Tokyo Marathon 2024 Plogging Event was held on Saturday, March 2, the day before the race. The event was held in the Asakusa area, which is also part of the marathon course. "Plogging" is a new SDGs experience sport that originated in Sweden, combining the words for trash picking (PlockaUpp) and jogging (Jogging). Tokyo Marathon is supported by the understanding and cooperation of many people, including those around the course. The event was held for the first time this year under the theme of "A Day Tokyo Blossoms in!," aiming for expressing gratitude to the city of Tokyo and encouraging each participant to depict the city as "Tokyo, My Favorite Place..."
Approximately 60 people from Japan and overseas participated in this event. Divided into four groups, they put on work gloves and Japanese typical half coat "HAPPI", and began jogging through the early morning streets with plastic bags in their hands. Asakusa's shopping streets and sidewalks are usually kept clean, but there are still places where small pieces of trash, empty cans, and other trash are left lying around. When runners found them, they stopped and pick them into plastic bags one by one. The participants enjoyed this new type of sports experience, with some runners being even more enthusiastic about picking up trash than jogging.
In addition, rickshaw pullers who usually guide tourists around the area also participated in this event as guides. The rickshaw pullers provided on-site explanations of many of Tokyo's representative sightseeing spots, such as Kaminarimon Gate, Nakamise-dori, and Asakusa Engei Hall, during the event, adding another special experience to trash pickup and jogging for the participating runners.
After the event, we spoke with Putri, a participant from Malaysia who goes by the nickname "Hime" in Japan. She said with a big smile, "This is my third time in Tokyo, and I always think it is a very cool and wonderful city. I am very happy to participate not only in the Tokyo Marathon but also in this volunteer activity." She added, "I entered the Tokyo Marathon for the first time because it is very hot in Malaysia and I wanted to run a marathon during the cold season. It was a great experience to be able to see the course in advance."
On the other hand, Fuchigami, who participated from Saitama Prefecture, unfortunately missed out on the entry lottery for this year's Tokyo Marathon, but he said, "I participated this event to support the marathon." He had previously participated in another plogging event, and said, "When I found out that this event was also held for the Tokyo Marathon, I thought it looked interesting and decided to participate. After all, I want all runners to move their bodies in a clean place." He also added, "I would like to support the runners on the day of the race so that they can enjoy the city of Tokyo," sending encouragement to the runners participating in the marathon.
We also spoke to Nobu, a rickshaw puller, who says, "It was really good to pick up trash while running through the streets of Asakusa with people from all over Japan and around the world." He seemed to have enjoyed plogging with the runners. Thinking of the many runners who will run through the even more beautiful city, Nobu says "The Tokyo Marathon will help people get to know Asakusa, and I hope that the runners and supporters who run in front of the Kaminarimon Gate will think that Asakusa is a nice town" expressing his wish.
This event was held under the theme of "The Day Tokyo Becomes Beautiful," with the hope of making the day a memorable moment for Tokyo to take a step forward in development. We believe that through the actions of each and every runner who participated, we are one step closer to the realization of "The Day Tokyo Becomes Beautiful." We plan to continue to engage in various activities so that the city of Tokyo will develop further and have more and more shining moments.
Thank you to all of the runners who came out and participated in this event.
