Kasama Pottery Village Half Marathon

The Kasama Pottery Village Half Marathon (かさま陶芸の里ハーフマラソン) is an established road race held each December in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, a city particularly well known for its centuries-old ceramics tradition and distinctive Kasama-yaki pottery. The event combines competitive road racing with a course designed to showcase the cultural and natural character of Kasama, making it an appealing winter half marathon for runners looking to experience a smaller Japanese city beyond the country’s major metropolitan races.

The race is based at Kasama Geijutsu-no-Mori Park (Kasama Art Forest Park), with the half-marathon route taking runners through several recognizable parts of the city. The organizers describe a course passing the Kasama Inari Shrine area and its traditional Monzen shopping street, continuing through the city’s Gallery Road and into more rural, mountainous surroundings. Rather than being an entirely flat, speed-focused urban half marathon, Kasama is known for its substantial changes in elevation, giving the event a more challenging character.