Kasumigaura Marathon

The Kasumigaura Marathon is one of Japan's largest citizens' marathons, held every April in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, on the shores of Lake Kasumigaura, the country's second-largest lake. First run in 1991 (growing out of the Tsuchiura Road Race), it drew crowds among Japan's top three citizen marathons by participation, alongside Tokyo and Naha, before the field was capped. The race starts and finishes at Kawaguchi Sports Park (J:COM Field Tsuchiura), a five-minute walk from JR Tsuchiura Station, and loops past the Coca-Cola East Japan Ibaraki factory and lakeside communities before returning along the shore. The course is largely flat, with only a modest 20-meter rise and fall in the back half. The event is co-staged as the International Blind Marathon, with dedicated divisions for visually impaired runners (B1-B3) and IPC-registered para-athletes (T11-T13), and a portion of every entry fee funds water-purification and guide-dog-training charities. The 2026 edition (the 36th) took place on April 19, 2026, offering a full marathon (42.195 km), a 10-mile run, and a 5 km run, with combined capacity for about 20,000 finishers; entries for that edition closed on January 25, 2026. Hitachi Construction Machinery sponsors the race. The event has been cancelled twice in its history: in 2011 after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and in 2020-2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The organizing committee had not yet announced a date for the next edition as of this listing; the race typically returns in mid-April.