Nikko 2025: My First Trail Race, Autumn Leaves, And A Weekend I Won’t Forget

Alex
Nov 13, 2025
5 min read

A few weeks before this trip, I had raced in Taipei and gone straight from competing in the Spartan Beast into a trail running camp in the Japanese Alps. So by the time Nikko came around the following weekend, my legs were not exactly fresh.

All that being said, this would be my first official trail race in Japan, and it happened to land right in the middle of Japan’s autumn season. So, tired legs or not, I was excited! Nikko is famous for its stunning autumn leaves called koyo :)

Getting to Nikko

Before hopping on the train, Miku and I had a simple teishoku lunch. After that, we grabbed an ekiben for me, obviously, plus some snacks and a couple of cream puffs. I always tell myself I’ll keep it light, and then I never do.

God, Japanese pastries are just THE best!

We arrived in Nikko around three in the afternoon after a couple easy hours on the train from Tokyo.

We checked into the hotel, dropped our bags, and not long after, walked up toward Nikko Toshogu Shrine so I could check in for the race. I had to collect my bib, and grab the welcome pack. Honestly, that walk alone was worth the trip.

The autumn leaves were unreal. Fiery oranges, bright yellows, deep reds everywhere. The temple grounds looked like they were built purely to complement the season. Black buildings with gold trimmings, surrounded by trees that looked like they were glowing. Amazing.

We wandered the grounds for a while, just soaking it all in.

Later that afternoon, we sat down for matcha. Quiet. Slow. Exactly what we needed.

We then squeezed in a late onsen, before heading back to the temple grounds to watch the start of the 75 km race at 9 pm. Seeing runners head off into the darkness was pretty inspiring.

Somehow, after all of that, we still ended up at Gusto (a popular Japanese family-diner chain, and ordered way too much food. $70 at a family diner is ridiculous. It felt like food for four or five people. And yes, we (I) ate it all.

We went to bed later than I should have. But the company and the evening made it worth it.

Race Morning

The alarm went off at 4 am. I had slept for about four hours, which wasn’t ideal, but it was what it was.

Two onigiri for breakfast. A quiet room. That familiar mix of nerves and excitement.

I packed my mandatory gear and checked everything twice. Miku was up and about just after 5 and walked me to the race start at 5:30. That was nice.

Racing nerves kicked in, so I had to make one last toilet stop. After waiting in line for more than 20 minutes and doing ym own business, Miku hurriedly stripped layers off me and pinned my bib on just in time for me to jump into the crowd of more than 700 runners at the start line.

The race didn’t start with a gun. Instead, a man blew into a strange shell-like instrument to signal the start.

After a mostly flat kilometre to get out of the temple grounds, the climbing began almost immediately.

The higher we went, the colder it got. Wind cutting through layers. Pockets of rain on the ridgelines. When I say it was a litle cold, I mean it was fkn freezing up there.

The race was 35 kilometres with around 2,300 metres of climbing. An amazing and brutal experience. I finished in 4 hours and 47 minutes, placing 18th overall. I’m happy with that result.

Going in, I had quietly hoped for a low four-hour finish and maybe a top five placing. For most of the race, I was sitting in 8th, but two falls late in the race and running off-course for a kilometre changed that. No worries, that's trail running!

The first fall came around the 24 km mark. I hurt my ankle badly and heard a loud crack, similar to the sound you hear when a muscle pops. Except this time it was my ankle ligaments rupturing. I kept running, but I could feel it.

The second fall around the 29 km mark was worse. I hit the ground and stayed there for a few minutes while several competitors passed me.

I hobbled for about half an hour, maybe two kilometres. Eventually the pain dulled, and I made a decision. I wasn’t walking to the finish. I was going to run, as hard and as fast as I dared. I knew the adrenaline would keep the pain at bay, at least temporarily.

So I did.

I pushed hard on the downhill, passed a few runners back, and crossed the line completely spent. Good work, boys.

After the Race

I limped back to the hotel. Miku was there, juggling a work meeting or two from the room. We moved slowly for the rest of the afternoon.

For lunch, Miku found an old American-style restaurant called Meiji-no-Yakata. The kind of place that has stories built into the walls. We sat there for a couple of hours, ate and just relaxed.

The afternoon quickly turned into evening so after making our way back into town we had a quick yakitori dinner near the hotel. Simple. Hot. Exactly what I needed.

The next morning, we went down for breakfast. I love Japanese hotel breakfasts. So many small dishes. Fish, rice, eggs, miso, pickles. It feels like proper fuel.

After breakfast, we went to checked-out and took the train back to Tokyo.

What Stuck With Me

Having someone with me for the weekend changed everything.

If I had gone alone, it would have been a very different trip. Fully locked into race mode. Perfect sleep. Perfect meals. No distractions. Just racing, and recovery.

Instead, the weekend had a softer, warmer side to it. Because Miku came along, everything had a lovely woman’s touch.

It reminded me that competing matters, but the experience around it matters too. Thank you Miku.

I also learned a lot about trail racing itself. How to pace long climbs. How to stay controlled on technical descents. How to keep your head when things go wrong.

Those lessons are going to be huge for the trail races I have coming up in 2026.