Running in Kyoto & Osaka

Hi
I'm a runner and will be visiting Kyoto and Osaka in the mid of December..
Can you recommend a good running place for 10km morning run? And I know it will be very cold that month, what should I wear when I go for a run? I'm from a hot and humid country...
Thank you..

Khimmy

Hi!

https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+164025

This thread had some route ideas from someone looking to find longer runs in the Tokyo/Kyoto area so should have some ideas for 10ks too. For Kyoto you could probably look up the course route for the Kyoto Marathon and just use a 10k portion of it. Kyoto has some really nice wide sidewalks and if you're out early enough the sidewalks should be quiet. I saw a group of runners out near Nijo Castle in June.

I'm from an area with 4 very definite seasons, so in the Summer I've run in heat and humidity and in the Winter I run in cold (much colder than Tokyo/Kyoto tends to get)

So I guess, I would recommend full length running leggings, a long sleeve tech shirt and a light to medium weight running jacket, and definitely gloves! I find keeping your hands warm is super important. Sometimes people wear those thermal headbands or maybe a hat but for me it needs to be below -1 C before I consider those and Tokyo and Kyoto are unlikely to be that cold in December. I personally like running in 0-5 C.

Enjoy Japan!

If you are from a hot an humid country, then you'll probably find it pretty cool. I only occasionally wear a jacket, and only if it is windy due to the wind chill, otherwise I might wear two layers (crazy - two), a T-shirt and a long-sleeve top, but I'm still just happy with shorts and I don't own a pair of gloves. Running in Tokyo in a brisk 4C in winter is a bit chilly, buy Kyoto in December should be a little warmer than that.

For Kyoto, there are some good river-side paths along the Kamogawa river. That saves dealing with roads and crossings which can interrupt things, and they go quite a long way. Other ideas would be some of the bigger parks in the city, or the quieter neighbourhoods outside of the central city. On of the nice things about the suburbs is that walking/running on the roads is pretty easy with little traffic. However, cyclists use footpaths, so watch for them.

Oh, for Osaka, the Osaka Castle Park is pretty big so you could do a few laps of that.

Oh, for Osaka, the Osaka Castle Park is pretty big so you could do a few laps of that.

I don't know I find gloves are the one thing I really need in cold weather, though I admit it gets tricky for me with the temperature conversions and Japan is warmer in the Winter than where I live. The coldest I've ever run in is -14C. It was really cold. I've done a few Disney races that were 0 to -1 when I started and I really regretted not having gloves. However Disney races also tend to include a lot of standing around waiting for the race to start. But if you're not use to cold a light pair of gloves can be invaluable.

@rkold - I think you are correct about gloves, but some of the long sleeve tops I have they can sometimes help keep my hands warm on the cold days.
I did feel sorry for the Tokyo marathon guys early this year - I think it was 6C or 6.5C when they started. I had one of them as a guest a few days later - a guy from South Africa and his wife. They suffered in the low temperatures - not used to it.

I know this is getting OT but I actually like running in 6C but not 6F lol Though I've never done a marathon just 1/2s. My goal is to someday do a full. A lot of Floridians/visitors to WDW were complaining about the temperatures for the WDW Marathon week end last year because I think it got down close to 0 C.

I find I tend to get cold unless it is super hot, like Japan this past June/July when it got a little hot even for me some days. So for me, I wear a tight long sleeve tech shirt with a light jacket and long leggings. I did that for my 10 miler in April which was around 6-8C. I admit, by the end of the race the jacket was too much, but it was nice while waiting for the race to start. Of course going for a run is different since there is no waiting around. I have thicker gloves for low temperatures and lighter gloves for when it's not that bad. I also have a running belt I adore. I have to get back into training, I've been lax lately.

Thank you everyone for the posts.. I find them quite useful... 😊