MINATO City Half Marathon 2026

MINATO City Half Marathon 2026 marks the 80th anniversary of Minato City administration with a central Tokyo road race built around one of the capital's most recognisable finishes. The certified 21.0975 km half marathon starts near Minato City Shiba Park and runs through the ward's mix of historic temple precincts, business districts and broad city avenues before the final approach to Tokyo Tower. The course uses major roads including Hibiya-dori, Daiichi-Keihin, Sakurada-dori and Sotobori-dori, and the race is conducted under the 2026 World Athletics and Japan Association of Athletics Federations rules.

The half marathon starts at 08:40 JST using four corrals released at three-minute intervals. Its 5,000-place field has a 2 hour 30 minute limit measured from the final wave. Five published control gates progressively close the course at 5.1 km, 7.4 km, 13.1 km, 17.4 km and 20.0 km. Seven first-aid stations are scheduled between the start and finish, alongside water support and a rest station used twice on the route. The final approach to Tokyo Tower is a distinctive feature of the race and includes a notable climb after the flatter city-road sections.

The wider programme also includes a roughly 3.6 km Youth Run at 08:30 and an approximately 800 m Fun Run at 09:10. The Youth Run shares the Tokyo Tower finish, while the Fun Run finishes back inside Tokyo Metropolitan Shiba Park. Those two distances are not force-mapped in ARC because the current distance reference set has no exact 3.6 km or 0.8 km option.

General half-marathon entry was handled by lottery, with priority for Minato City residents. Applications ran from 1 to 13 July 2026, lottery results were announced on 3 August and selected runners had to complete payment by 17 August. Confirmed participants receive their athlete bib and timing chip by post in early November, so there is no conventional race-day registration or bib collection. Runners are asked to arrive with their issued bib and use public transport, as the organiser provides no participant car or bicycle parking at the start area. Finishers within the time limit can download an official certificate containing their recorded time and 5 km splits.