Participating via  the Tokyo Marathon Charity Entry is a fantastic way to contribute to a worthy cause while securing a spot in this iconic race. Here’s how the charity donation process works:

Charity Selection:

• The Tokyo Marathon partners with various charities each year. These charities have a set number of bibs allocated for runners who wish to participate through fundraising.
• View the list of partner charities here. Each charity will have information about their mission, the number of available bibs, and the required minimum donation amount and their selection process.

Application and Bidding:

• Once you’ve chosen a charity, you need to submit an application through their provided link on the Tokyo Marathon RUN with HEART page.
• Bidding amounts can vary, and some charities may have a competitive bidding process due to limited bibs and high demand. It’s important to bid an amount that reflects your commitment and ability to contribute as payment in full will be due within a few weeks of selection.
• Note: Unlike other marathon charities, there is no fundraising window. Selected applicants must pay the donation in full generally within two weeks of selection (see current year’s timeline below) or forfeit their charity entry. If you feel that you would not be able to pay the donation amount upfront, you may want to choose an alternate entry path.

Confirmation and Payment:

• If your bid or application is successful, you will receive a confirmation email from the charity. This email will include details on how to complete your donation.
• Complete your donation within the specified timeframe. Failure to do so will result in losing your guaranteed entry.

Securing Your Marathon Entry:

• Once your donation and participation fee payments are fulfilled, you are officially registered.

Field Size: 5,000

The Tokyo Marathon Semi-Elite Entry is a special selection process for marathon runners who have met specific qualifying times in a World Athletics Label Road Race within the qualification window, giving them a chance at a guaranteed entry into the Tokyo Marathon.

Eligibility and Qualifying Times

To qualify, male runners must complete a marathon in under 2:28 minutes, while female runners must finish in under 3:09 minutes. These times must be achieved in World Athletics Label Road Races within a designated period of July 2022 to June 2024. Only gun (gross) times are accepted, and applicants must provide an official finisher’s certificate as proof.

Application Process

Interested runners apply via the RUN as ONE website during the specified application period (see Entry Timeline). There are 25 spots each for men and women for overseas runners and 115 spots each for Japan resident men and women. If applications exceed the available spots, the fastest runners are selected. This means that meeting the qualifying time does not guarantee entry but makes one eligible for selection.  Unsuccessful applicants who are Premium/Global members are automatically entered into the Premium/Global Lottery. If unsuccessful  and they qualify for the ONE TOKYO 3 Consecutive Member Challenge, they are automatically entered into General Lottery 1.  If unsuccessful and they are Tokyo residents, they are automatically entered into General Lottery 2.  If unsuccessful, they are automatically entered into General Lottery 3 (see General Lottery entry path for details).

Field Size: 280 (230 Japan residents, 50 overseas)

The ONE TOKYO Premium/Global Member Entry is an exclusive prioritized lottery for ONE TOKYO Premium/Global members.  ONE TOKYO was founded in 2011 as Tokyo Marathon Foundations’s offical running club for Japanese runners.  It is Japan’s largest running community with three membership tiers: Club, Premium and Supporting.  ONE TOKYO GLOBAL launched July 1, 2024 as the overseas counterpart to ONE TOKYO Premium.

Club Members apply in the General Lottery and begine selection in General Lottery 1 (see General Lottery for details) and Supporting Members are selected for the marathon outside of the general entry paths as part of their exclusive membership. Premium and Global Members, however, have access to an exclusive lottery entry prior to the General Lottery.

Field Size: 3,000 (Premium/Global combined)

Note: Premium Member membership costs ¥5,500/year and currently has ~20,000 members. If you’re a ONE TOKYO Club member and 19 years old or older and interested in upgrading, you can apply for Premium Member status through the ONE TOKYO Premium Member page and enjoy a preferential marathon entry path.

ONE TOKYO Global

Membership Period: July 1 – March 31

2024 Sign-up Period: 2024 July 1 – December 31

Subsequent Years Sign-Up Period: April 1 – December 31

Membership Requirements: Individuals residing outside of Japan, age 19+, who can communicate in English

Cost:  ¥30,000/year

The Tokyo Marathon since becoming a world major marathon now attracts tens of thousands of applicants from around the world each year. To manage the high demand for entries, the Tokyo Marathon conducts a General Lottery. Due to the high demand for entries, the overall acceptance rate is quite low (less than 2%).

The General Lottery is broken down into three lotteries:

General Lottery 1

Field Size: 3,800

Lottery drawing for:

• ONE TOKYO members who qualify for the ONE TOKYO Three Consecutive Races Unsuccessful Member Challenge* (including those unsuccessful in the Premium/Global lottery)

*Challenge lottery for ONE TOKYO members who have had three consecutive unsuccessful attempts (2021, 2023, 2024) as a ONE TOKYO member.

General Lottery 2

Field Size: 1,000

Lottery drawing for Tokyo residents:

• General Lottery applicants who do not meet the requirements for General Lottery 1 and are Tokyo residents who entered via the domestic website
• Those unsuccessful in  General Lottery 1 who are Tokyo residents

General Lottery 3

Lottery drawing for:

• General Lottery applicants who do not meet the requirements for General Lottery 1 or 2
• Unsuccessful applicants from General Lottery 1 and/or 2
• Unsuccessful Semi-Elite Athletes and Premium/Global members who did not meet the requirements for General Lottery 1 or 2

Unfortunately, due to the limited number of slots available, the majority of lottery applicants will not be selected. However, unsuccessful applicants can still explore other options for entry, such as tour packages or the  AbbottWMM Tokyo Race Draw (see AbbottWMM Tokyo Race Draw Entry Option for more details), which offer guaranteed spots in the marathon.

Field Size: ~24,000 (approx. based on 2024 lottery size)

The Tokyo Marathon “RUN as ONE” Virtual Challenges offer runners a chance to earn guaranteed entry into the Tokyo Marathon through a lottery. Here are the key aspects:

Registration and Fees

Runners must register a few weeks before the challenge and pay an entry fee of ¥1,500.

Event Types

The challenges primarily feature half marathons that can be completed in one or more activities over eight days. Other virtual events, such as the Tokyo Marathon’s virtual marathon (pair and individual categories), have also been included with corresponding lotteries.

Participation

Runners worldwide can join these challenges by syncing their tracking device (e.g., watch) to the ASICS Runkeeper app, and completing the designated distance within the event’s timeframe.

Entry Selection for Tokyo Marathon

Completing the RUN as ONE Virtual Challenges gives runners entry into a lottery for 50 guaranteed marathon spots per challenge (100 spots for the marathon pair challenge).  Selection is done a few weeks after the challenge ends, selection results posted to the website and winners notified via email.

RUN as ONE – GLOBAL Virtual Run Series 2023/2024

There are no more scheduled virtual challenges for a guaranteed 2025 Tokyo Marathon entry.   

1st: Jul. 15 (Sat) until 5 p.m. on Jul. 23 (Sun), 2023 (JST)

2nd: September 2 (Sat) -September 10, 2023 (Sun)（JST）
3rd: November 4 (Sat) -November 12, 2023 (Sun) （JST）
4th: December 9 (Sat) -December 17, 2023 (Sun) （JST）
5th: January 27 (Sat) -February 4, 2024 (Sun)（JST）
6th: April 6 (Sat) -April 14, 2024 (Sun)（JST）
7th: May 11 (Sat) -May 19, 2024 (Sun)（JST）
Final: June 8 (Sat) -June 16, 2024 (Sun)（JST）

Official Tour Operators

(for those needing a guaranteed race entry)

• See the Tokyo Marathon website for the list of official tour operators by country.

Hotel & Tour Only Tour Operators

(for those who only need a hotel and tour package)

• Triumph Sports Travel

If you already have a guaranteed entry through the lottery or charity, Triumph Sports Travel, a boutique sports travel company, is offering several packages for Tokyo 2025 including a la carte extension packages to Mt. Fuji and Kyoto. Packages are limited and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

AbbottWMM Tokyo Race Draw is a draw for an extra chance to secure one of 300 guaranteed Tokyo Marathon entries.  The draw is only open to those runners who:

• are registered users of AbbottWMM
• have not yet earned their first Six Star medal
• have not yet run Tokyo
• have 4 or 5 stars at the time of the draw
• have registered for the Tokyo draw during the registration window.

The draw entry date range is:

Oct 29-Nov 12, 2024

with the draw occuring on

November 13, 2024.

The ONE TOKYO Premium Virtual Run Series for the 2025 Tokyo Marathon has concluded. See Tokyo 2026 for information on the upcoming series for chances at guaranteed entry into the 2026 Tokyo Marathon.

The TEAM ONE TOKYO Challenge for the 2025 Tokyo Marathon has concluded. See Tokyo 2026 for information on the upcoming series for chances at guaranteed entry into the 2026 Tokyo Marathon.