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Aug 01 NYC Marathon Lottery Odds: 1 in 100 and Falling Aug 01 Marathon Ballot Dates: Every Major Window Aug 01 Does the Boston Marathon Have a Ballot? Aug 01 How to Apply for the Tokyo Marathon Ballot Jul 31 What Is the Easiest Marathon Major to Get Into? Jul 30 London Marathon Ballot Odds: The Real Math Behind 1.3% Jul 29 Tokyo Marathon 2027 Lottery Opens August 14 Jul 29 Tokyo Marathon Ballot Odds: 20 Years of Numbers Jul 29 Tokyo Marathon Entry Fee 2027: What It Costs Jul 29 Tokyo Marathon Qualifying Times: 2:22 and 2:50
[ Wire ] · Dispatch · Aug 01

How to Apply for the Tokyo Marathon Ballot

The Tokyo Marathon 2027 general entry ballot opens at 11:00 a.m. JST on Friday, August 14, 2026 and closes at 5:00 p.m. JST on Friday, August 28, 2026. Applications are submitted through the Tokyo Marathon Foundation's My Entry system, nothing is charged when you apply, and the entry fee of JPY 19,800 for runners in Japan or USD 230 for overseas runners is collected only if you are drawn. Results are announced on September 18, 2026, and the race is Sunday, March 7, 2027.

When does the Tokyo Marathon ballot open in my timezone?

The published times are JST, which trips up most of the people applying. Converted:

  • New York and Toronto: opens 10:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, August 13, closes 4:00 a.m. ET on Friday, August 28
  • London: opens 3:00 a.m. BST on Friday, August 14, closes 9:00 a.m. BST on Friday, August 28
  • Sydney: opens 12:00 noon AEST on Friday, August 14, closes 6:00 p.m. AEST on Friday, August 28

For runners in North America the window effectively opens the night before the date on the official page, and it shuts before most of them wake up on the final day. Treat August 27 as your deadline, not August 28.

What do you need to apply?

Two eligibility rules, both firm. You must be 19 years of age or older on race day, meaning born on or before March 7, 2008, and you must be capable of completing the marathon within 6 hours 30 minutes. The wheelchair division carries its own 2 hour 30 minute standard. There is no qualifying time and no membership requirement for general entry, which is what makes it the route roughly 300,000 people take every year.

How much does the Tokyo Marathon ballot cost to enter?

Nothing to apply. If you are selected, the entry fee is JPY 19,800 for domestic runners and USD 230 for overseas runners, with an optional baggage service at JPY 1,200. Unlike London, Tokyo does not take money from unsuccessful applicants, so there is no financial reason to skip a year.

Does applying on day one improve your odds?

No. General entry is a random draw, not first come first served, so an application filed at 11:01 a.m. on August 14 and one filed at 4:59 p.m. on August 28 carry identical odds. The Tokyo Marathon ballot accepts roughly 10% of general applicants per the Foundation's published rate, and the full year by year record sits on that page. What early application does buy is protection against forgetting, which is the failure mode that actually removes people from the draw.

What happens after you apply?

Results are announced through My Entry on September 18, 2026. Selected runners then have a payment window that opens 11:00 a.m. JST on September 18 and closes 5:00 p.m. JST on September 30, 2026. Miss it and the place is forfeited. This is the single most avoidable way to lose a Tokyo bib, and it catches overseas runners whose card declines an international charge more often than it catches anyone who simply forgot.

What if you miss the August 28 close?

Every other 2027 route is already gone. The Donation and Charity Runner window closed July 9, 2026, and both the Semi-Elite RUN as ONE route and the ONE TOKYO GLOBAL member route closed August 13, 2026. Missing general entry means waiting for the 2028 cycle, which is a twelve month penalty on a race that already takes most applicants several attempts. The ballot simulator shows how those attempts compound, and Tokyo Marathon ballot odds covers what the 10% figure hides. A full comparison of the four routes is in how to enter the Tokyo Marathon.

Free alerts cover the Tokyo window from both ends, one when it opens and one before it closes, which is the cheapest insurance against a calendar mistake.

Sources: Tokyo Marathon Foundation: Entry Schedule, Tokyo Marathon Foundation: Entry Information

Sources Tokyo Marathon Foundation Application window, results notification and payment period from marathon.tokyo/en/participants; eligibility, entry fees and time limit from marathon.tokyo/en/participants/guideline (both accessed August 1, 2026). Timezone conversions calculated from the published JST times.