The Start Area is a large, sandy square, at the Nakamura City Warabioka Junior High School. It is well lit by high arc lamps. There are numerous portaloos at one side. These were only for the use of men this year. Women had to use indoor toilets.
Runners walk along a pathway from the Start Area up to the start point.
This provided a well controlled beginning to the race. Championchip mats were used as the method of timing the start. I did not see the actual start. The runners ran along a flat stretch of road, with beacons on poles lighting the course in an attractive, imaginative way. In the early stages of the race the course is on a road has been carved out of the rocky hillside.