Kaga Spa Trail Endurance 100 by UTMB will Bring the Trail Running World to the Japanese Ancient Mountains and Heritage Hot Springs

Kaga Spa Trail Endurance 100 by UTMB®, formerly known as OSJ Yamanaka Onsen Trail Running Race, is set to become the first UTMB® World Series event to be held in Japan, welcoming runners from around the world to the Japanese ancient mountains and heritage Hot Springs, or Onsens, in the central district of Japan. The 2025 event will take place from 19-22 June, with entries opening for UTMB Index holders on 27 September while general registrations open to all runners on 29 September.

The event was founded in 2015 by Jiro Takikawa, who will continue as Race Director for Kaga Spa Trail Endurance 100 by UTMB. Trail runners heading to Japan for the 19-22 June 2025 event will have the opportunity to take part in three races, with a 100k, 50k and 20k on offer.

Jiro Takikawa said he was looking forward to welcoming trail runners from around the world for the first UTMB World Series event to be held in the country.

“The Yamanaka Onsen Trail Race began in 2015, for two years before the first event we received consultations from local tourism companies about revitalizing outdoor sports, visited the site and spent a week running around the mountains of Kaga City,” said Takikawa. “With vast mountain fields, 360-degree views from ridgelines, primeval rhododendron and beech forests, the week-long trail run trip was like a dream. Since the first race many runners from all over Japan have enjoyed it until now.

Our plans for being a part of the UTMB World Series have been underway since last year, but we thought about abandoning the event due to the January 1 earthquake, but we received many voices from home and abroad expecting the event to be held in Ishikawa Prefecture, and in order to meet everyone's expectations, we decided to host it for the reconstruction of Ishikawa Prefecture in order to revitalize Kaga City's mountain field,” he said. “In June 2025, I would like to team up with people from Ishikawa Prefecture, Kaga City, and Yamanaka Onsen to welcome runners from Japan and overseas, and make Japan's first UTMB World Series a success.”

The course consists of a series of small mountains at an altitude of between 500 meters and 1,400 meters, with runners taking on 100km course to cover over 6,100 meters in elevation. Runners from all over the world will experience courses unique to Japan, including a spectacular ridgeline trail with a 360-degree view, a steep climb while overlooking a beautiful virgin beech forest, a single track along a flowing mountain stream, long forest paths and a solemn walking path with a sense of history.

The venue, Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture, is an area rich in nature surrounded by beautiful coastlines and mountains. Also, it is an area rich in history and culture since ancient times, and many historic buildings, shrines and temples remain. It is also famous as one of Japan's leading hot springs, and Kaga Onsen Gorge of Yamanaka Onsen, Yamashiro Onsen, and Katayamazu Onsen are widely known.

On January 1 this year in the historic region, Ishikawa Prefecture, which is rich in nature, was struck by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6, causing significant damage.

The number of tourists in Kaga City, which had relatively little damage, drastically decreased after the Noto Peninsula earthquake, but with the opening of the bullet train at Kaga Onsen Station this spring, access has improved excellently, and there is convenience from Komatsu Airport, and the area is gradually regaining vitality. Kaga Spa Trail Endurance 100 by UTMB will allow runners to experience Kaga City's wonderful mountain fields, enjoy the history, culture, hot springs, and food of Ishikawa Prefecture.

For more information visit https://kagaspa.utmb.world/.