William A friend had mentioned that he’d signed up for Kumamoto Marathon. Aside from its high entry fee (14,500円! - that’s an expensive T-shirt), their desire to make it a fast, easy to maintain course means it is incredibly boring. When I still had knees, my favorite marathon route went along Shirakawa to Kita Bypass, across the bridge, then along a route called “Cypress Road” (read about it here: https://www.kikuyotsu-rizumu.jp/route01_07.html) to Milk Road in Ozu. This road is also very historic: it was this which, during the Edo era’s required residency of lords (called “sankin-kōtai https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankin-k%C5%8Dtai), the Hosokawa clan travelled to Oita and took a boat from there. From my house to Milk Road entrance was exactly marathon-distance - plus, there’s a 7-11 at the turnaround for refreshments! As the route follows the railroad, there are very few traffic lights. Get a few friends and enjoy your marathon on an historic route for free! - or create your own using Google Maps.