay race, are also very popular in Japan.

Why Run in Japan?

Even if you're not really into it, races are often fairly sizable events with mini-matsuri running alongside them. In some cases, the races are the biggest events a town will host!

Japan is a great place to take up running for several reasons:

• The huge number of well-organised events on offer. Every town across the nation seems to host some kind of running event at least once a year. It's a pretty cool way to get involved in a community event;
• People of all ages/abilities/backgrounds in Japan participate in running events. You'll see elite runners race the same event as men and women in their 70s and 80s;
• It might be your only opportunity to run with people kitted out in such interesting costumes. In my two years of running in Japan, I've run along side the following: a duo who dressed as Nara's Todai-ji temple, a girl dressed as a pineapple (she cut the top off a pineapple and carried it on her head), a bunch of eggplants, a Power Ranger, several "nurses", a stack of tigers and a frog! Pretty entertaining to say the least;
• The amount of support provided by the crowd is INCREDIBLE. People really make an effort to come out and support the runners. It's really heart-warming to run past a tonne of people you don't even know, cheering for you whole-heartedly with their claps, smiles and ファイト chants! It's awesome;
• Japan is a beautiful country and running through the parks, villages and cities, is a great way to experience places whilst getting in a bit of exercise. Nagano hosts some incredible looking runs, Nara has its annual marathon and 10km in early December (you'll possibly catch the tail end of the kouyou), Kyoto has no end of awesome places to run, and lovely Mie, has some great races, including 2 that are rated in the top 100 races in Japan.

Good Places to Run

Shima - wonderfully scenic! Ask the locals for routes though.

Taki - there are some absolutely beautiful places you'll come to if you venture even a little way of Route 42. e.g. paths that run for quite a way along the Kushidagawa between Izawa-cho and the road that links Matsusaka with Meiwa. Also the villages around Mameya are lovely.

Ise - there is a trail that extends from the back of Naiku for several kilometres. It basically follows the river. It's a little hilly but there is very little traffic and it's very pretty.

Komono - ask the locals about routes, but it is very, very pretty!

Route 42 - sure, it's polluted, and not always that scenic, but the distance markers every 100m are pretty bloody handy if you are trying to get a sense of how far you've run. Also, there is generally some sort of a footpath, so you are not endangering your life on the road.

Events

Northern Mie

• Komono : Kamoshika Marathon

  Held every year in mid-October, this event has a half-marathon, as well as 5/10km races. It's a pretty big event with 6000 people participating. It's a scenic course with enough hills to give you a bit of a challenge, but not so many as to be murderous. A fairly decent mini-matsuri runs alongside the race and this event has, at least for the past few years, has hosted a small group of JET volunteer face-painters, with funds going to Longitude/Habitat for Humanity etc. trips.

• Kuwana　City Kuwana Riverside Marathon. Kuwana hosts a half-marathon and a 10km race each March.

• Suzuka　City Suzuka has a couple of races each year, with at least two of them being held on parts of the Suzuka Circuit.

The first race of the year, is held on Suzuka Circuit on the long weekend in February. It's an 11.2km course.

There's another Suzuka Circuit race held in December (usually the 3rd Sunday in December) with 10km/5.6km events.

Central Mie

• Shima : Shima Road Party

  Held in spring every year.

• Tsu　City

Tsu hosts a few events every year, including a 10km/5km race just after Christmas, and another 10km/5km event at the end of January.

Outside Mie

• Tokyo Marathon

If you're interested in trying a full marathon through the streets of Tokyo, give the Tokyo Marathon a crack. Tokyo Marathon It is a hugely popular event with over 300,000 people applying each year for the 30,000ish places on offer. It may be easier for foreigners to obtain entry, though there is no absolute evidence of this. The race is held on the last weekend of February each year, starting at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings, in Shinjuku, and ending at Tokyo Big Sight. The route passes the Imperial Palace, Tokyo Tower, Ginza, Tsukiji Fish Market and Asakusa Kaminarimon Gate, before wrapping up at Tokyo Big Sight. It is an epic event, with tens of thousands of people coming out to support the participants. It is a major event on the international marathon circuit and the event, along with its predecessors (Tokyo International Marathon and Tokyo Internation Women's Marathon), has attracted a number of elite athletes including Mie's own Mizuki Noguchi, Masakazu Fujiwara, Mara Yamaguchi, Rosa Mota, Derartu Tulu, Alevtina Biktimirova, and the legend that is Haile Gebrselassie.

It's an incredibly well organised event on an epic scale and is highly recommended.

Weather conditions over the past few years have been pretty terrible. The 2010 event saw heavy rain, sleet and very cold conditions.