Friday, 16 January 2009

A Run with Rivers Through It


The course in question is along the Zenpukuji and the Kanda rivers, both of which have had joggers running next to them for quite a while. I packed a small bag which included a towel and change of clothes and headed to Kichijoji station (JR Chuo Line) on a gorgeous December 19, 2008. There is a link to some of the photos I took as well as one here for you to get an idea. At the station I found a coin locker and left my bag there. The key to the locker was clunky and I ended up running with it in my hand the whole course.

I boarded the Kanto bus 吉80 (for Ome Kaido Eigyosho) leaving from bus stop number 1 from the North exit of Kichijoji station. I asked the driver to let me off at the closest stop to Zenpukuji park, and that stop is called Tokyo Joshidai Mae. That is approximately the 7th bus stop. If you miss your stop, it’s no worry. You need to walk north and you will bump into either the park or the Zenpukuji River. From Tokyo Joshidai Mae stop, walk to the next intersection in the same direction that the bus was travelling and turn left. Walk the length of the college wall on your left and as the road curves to your left at the back, you can see the park across the street and down a small hill. The park and pond are to your left and worth a look before you begin your journey.

The park will quickly give way to a concrete embanked river with paths on either side. There will be one place about 1 kilometer downstream where a public school will block access to the road immediately next to the river and you will have to detour. That happens only once, and beyond that point until you hit construction that is taking place at the bottom of the Zenpukuji River Park, there will be no obstacles—but plenty of road crossings. I found this upper section a little bleak but within a couple of kilometers you come upon the great park that provides shade and a good running surface for several kilometers. This was the highlight of the run in terms of the running environment. Once beyond the park there was construction along the river in 2 locations, the second of which required a major detour and I was completely separated from the river in a concrete canyon of old apartment buildings. I only got back on track because a runner passed me there and I fell in at her pace and followed until the river appeared again. This is not a great section of run, particularly if you cross Kannana dori and insist on seeing where the mighty Zenpukuji flows into the mighty Kanda River (I have a picture of it in the slide show to dissuade any images of romance in your mind). I would instead direct you to turn right when you reach Kannana (which means “number 7 ring road,” by the way), and stay on this road until you come to the Kanda river and then turn right again and head upstream.

The Kanda river path lacks the beauty of the park section that the Zenpukuji has, but the path is in good shape and importantly, I ran a 5 kilometer stretch of it without stopping (luck played a hand at one crossing). The Kanda River therefore might offer more for the runner than the jogger. It also has a section marking distance on the fence. This is on the right bank as you run upstream. I recommend staying to the right as much as possible because near the end of the run, the left side road will get cut off from the river and it is tricky to get back to the river path. In my case, I did not get back until the entrance of Inokashira Park. This is another big park with a great reputation. It has a museum in it devoted to Gibili studios, that brought you Tottoro, etc. The neighborhood is great between the park and Kichijoji station with lots of fun shops and restaurants that cater to the park visitors. It’s a busy place that has a lot going for it except for the one thing I wanted after 20+ kilos of running – a public bath to take a shower.

The downside of copying this run to the letter is that there is no bath that is convenient to Kichijoji station, not near the Inokashira Koen nor the Zenpukuji Koen. The reason I picked Kichijoji as my train station was because it sits next to Inokashira Koen where I determined that I would complete my run.

I suggest as an alternative to exit the JR Chuo line at Ogikubo station and find a coin locker for your gear and take the Kanto bus(南善福寺 荻36: South Zenpukuji Ogikubo route 36) directly to Zenpukuji Park.

This is because there is a sento (public bath) right beside the station. It is just to the left of the West exit and is called Yutopia, Nagomi no Yu (Tel 03-3398-4126). This way when you finish at Inokashira Park, you can board the train at Kichijoji and travel 2 stops to Ogikubo and pick up your gear from the coin locker and then visit the sento.
A Run with Rivers Through It


Whichever direction you decide to run, the course along both rivers is virtually flat and paths well maintained. Toilets are plentiful at the big parks and I did not go more than a 2 kilometer stretch without coming across one. There are drinking fountains in the parks as well, and the usual vending machines if you need a sports drink. Importantly, although you are running along the river and for a couple of sections you have some nature with you, you are literally a couple of steps away from the convenience and helpful infrastructure of the largest metropolis in the world. Running these courses I only take my camera and a couple of thousand yen. If I need a drink I either find a fountain or buy water as opposed to carrying it. I.D. is good to have in case you are running alone and lose consciousness. That is more of a summer worry though.

Tuesday, 13 January 2009

Tokyo Marathon 2009

Tokyo Marathon 2009
The Tokyo Marathon, generally considered to be a real success here, will be run on March 22 this year, pushed back a month from the previous two that were run in the 3rd week of February. The big race has been well received by Tokyo’s residents. Japan is an avid running nation and it hosts a number of races at the beginning of the year. From Jan 1 and 2, you only need to turn on the T.V. in the morning and it will be showing a road race that started an hour or so before you woke up.

You can tell the marathon is getting closer by the large number of joggers in the morning and evenings these days. Most participants of the marathon that will run the race for the first time prefer to run sections of the course prior to the race. I did as well, and I recommend it to everyone that has the opportunity to participate. As a place for jogging however, it does not rank in my top 20 places to run in Tokyo. First of all, the marathon’s course uses some of the largest boulevards in the city, which is great on race day when the traffic is closed, but a tough course on a regular day with ample road traffic, plenty of stop lights (that you dare not ignore), and constant stepping up and off of curbs.

Additionally, you need to avoid Shinjuku and Ginza in the afternoons and evenings because of the pedestrian crowds. Running sections at night, like I did for my final 35k training run, was a real adventure trying to stay on course when it is unmarked.

Back in 2006, the longest I had ever run was 10K. I was always entering the various charity runs around the Imperial Palace so a friend at work assumed I was a real athlete and told me about the new marathon. He showed me how to enter, which I did, half hoping I would not be picked. Well, I did get picked and I had to figure out how to run it. My participation in the race created a lot of interest at work and among friends, which unnerved me a bit. Despite the atrocious weather, the 2007 Tokyo Marathon was a tremendous experience and I was lucky to repeat it in 2008 and my friends and co-workers are amazed that again I have a number for the 2009 race.

Everyone calls it reverse discrimination and they believe that the race committee is trying to get as many foreign faces as possible to enhance the international look. If that is the case, I am certainly not complaining. If you are in the race this year, I am sure you know the official site, but I have provided a link today for those of you that do not know it but may have an interest in trying to get in next year (click this blog entry title). You can get a number of maps of the course, as well as a speeded up ride over the course to give you an idea of what it is like in the lead of the race.

Wednesday, 7 January 2009

While on the Subject of Running in the Dark

Is it a toad, the carcass of a rat, or something else I don’t want to step in? As my concentration is now on the dark pile a few meters ahead, other thoughts are set aside until I get by another leaf. Yes, like the black discarded cord that might be a snake, the various things I find in my path in the evening or early morning are all more scary when they are indistinct shapes and monochrome in the dim street light with little to protect me from the squashed toad or the pile of dog poo. It would be nice to think that in Tokyo, none of these worries apply, but in my neighborhood, I encounter as many toads or lizards as I do pet detritus (maybe once a week from Spring to Fall), which is to say that Tokyo is quite pristine. One reason is that the upkeep of the road is considered by society as the responsibility of the community living in front of it, and most communities are still capable of fulfilling it with pride.

If you happen to be running in central Roppongi, Shinjuku or Ikebukuro, you are probably having a laugh. But the laugh is unfortunately on you if you are not making a small 100 meter detour to avoid the heavily traveled thoroughfares and choose the tidy little streets that provide every runner here a haven and a short cut.

Let me introduce you to perhaps the most popular running location in the world--Tokyo's Imperial Palace. You will be hard put to discover any litter, let alone rats or pet droppings on your run. It is super-safe, well lit, and a continuous 5 kilometer loop--not a single traffic light. The grounds in front of the palace are covered in grass with beautiful black pines and the office buildings of Hibiya, Marunouchi, and Otemachi add interest to the frame with their patterns of lit offices. The moat, especially as you run down the slope beyond Hanzomon, is almost romantic. You can reach it via Hibiya or Nijubashimae or Otemachi Stations on the Chiyoda or Mita lines, Takebashi Station on the Tozai line, Hanzomon Station on the Hanzomon line or perhaps easiest, Sakuradamon Station on the Yurakucho line. There are numerous entries for this route on mapmyrun.com. I picked out one for you to visit, just click on the title to follow the link.

Is there anything not to like about this run? The route is not flat, so beginners be warned. The roads around the palace are very large and usually busy so the air is not great. This is a very popular place for clubs and charities to hold running events. The route is never closed to the public regardless of the event, but the course can be practically unavailable if there are a 1,000 runners competing with you for space on the sidewalk.

Tuesday, 6 January 2009

The Night is Young - Especially in Tokyo


Its 5:05 pm with the winter solstice just passed and it is ink black outside my office windows which are 15 floors up with a view of Mt Fuji to the West—before 16:43 that is (when the sun set today). This town is great for people that love the night life because they can start early and it lasts pretty much as long as they want. But the flip side is that this is a tremendous city for morning people. For folks that like to start their day early, the sun rises in Tokyo between 4:25 at the summer solstice and 6:47 at its worst on Dec 21. The fact that there is no daylight savings time change makes the difference seem exaggerated in comparison to the U.K. or U.S.

Think about it. At 6:30 in the morning in Winter you already have light here in the darkest days which is great for those of us that run in the morning. And in May and June, just leave your curtains open to let the sun act as a natural alarm clock.

Morning or night, if it is dark, your biggest concern should be reflective clothing to avoid Japan’s statistically high incidence of pedestrian casualties due to auto accidents. Otherwise, another important reason for great running in Tokyo is the relative safety of the environment, particularly if you are running in a neighborhood with lots of people around you. If you are running at around six in the morning, keep your ears tuned for the sound of temple bells being rung. I am usually able to hear bells from Yutenji or Meguro Fudosan. This morning was beautiful by the way. At 5am we had stars and a very mild 8.6 C temperature. By 6am the sky was pink with a bit of baby blue and scattering of small puffy clouds.

Monday, 5 January 2009

A Great Route to Try for the New Year

For the first day in many we can expect a little rain today. It has been several days of tolerably warm weather, ranging between 5 and 10 degrees centigrade over the holiday period and providing some fantastic running weather for this time of year. I couldn't ask for better.
BVATokyo/HachimanyamaStToNakameguroSt


The first route I want to introduce to you is one of the best I know around here (but be assured I will continue to find great runs in Tokyo as I continue to explore). The picture at the top of this blog is from this course.

I need to point out an important advantage for runners in Tokyo. You don't need to confine your running to the immediate vicinity of where you live. Certainly it is quicker to get your workout started as soon as you step out the door, but I believe you will really enjoy getting on the train or bus and make your workout part of learning more about the town. There is a huge advantage to exploring Tokyo on foot--there are still plenty of tiny roads unpassable by car, and running you will think you are travelling great distances (sometimes appearing to travel from the past to the future even) as your landscape transforms from a green park to a small neighborhood to a bustling market near a train station.

This route is great because it is for much of it a pedestrian-only path. It is built over a creek that eventually ends up as the Meguro River and is essentially flat the entire course. One section immediately upstream of Kannana Dori (Route 318) is now under construction until end of March 2009, so you will need to find a parellel road for about a half of a kilometer or so. If you are used to running distance the detour is definately worth reaching the other side no matter which direction you travel.

You can do this route in one direction or just simply retrace your steps to double the distance. For those that want to shorten it, the best section (top 5 places I would choose to run in all of Tokyo) is between Kannana Dori (Route 318) and Ikejiri Ohashi. You can run upstream (when the path splits, keep to the right for the best experience) from Ikejiri Ohashi station on the Tokyu Den en toshi line and then return.


Sunday, 4 January 2009

Tokyo Jog Blog


This blog is for runners that live or visit Tokyo. What makes a blog about running in Tokyo worth writing is that Tokyo is a great place to run. I am not going to list all of the reasons why I think so now. I hope you will be able to see for yourself through the routes I introduce here and their descriptions that this city is exceptionally nice for running compared to its peers.

With over 24 million kilometers of roads in a space of 2187 sq. kilometers (Tokyo Statistical Yearbook 2006), there is plenty to talk about. One interesting phenomenon is only a few kilometers will bring you to a completely different kind of neighborhood--from gleaming skyscrapers to tree-lined residences to busy shopping and fashion districts with plenty of small industrial areas in the mix.

In mapmyrun.com, there are already some 416 routes mapped for Tokyo. I recommend you explore there. In this blog I will introduce you to some of my favorites as well as provide opinions on areas that I think will be helpful for you to know before you try them.

-BVA