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Official Item
Information on official items
Tokyo Marathon Karuta
NEWS
Purchase Information: Available at the Tokyo Marathon EXPO 2026
- ・Purchase location:
Tokyo Marathon 2026 Official Shop, 1st floor, Tokyo Big Sight South Exhibition Halls -
・Period:
February 26 (Thu.) and 27 (Fri.), 2026: 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. (JST)
(Visitors must enter before 8:30 p.m.)
February 28 (Sat.), 2026: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (JST)
(Visitors must enter before 5:30 p.m.)
- * Available while quantities last.
- * Tokyo Marathon Karuta will not be sold via the online shop for overseas buyers.
- * Details regarding Tokyo Marathon EXPO 2026
https://www.marathon.tokyo/en/expo/
What are "Tokyo Marathon Karuta"?
Tokyo Marathon Karuta is an original "karuta" card game with a Tokyo Marathon theme. It contains 46 cards featuring Tokyo Marathon insights and observations, highlights, and relatable anecdotes submitted by the marathon's numerous runners, volunteers, and marathon fans.
They overflow with love for the Tokyo Marathon and running itself!
The creation of the Tokyo Marathon Karuta
In 2020, due to pandemic, people found themselves with few opportunities to connect with each other. We initiated this project in June of that year out of a desire to connect runners, volunteers, and marathon fans in whatever way we could.
We wanted to share the appeal of the Tokyo Marathon, in which people ran through the ever-changing streets of Tokyo, in physical form. That's the concept that launched the Tokyo Marathon Karuta.
Turning 800 idea submissions into one finished product
In August 2024, we began calling for submissions from the general public for reading cards to be used in the Tokyo Marathon Karuta. We received roughly 800 idea submissions. All of the ideas were wonderful, and some of them were submissions that you'd really have to be a runner to fully appreciate.
Tokyo Marathon Foundation staff members also worked on reading card ideas in workshops, and two of their ideas made it into the finished product.
Voting on favorites at the Tokyo Marathon EXPO 2025!
For the first time ever, we ran a Tokyo Marathon Karuta booth at Tokyo Marathon EXPO 2025, where we sold Tokyo Marathon Karuta and booth visitors voted on favorites.
Spreading love for the Tokyo Marathon through karuta
Tokyo Marathon Karuta is the product of a plethora of different ideas. Not only can people enjoy it as a karuta game, but they can also share the relatable Tokyo Marathon experiences and anecdotes on the cards or find amusing details in the illustrations. There are so many ways to enjoy them.
We would be overjoyed if people used them in a variety of ways to join family members, fellow runners, and volunteers in experiencing, enjoying, and feeling the communal love for the Tokyo Marathon.
Product details
- ・Product name
Tokyo Marathon Karuta - ・Contents
46 reading cards, 46 picture cards, and 2 blank cards - ・Size
Box: 86 mm × 126 mm × 28 mm
Individual cards: 60 mm × 80 mm - ・How to play
In this traditional Japanese card game, one player becomes the reader and the rest are the listeners. The reader reads a reading card, and the listeners race to see who can find and grab the corresponding picture card the fastest. Not only can this game be enjoyed by everyone, from children to adults, but it also makes players more familiar with the language and culture of Japan. - ・How to buy
The Tokyo Marathon Karuta are not available via the online shop for overseas buyers. People outside Japan who would like to buy the Tokyo Marathon Karuta should do so from the shop in Japan. For the latest information on buying these karuta, please see the NEWS page.
