I went to Japan to run the 2023 Tokyo Marathon. It lived up to every one of my expectations, and there were quite a few surprises too. I know it’s a long one. Thank you for watching.

If you want to watch my Tokyo Marathon 2023 race video: https://youtu.be/NZI8Z5jfY14

0:00 intro
0:53 Tonchinkan Tonkatsu
2:38 First Run Imperial Palace
4:02 Expo
11:08 Soba
12:12 Konbini
14:44 Shibuya Crossing
16:54 Ichiran Silent Eating
19:17 Sleepless in Shibuya
21:10 hotel breakfast
23:45 ASICS Frontrunners
25:40 Godzilla hotel
27:12 Tenryuji Temple
28:57 claw machine arcade
30:42 Kobini again
33:22 Sushi Ito
35:41 Hie Shrine
37:42 Team Labs
40:26 marathon flatlay
40:58 Kofuzi Run Club Tokyo
44:46 lost in Shinjuku station
45:40 Indigo
47:01 Japanese pizza
48:32 the singlet
50:02 after Marathon
51:30 Meiji Jingu Shrine
52:57 Takeshita Street
54:14 toy shopping with Thomas
55:01 Ichiran again
55:35 shopping in Shibuya
56:52 drinking on the holodeck
57:30 smoking permitted
58:34 karaoke
59:40 national garden

Thanks for watching! Leave a comment to let me know you stopped by!

Catch the livestream https://www.youtube.com/c/kofuzirunclub/

footage shot on:
GoPro Hero 11 Black (paid link)
https://amzn.to/3V0tOg2

Sony FX30 (paid link)
https://amzn.to/3iIklwd

sigma 16 (paid link)
https://amzn.to/33bfjxW

sigma 30 (paid link)
https://amzn.to/400CTaU

G Series 70-350 (paid link)
https://amzn.to/3iH9fDx

Music sourced via Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/0xronu/

Disclosure: It’s 2023, so I think we all know how affiliate links work at this point, but for regulatory compliance or affiliate program purposes, I must state that affiliate links do not increase cost to you, but:
“As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

Also, you do not need to use these links. You can also search for these same items in amazon or on any search engine/shopping site of your choice and buy/research them that way.

——-
strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/kofuzi
twitter: https://twitter.com/wordofko
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kofuzi/

subscriber count at time of upload: 131,871

end card music:
Jim Yosef – Checkered
https://soundcloud.com/ninety9live/jim-yosef-checkered

48 Comments

  1. Finished watching this. So nice. Reminds me of the same experience. No video for us at the imperial park running when I met you there? Haha. Just kidding. Again nice to meet and run with you at the park Ko.

  2. Wow, that was really well done. I’m surprised at how riveting I found this video, especially given how little running there was! Something about this seemed more personal and introspective. For those of us who watch your videos regularly, we are accustomed to seeing you alone in remote locations focused on a singular task; this is something we relate to, so we might be forgiven if we take it for granted when you take us along with you. But seeing you navigate a teeming foreign metropolis and contending with so many new and different things made me relate less with what you were doing (sadly I’ve never been abroad…yet) and more with you as the one doing it. I hope that makes sense. You took us along on a very special and personal journey and shared some vulnerable moments… that takes more guts than running a thousand marathons, so thank you for that. And for the record, my favorite moment was the pigeon scene!

  3. Thanks for another great episode and for sharing your experience with us. This series is truly one of my favorites on all of YouTube

  4. Please do more long form videos on race weekends. Especially when traveling, and/or doing world majors. This was amazing!

  5. This was great! You did a wonderful job of catching many aspects of the Japanese culture, cuisine, daily life, etc. It's especially cool that this video was made by a runner with the ties you have to the running community. Well done! (Oh and the fact that most of the people were wearing masks everywhere just speaks to their wonderful culture, education and basic respect for others).

  6. thank you for sharing story of jouney in japan video and inspired it's so amazing ! love it and hope luck to attend on next Tokyo Marathon 🔥

  7. This video is awesome! Great mixture of running and travel vlog!!! Really has me fired up to visit & run it one day 🙌

  8. Mike. Which area in Tokyo exactly did you lose your 360 camera? I haven’t watched to the end of this yet, so maybe you end up finding it, but if you let me know what area it was, I can go and ask at the local police stations in case someone handed it in.

  9. That one Team Labs room had me worried for a broken ankle 😅 truly the best documentarian of the running world, your videos have been so fantastic to watch

  10. I don’t how you do it, but your videos are on another level. Breathtaking, just breathtaking.

  11. I stumbled upon your channel while looking for shoe recommendations and man! I am blown away by your channel. I normally dislike vlogs but I actually watched this one all the way through. I particularly enjoyed the candid yet thoughtful words you shared and put in some moments of great artistic cinematography. Anyway, keep up the great work! Becoming a big fan of your stuff.

  12. I want to visit one of those silent eating booth restaurants. That concept could take off in many major city. Very cool

    Nice work on the extended cut vlog 🤙

  13. i went to japan for the first time last december. i was totally mesmerized by this country. i didnt know how to put it in words. thank you for putting it in words at the end of your video! and tokyo being one of the most populated city in the world, is extremely clean!

  14. Just wow, outstanding production. The Japanese ministry of tourism needs to cut you a check for doing such a good job of show casing japan.

  15. Bro, u can used google translate. Just snap a pic of it & it will translate right a way.

  16. Hey Kofuzi thanks for this video, without a doubt one of the best videos you’ve done, you’ve put so much effort into it and it shows. You should be super proud, now all I want to do is go to Japan. Congrats again

  17. I enjoyed it very much. Very well made. Beautiful video about Tokyo Marathon and Japan. I love Ichiran Ramen too🤤

  18. This is amazing content. How do you get sponsored or invited to an event like this?

  19. Late watching this because I hoarded it for what I knew would be some lengthy TM sessions. What a delight; everyone has already commented on the brilliant filming, editing and content. Your days were full but if you ever go back with more time, I’ll again suggest one of the major dept. stores such as Takashimaya, which epitomize the cultural dichotomy you allude to. Be sure to see the kimono floor with all the traditional accoutrements, and Leona managed to get to the food basement of one of them, which is always an amazing experience. Also, having been to Japan at least 20 times, I believe that’s a robe, not pajamas that was in your room. Some hotels actually have 2-piece traditional PJ’s that are usually way too large for me, but Lev loved them and even bought them (they usually sell them). I also agree with the commenter who said Japanese coffee is excellent if you go to the right place. The genius of the culture has been the skill of imitating and sometimes exceeding the best from other cultures, whether it’s French pastry, automobiles, or you name it. Vending machine or instant hotel room coffee doesn’t represent the best coffee there by any means! Beautiful job, Mike

  20. This is amazing! I was there to get my 6-star this year. This took me down memory lane as I hit a lot of the spots you hit both in 2023 and 2020 (I went out there to run the marathon only to find out the day before I boarded a plane that it was cancelled for mass start runners). Probably my favorite experience of all the places I’ve traveled. And I love the 7-11’s!! My favorite thing to hit up after a night of drinking in Tokyo!! Outstanding work that you’re doing.

  21. Very nice shots. I liked how you detailed everything on this video.

    Do Japanese people mistook you for a local or something? Because the way you rock your man bun on the race made you look like a Samurai.

    I am an Asian sir kofuzi and I somewhat believe that you're Japanese or Half..idk..

  22. It's amazing that you get to enjoy this! I know there are sacrifices we don't all see but keep living it up brother!

Write A Comment

Pin