44th Ibusuki Nanohana Marathon 2027

The 44th Ibusuki Nanohana Marathon takes place in Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture on Sunday, 10 January 2027. The headline event is a JAAF-certified 42.195 km marathon with 10,000 places, alongside a 12.05 km Fun Running event capped at 1,000 participants. The marathon starts at 09:00 JST in front of Fureai Plaza Nanohana-kan. The route travels through the southern Satsuma Peninsula around Lake Ikeda and Mount Kaimon, with Ibusuki's winter nanohana, or rapeseed flowers, forming a distinctive race backdrop.

The marathon has an eight-hour overall limit. Published 2027 checkpoints require runners to reach 29 km by 15:00 and 35 km by 16:00. Road restrictions are lifted at 16:00, after which remaining participants continue on the footpath under organiser instructions. The organiser lists 15 drink points from around the 6 km mark at roughly 2.5 km intervals. Athlete bibs are mailed in advance, so there is no conventional pre-race bib collection. Baggage areas are provided in the gymnasium and Sun City Hall, with an additional paid baggage service at the athletics stadium and free valuables storage in Ibusuki General Gymnasium.

Online entry opened on 1 August 2026 and is scheduled to close on 18 October, subject to capacity. Marathon entry is JPY 11,000 and the 12.05 km Fun Running event is JPY 6,000. Participants receive the event T-shirt plus post-race local food including udon or soba, rice balls, zenzai and steamed sweet potato. Marathon awards cover age categories through sixth place, with additional long-distance, overseas, longevity and spot prizes. The 2027 programme also introduces a team competition.