During the past week, by far the most popular post has been this one on the Tokyo Marathon. Maybe the weather was such that the usual number of pictures weren’t taken and people are looking for more? I have a few dozen decent shots that I’ll upload in the near future.

The one above is of the promotional poster for the 2010 Tokyo Marathon that was plastered all over the Tokyo Metro stations in the weeks leading up to the race.

The sign in the above photo asks road users to slow down. Of course it’s intended for the drivers normally on the street and not the runners. It’s kind of funny right next to the GO! GO! GO! sign.

This pack of runners must have had a celebrity in their midst, or maybe the female runner who was in the lead at the time, as there were two camera vehicles in front of them.

Iidabashi 飯田橋

The runners are coming down Sotobori Street (外堀通り) and are turning right onto Mejiro Street (目白通り).

One advantage of being 6’4″ in Japan is you can take photographs like the above.

Posted on March 6th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: people, rain, signs, Tokyo, tokyo marathon. Comments Off on Tokyo Marathon 2010 pictures

The day was cold. The day was wet. But it is difficult to pass up a marathon running through town even in the most adverse conditions. So I got on the Tokyo Metro for a couple of stops to arrive at Iidabashi (飯田橋) to view the race.

I got a position in the front row right next to a curve. I figured it would be a great spot to take pictures as I thought runners would be coming from my right before turning the corner. Unfortunately, my sense of direction got reversed by coming out a station exit I was unfamiliar with and runners actually came from my left which meant I couldn’t see them until a split second before they were past me.

The male winner was a Japanese man, Fujiwara Masakazu (藤原正和), for the first time in the Tokyo Marathon’s short, 4-year history.

Once I could no longer feel my feet (I stepped in a deep puddle early on) or hands (I had an umbrella in one hand and my camera in the other) I decided it was time to go home where I watched the last hours of the race on TV.

Posted on February 28th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: people, rain, Tokyo, tokyo marathon, video. Comments: 1