Find a children's running class in Japan
Running needs almost no equipment and very little language. Kakekko Navi helps families living in Japan — including families from overseas — find かけっこ教室 (kids' running classes) and public places to practise running, such as athletics stadiums, sports parks and gyms, in every city, ward, town and village.
207running classes (checked one by one on official websites)872municipalities with facility open data7,084stadiums, sports parks and gyms
Choose your prefecture
Highlighted prefectures have running classes listed. Every prefecture page also lists public sports facilities by municipality.
Hokkaido & Tohoku
Kanto
Chubu
Kinki (Kansai)
Chugoku
Shikoku
Kyushu & Okinawa
How to use this site
- Choose your prefecture, then your city, ward, town or village.
- Look at the running classes. Each class shows the target age, the type of lessons (regular, short-term, trial) and what children learn. Class names are shown in Japanese, exactly as the class uses them.
- Open the official website of the class to check the schedule, fee and how to apply. Most pages are in Japanese; your browser's translate function helps.
- Contact the class. Our guide has a short Japanese message you can copy and send.
- Practise near home. Each municipality page lists athletics stadiums, sports parks, gyms and parks from local government open data.
Running classes
Public classes are run by a city, a sports association or a public facility. Information may change — always check the official page before applying.
For families new to Japan
In Japan, many elementary schools hold a sports day (運動会, undōkai) in spring or autumn, and running races are a big part of it. Running classes for children are popular before sports day. Some classes are run by private clubs, and some by cities and sports associations at low cost.