For ALTs: The quick and easy guide to signing up for Marathon’s and other races in Gunma and Japan
Any ALT, or non-ALT foreigner in Japan should try to enter at least one race.
With many opportunities to run distances from 3k to a full marathon in Japan,
it’s foolish to not enter at least one race. But how do you do it? After reading this,
you should be able to register for practically any Japanese race through runnet.jp
What’s runnet.jp?
Runnet.jp is a running megasite. It’s the Japanese arm of runnersworld.com,
possibly the most popular running magazine in the world. Aside from many
other features, runnet.jp has a database of all the major races in Japan. In
addition, it allows you to register for these races lightning fast.
Why runnet.jp?
From what I’ve seen so far, runnet.jp is the fastest and simplest way to
register for races in Japan. If all you want to do is run the Tokyo City
Marathon, then you probably don’t need this. However, there are many
cool marathons going on in Gunma that you can participate in very soon.
So why not sign up?
How do I sign up?
I’ll break this down into three steps.
Step 1 - Signing up with runnet.jp
Step 2 - Looking up races with runnet.jp
Step 3 - Paying for races with runnet.jp
I highly reccommend that you use Mozilla Firefox (http://www.firefox.com), and
Rikaichan (http://rikaichan.mozdev.org/) with runnet.jp.
STEP 1: REGISTERING WITH RUNNET.JP
Go to https://runnet.jp/member/regist/index.html
Scroll down and click on the big red button.
Next, you should be on this screen. This is just the legal information
screen (terms of use, etc.) Click the right radio button, and then
scroll down and click the big red button.
Next, enter your computer e-mail twice, and click the red button.
You’ll get a confirmation screen. Click the red button again.
You should see a screen that says that they got your e-mail, and
they will send you a confirmation e-mail in 30 minutes.
So… Check you e-mail! You should get an e-mail from “new”, with
the text title “RUNNET” and a lot of Japanese kanji!
Follow the link, and you should be at the registration screen!
The first bar is where you put your user ID (btw. 2 - 10 characters)
Second bar is where you put your password (btw. 6- 10 characters)
(pick something new, as it shows your password.)
Scroll down, and you get to the more difficult part
The first bar is a nickname. Something simple, up to 12 characters (so one word
is preferrable).
The second bar is more difficult. You have to put your name in Japanese (try to
put it in English, and get greeted by a wonderful error screen). To achieve this,
in Internet Explorer, get Japanese Language Support, and pick Japanese when
your in the bar. Since you don’t have a name in Kanji, select Full-width Katakana.
Then type your name as it appears on your alien registration card. Copy what
you typed in into the name field below.
Next bar is birthdate.
Next bar is gender. Left option is man, Right is woman.
Next is your postal code.
Next is your prefecture (10th option).
Next is your city/ku and town or village. (Switch to hiragana for this.)
Next is your ban-chi. It’s right after your address on your alien card. Usually it’s
a couple of numbers, or three numbers, then the 番 character, and another number.
Just insert the numbers and then a dash where the kanji is, and continue with the
last number(s).
Next is your apartment/mansion name and number.
Last is your name. Use katakana just to play it safe.
Next is your home telephone.
Skip the next 5 (only useful if you’re in a track and field club).
The next option is how you want to recieve any mail from RUNNET. The current option is fine.
The next field is if you want to subscribe to anything. I would suggest you only
pick something you really want, because they will e-mail you a lot!
The next field will send you a user ID and password reminder. Keep it as it is.
Now that we’re done with the really difficult part. Click next and move on.
NOTE: runnet.jp is kinda wonky, and even if you do everything right, you might get
an error message. Just double check everything, and try again. If it still doesn’t
work, leave a comment.
If all is well, you will get a confirmation e-mail with your user ID and password.
Now, you can lookup and register for races!
STEP 2: LOOKING UP RACES
First, go to the main page (http://www.runnet.jp), and login!
On the main page, there is a search bar for races. Let’s look for races in April.
Select the month in the first pull down, and Gunma-ken in the second pull down,
and click search (you don’t need a specific race name).
Here, we can see only one race in Gunma-ken in April registered with runnet.jp.
This race is pretty popular, though. The Maebashi City Marathon! Let’s click on it!
April, 25, 2010.
The next page shows the entry date, etc. Click on the blue button that says エントリー.
Scroll down on the next screen to enter. Here, you can see the limits, etc.
Apparently if your a woman who wanted to enter the race, or over 35 years old, it’s too late.
This seems like nonsense to me, and can probably be alleviated through more complicated
means (calling up the organizers). But, the top option, Men ages 19-35 looks good! Let’s
click on the smaller entry button, and get to the next fun part!
STEP 3: PAYING FOR RACES
Runnet.jp makes paying for races very easy. You can go to a 7-11, FamilyMart,
LAWSON’S, etc. to pay for your race ticket. Here’s how you do it!
(This step follows directly after the step before (clicking the entry button for your
age group in the race of your choice))
I: Specific Details
I’ll be participating in the Maebashi City Marathon, so let’s use me as a guinea pig!
After clicking on the entry screen, you’ll see some confirmation stuff. Just scroll down.
The first box is confirming that if you want a refund, you’ll have to pay a handling fee.
If you belong to a running club, you can fill in the next option.
The next option asks for the phone number of your place of employment, or school.
Since it’s not necessary and none of their business, you can leave that blank as well.
The next option is necessary, and asks you your means of transport. The top option
is public transportation. The middle option is by your own car. The last option is other
means (magic carpet, teleportation, friend giving you a ride?, etc.)
The next option is for people with vision problems. If you have a seeing-eye partner,
put their name there… I get the feeling different races have different options, so make
sure you’re using rikaichan.
The last option is T-Shirt size. This is important! Good running shirts are overpriced
(especially in already overpriced Japan). Most races give you a good running shirt
that would cost 50-60% the price of entry at the cheapest.
The last option is another confirmation/legal screen. Just click the left button and click
the big blue button on the right to continue!
II: Method of Payment
Scroll down again to get to payment options. If you have a Japanese credit card, use it!
Actually, foreign credit cards might work. I haven’t tried it, though. Can someone confirm
this.
The other options are using convinience stores to purchase your tickets. Since the
surcharge is the same, I’m going this route. I’m going to select 7-Eleven. So, I’ll click the
button there, and move on to the next step.
III: Explanation of how to pay
No need for a screen here. It’s just saying that you’re going to get a long, convoluted
number in your e-mail. You’ll use this number to purchase your individualized ticket.
IV: Confirmation
Just a confirmation page, and a last chance to change any details. You’ll also get a point.
Not sure how much they’re worth. Hopefully not 1 yen a piece.
Click on the blue button, and you’ll get a confirmation popup. Just click the OK option to
move on.
V: Your special number!
You’ll get a really long number! Write it down, or access it at the convinience store with
your cell phone (through your confirmation e-mail)!
You can put the number in a ticket machine, or just walk up to the clerk and give them your number. You can also say this below if you run into problems.
“Marason no kippu wo haraitai. Kore wa watashi no marason no kippu no ban.”
(while pointing to your number)
It’s probably not the prettiest Japanese, but it gets the job done.
Make sure you hold onto that small piece of paper! You’ll need to show it at the marathon to get yourself set up. If you use a ticket machine, you should get a bigger ticket, however.
Have fun running!
LIST OF UPCOMING MARATHONS IN GUNMA
February 14
The Tatebayashi Marathon and Kiryu Marathon
Celebrate Valentine’s Day by pounding the crap out of your heart!
There are two marathons going on the same day, and it’s way too late to register for any
of them!
March
Takasaki City Haruna Ume Marathon
It’s too late to sign up for this one, also.
April
April 25
Maebashi City Marathon (http://www.maebashicitymarathon.jp/)
This takes place on the weekend before Golden Week, and it looks like a big race.
The shortest distance is around a 3K, and the longest distance is a half-marathon.
May
May 9
The Annaka Samurai Marathon (http://www.city.annaka.gunma.jp/news/tooashi.html)
The Annaka Samurai Marathon is a fun costume marathon that takes place on May 9th
(the weekend after Golden Week!). You can start signing up for it on 2/15. I’ve heard that
the race fills up fast, so it’s a good idea to register early. I’ve also heard that it goes
continuosly uphill, so have fun with that!
Direct Runnet link — (https://runnet.jp/runtes/raceDetail/top/m12430.html)
These are all the marathons I could find through runnet. They only update them a couple months at a time. If you’re fixing for more races, you can look up nearby prefectures (Tochigi, Iwate, Nagano, etc.).
This website has many marathon listings, but it’s in Japanese. (http://yaboow.blog63.fc2.com/blog-category-1.html)
I could translate some of it if there’s demand.
Togawa Jun
I had a good time at a kickboxing match one of my coworkers had in Tokyo, but I had some more fun beforehand.
I had a crazy conversation in the McDonalds by the arena, though. The McDonalds was a four-story tall hole in the side of a corner with a smoking floor in the middle of the building (and with the only bathroom). I took the steps to the fourth floor, really seeing an actual fog of smoke hovering on the third floor. This girl and I walked in on the same floor with only one table left.
She wore bigg-ish dark purple glasses, had straight bangs, and was wearing a type of unicolor jumpsuit outfit. Her backpack was simple and had star designs. She fussed up her mouth as she played with her cellphone. There was something about her that bugged me.
I made a comment about her bag and got a little response. Then, I ate my food and decided to bite and what was in my mind.
“What type of music do you like?” I asked.
“Rock!” she answered quickly with a little bit of excitement. Maybe she was reading my mind?
“Are you going to the Togawa Jun concert today?” I said.
“Yes, I am! You know Togawa Jun!?” she said excitingly as she tapped me on my arm.
My original plan was to go to the Togawa Jun concert that day, but tickets sold out.
I knew everyone at the concert was gonna be interesting at the least(especially the young people), but it was sold out, and I don’t know if I’m a hardcore enough Togawa Jun fan to rock with them.
Because man, Togawa Jun is one crazy ass girl. Japan has a strong tradition for expressive female musicians, and Togawa Jun definitely isn’t an exception.
She started around the late 70s with a group called Halmens, then moved on to solo stuff with her album Tamahime-sama (which actually got put on Rolling Stones Japan’s top 50 rock albums). She has the voice of an opera singer, ridiculously innocent girl, and angry bitch all rolled into one. She has the rebellious nature of some type of rebellious riot girl or punk rocker, but is too theatrical to pull it off.
My favorite incarnation of her stuff is the band she formed called Yapoos. The only album I heard is their first one, Keikaku. It’s really eccentric and a little out of date(I like the old school bass sounds, though), so it’s not for everyone.
You can call it kitschy, or just random Japanese stuff, but it’s definitely unique. I’ll write more about her if I find anything new.
Links
Good Yapoos track
Yapoos - Like Meat
Really great recent track - Preach
Video of an opera-like performance she did in NY
Tamahime-sama album
Yapoos-keikaku album
