Former ramen shop owner, 69, runs marathons in all 47 prefectures of Japan

Tomohiro Kaneko shows off his medals and bibs from marathons across Japan. Photo courtesy of Tomohiro Kaneko

Kaneko had his first marathon at 58 and spent more than a decade chasing this ambitious goal. "To be honest, I did quite a good job," he told the Kyoto Shimbun in May, after completing his final race in early March.

Before pursuing full-time running, Kaneko worked for many years as general secretary of the Kyoto Association for the Promotion of Sports for the Disabled. He quietly contributed to organizing the annual Ekiden, a national wheelchair tournament held in Kyoto.

His marathon journey began in 2013 with the Kobe Marathon. Despite having no prior experience, he entered the race at the urging of family. Halfway through, he felt a sharp pain in his knee and had to drag his leg to the finish line.

Kaneko calls this moment an "unforgettable memory" that motivated him to train harder. He began running 10 km every morning along the Kamo River. In the 2015 Kyoto Marathon, he set a personal best of 4 hours, 23 minutes and 33 seconds, Maidona News reported.

After retiring in 2017, Kaneko opened a ramen shop named Menya Tomo near Mototanaka Station on the Eizan electric railway at Sakyo District. Though busy managing the shop, he continued training and participating in marathons, often wearing the shop’s T-shirt during races to promote his business.

He closed the shop five years later to take care of his wife Etsuko, who worked alongside him.

"I had time and wanted to do something I could fully commit myself to," Kaneko said, as cited by Kyoto Shimbun.

He then turned his focus to completing marathons in the remaining 37 prefectures. He required each race to be at least a half marathon (21.0975 km). He began with Tohoku and Hokuriku, followed by Kyushu and Okinawa, using a strategy of tackling the hardest places to reach first. At one point, he ran four consecutive marathons, once every two-week, Maidona News reported. To save money, he often drove himself from Kyoto to each location.

His journey was filled with memorable moments. In Yamagata, a cherry farmer invited him to enjoy fresh Sato Nishiki cherries after a race. In Akita, he received a special certificate and 5 kg of rice as a token of appreciation for traveling far.

Kaneko’s 47th and final prefectural race was a half marathon in Ehime on March 9, his 88th race since 2013. His wife, who accompanied him to most races, praised his dedication: "You are so good! You did very well."

For Kaneko, the time factor doesn’t matter because completing each race was the most important thing to him.

"I’m not fast, but I finished all 88 races without giving up. That’s the only thing I’m proud of," he told Maidona News, adding that his next target is to reach 100 marathons.