Ultimate Guide to Tokyo Mario Kart Racing | Japan Travel Itinerary
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Who doesn’t want to dress up as a funky, bright cartoon / Disney / game character and go racing around Tokyo in a tiny, roaring go-kart?! I know I did. And the answer was simple: go on a Tokyo Mario Kart Race. 😉
I really wanted to do it the first time I went to Tokyo but chickened out and regretted it. Less than a year later, I returned to Tokyo and I did it. I got my Super Mario Kart adventure in Tokyo and absolutely loved it!
So this post is all about my experience. And the practicalities behind booking a similar experience. What you need to bring (ESSENTIAL, or you will be barred from joining the go-kart despite already paying for your ticket), necessary outfit and rules to follow. Basically anything and everything I can think of that you’ll need to know to go-kart in Tokyo!
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Table of Contents
About Mario Kart Driving in Tokyo, Japan
What is Mario Kart driving, you might ask? It’s quite simple: you dress up like a cartoon/anime/game character (eg Liko, Stitch, Elmo), get into a go-kart and go racing in the streets. Among the cars and buses and motorcycles that use those roads.
Booking a Mario Kart Tour Experience
Go-karting in Japan is not a free experience. In fact, it was the most expensive thing we did in Tokyo but the experience was so unique and fun that I don’t regret it!
These are the things to consider when booking a Mario Kart adventure:
- AREA: Go-karting tours run not just in Tokyo but also in Osaka and Kyoto. If you are in Tokyo, you have far more choices in terms of where you zoom around. The main places on offer are in Roppongi (the tour I picked), Asakusa, and Akihabara. Be sure to check out the actual routes because most of them will cover several areas at once. For instance, my tour covered Roppongi, Shinjuku, Omotesando and Tokyo Tower just to name a few highlights in one tour!
- DURATION OF TOURS: 1 or 2 hours. This 1 to 2 hours period includes signing the liability and insurance forms, changing into your costumes, walking to the area and being briefed on traffic rules and use of the go-kart. I went for the 2-hour tour and honestly, the time just breezed past! 2 hours was just right; I think 1 hour would have been too short for me.
- TICKETS: A number of agents offer Mario Kart tickets online but I found Voyagin’ to offer the best prices (seemingly perpetual 30% discounts!), as did a number of other reviewers on the website. Reviewers are always a good source of validation on whether a ticket is worth purchasing so make sure you read them.
- COSTS: One ticket tends to be 10,000 JPY (USD 91.60 / EU 82.40 / RM 374) but Voyagin seems to have a perpetual 30% discount for their Go-Kart tours. That meant we saved a whopping 3,000 JPY per person, with the ultimate cost per person being 7,000 JPY (USD 64.09 / EU 57.65 / RM 262.20).
- WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE COSTS: Read the fine details! See what is included in your tour package as every one of them differs. For instance, my Roppongi tour costs covered free costume rental, go-kart rental, tour guide, GPS, accident insurance and portable speakers (which I actually never saw or see used in the tour, full disclaimer). I’ve noticed some tours that state that fuel is not included and you have to purchase fuel before returning the go-kart (Say what? How does that even work?!), or there are no tour guides included in the package. DO NOT go without either!!
- DATES: This is really important. Tickets run out really fast so make sure you check that the dates and times that you want are available in advance and book them. Tour groups tend to be limited to 10 pax so you don’t want to have to split your group up.
When to Go-Kart in Japan [Bonus Tip!]
Short answer: DO NOT do it over the New Year period if you can.
We went to Japan without realising just how important the New Year is to the Japanese. They work over Christmas, but shops/tours/events/exhibitions begin to close from New Year’s Eve onwards until 6th January. A small handful of shops open on the 2nd, more on 3rd and 4th, but most on 5-6th January.
Some shops do specifically state that they work all year round (in Chinese! Because the Japanese language is similar to Chinese, so this was helpful to us since we could read Mandarin). If you can’t, look for the words: 年中無休
Thankfully, the Mario Kart Tokyo tours were running on 3 January but there were limited seats and we managed to snag one of the last ones! Close shave.
Day or Evening Tours
Apart from that, there are morning, afternoon and evening sessions available. It depends on what you’re looking for. It also runs during winter, which is when I went. Honestly, it wasn’t all that cold so long as you go in your layers, gloves and hat.
We chose the afternoon because we wanted better lighting for our photos and videos. The evening would be harder, but you get to use the high beams on the go-kart. I imagine that it’d be a different level of excitement if you went zipping around Tokyo after sunset!
How to Book Mario Kart Tour Tickets
Firstly, I went to the Govoyagin website to book my Roppongi tour.
Upon making payment, I immediately received an email confirming my booking. This email also provided a link to my guest dashboard, including its cancellation policy and activity rules. In gist:
- No refund if cancellation is less than 7 days;
- In case of rain, free rescheduling is available. You can do a short course but the same price applies. No rainwear is provided and it is refundable if you contact them at least 1 hour before the start time.
I had to click on my guest dashboard to obtain my meeting point details at Shirokane. Most notably, they included a Google Map link AND a complete video of how to get to the shop from the station.
This video was a total lifesaver!!
Once your booking is done, just make sure you show up at the shop at least 15 minutes before the start time. If you’re late, there will be NO REFUND. They repeatedly remind you that they will NOT wait for you!!
Items to Bring
The essential items to bring are your drivers’ licenses.
The exact documents you must bring depend on where you come from:
- Passport; driver’s license; and International Driving Permit (IDP) based on the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic. IDPs based on the 1968 Vienna Convention are not valid.
- Passport; driver’s license from Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Monaco, Slovenia, Switzerland or Taiwan; and an official Japanese translation provided by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF), or by the issuing country’s embassy or consulate in Japan where offered
- A SOFA Driver’s License
- A Japanese Driver’s License
For Malaysians, you need to apply for an International Drivers Licence in Malaysia first before coming to Japan.
To summarise, Malaysians need:
- Our International Drivers’ licence; AND
- Our Malaysian driver’s licence.
You can also bring:
- A hat (it’s chilly!)
- Closed-toe footwear that covers the entire foot
- Sunglasses
- Gloves
- GoPro (provided that it is strapped to your chest or head); and
- Any other accessories that you would like to wear together with your costume later.
DON’T wear:
- High heels
- Long skirts
- Clothing that might interfere with your driving of the go-kart.
My Tokyo Mario Kart Experience
Getting there on time
Do yourself a favour: always, always check to ensure that you have the items you need before the journey. After all this time, I should have internalised this principle but I clearly didn’t!
Here’s my story:
Our time slot was for 1 – 3 pm.
To get to the meeting point at their shop, we had to take a 30 minute Tokyo metro train journey to Shirokane-Takanawa station, which is serviced by the Namboku Line (N Line) and Mita Line (I Line).
We left at Higashi-Ginza station at 11.40 to head towards Hibiya station for the Mita line. Upon arrival at Hibiya station, I realised to my horror that I had only brought my local Malaysian drivers licence and NOT my international driver’s licence!!
Cue my panic rush back to my hotel, a maniac scramble and upheaval of my suitcases (pity the cleaners that came into my room that day), followed by an even more breathless rush back through the stations.
I arrived at Shirokane-Takanawa station with just 11 minutes to spare before it hit 1 pm. Gosh, did I run!
During the train journey, I’d been constantly rewatching the video showing the complicated route to the shop because it’s in the heart of a local Japanese residential area. And upon arrival, I basically played that video as I reached each checkpoint.
Exit boom gates and turn right. Run down the long corridor. Go up the escalator. Go up another set of escalators and turn right… you get my drift.
In any event, I MADE IT!
Sweating in 5-degree weather with 2 minutes to spare before it hit 1 pm. Only to be told that the tour only actually begins at 1.10 pm.
Upon Arrival
Once I arrived at the shop lot, I went to the first floor. There was a door that opened to where everyone was congregating.
Firstly, I handed over my two driving licences. While the tour guide inspected those, I was handed an iPad. This contained a detailed form for me to fill out my personal details.
This was followed by an extensive agreement on liability, go-karting rules and hand signals to look out for. At the end, I had to leave my signature to acknowledge the form.
Thereafter, both of my licences were handed back to me. The licences had to be kept on my person at all times during the go-karting experience.
I was also advised to keep wearing my warm jackets even if I was donning a costume because it would be really cold. Everything else could be put into the same, zipped pouch in front of our individual go-karts or the lockers in the shop.
They also had gloves and sunglasses for us to borrow in small trays by the door.
Next up: It was time to pick a suitable costume!
There was 3 clothing racks worth of costumes to choose from and it was at this point that an earlier tour group returned. This was quite a popular shop!
They didn’t have any Super Mario outfits. These had to be removed since the tour company lost their court case against Nintendo, as the tour guide explained to us.
I picked a bright red Elmo outfit.
Other options include Nemo (of Finding Nemo fame! And it even comes with fins!!), Tigger (from Winnie the Pooh, again with a really long tail), Donald Duck, Lilo & Stitch, and a number of other costumes I didn’t recognise.
The costumes are actually really warm and all have hoods.
Go-Kart Briefing
At 1.10 pm, we were told to head downstairs. We walked 5-10 minutes to where the go-karts, which was in the middle of a car park with lots of other normal cars.
Here, we got an extensive briefing of the go-kart.
I’m going to try and remember as much as I can in this post:
- Get into the go-kart by putting your feet in the space on the ground before the pedal or the area where the two pedals are. Don’t put it on the engines besides the seat because they’re too fragile and can’t hold your weight.
- The go-kart uses a US driving system. The right pedal is for the accelerator and the left is the brake.
- During driving, keep one go-kart distance from each other so as to not let other vehicles come between you and the other go-karters.
- The tour guide will always be in front of the group and will use two main signals. 1 finger means to keep to a single file on the road; 2 fingers (pinky and thumb) means that we line up in rows of 2 behind the tour guide.
- Each go-kart has a seatbelt but it isn’t compulsory to have them on. If you aren’t using them, however, you must leave it tucked nicely in the go-kart, and not dragging along the road.
- The go-karts have both high and low beams. We didn’t need the high beam as we weren’t driving at night.
- DON’T press the accelerator and brake simultaneously.
- NO DRIFTING ALLOWED. This isn’t Tokyo Drift.
- We are allowed to take photos and videos only when we are stationary at a traffic light. No photos or videos allowed as we are driving
- They encourage tipping the guides.
- There is a little zipped bag to store our things. It’s big enough to store a phone, wallet and other little things.
For obvious safety reasons, the following were not permitted:
- Racing, drifting, driving erratically or side-by-side
- Intentionally bumping or colliding with any object, including other go-karts
- Throwing banana peels, turtle shells, or any other items into the street or at other drivers
We were warned that the tour company took the safety and traffic rules very seriously. If anyone infringed them, the tour would immediately stop and everyone would be taken straight back to the shop. No refunds are given.
It is a 4-step process to start the engine for the go-kart:
- Turn the little key on the left panel of the go-kart
- Press the yellow button located just behind the steering wheel
- While holding onto the yellow button, step on the brake pedal until the engine roars to life; and
- Simultaneously press the accelerator down and up continuously like a pulse. Until the engine fully awakens. Only then do you take the pressure off both pedals.
Once done, we split into our two groups. The first guide took the first 6 participants, and a second guide took care of the 4 of us.
What that basically meant was that while we all went off along the route together, the second guide was really looking out for the four of us and stayed ahead of us 4 only.
Which was great given that at almost every traffic junction, he took a photo of the four of us!! I ended up with over 70+ photos and a video of the very famous Shibuya crossing.
The Tour
At around 1.40 pm, we started off by first driving out of the small residential area.
To my amazement, we went pretty fast! At times, we were driving at speeds of 50mph with the wind whipping at use as the engine roared and the steering wheel vibrating under my hands.
There was something particularly thrilling when the traffic lights went green and we just roared out of the gate, making a turn right beside gigantic cars, vans and buses. Even motorcyclists looked huge!! Everything was huge to us given how low we were to the ground.
Tokyo Skytree Tower
We very quickly approached the Tokyo Skytree Tower – our first major Tokyo landmark. Its prominent red tower grew larger as we approached and drove up the hill and past it.
One thing I noticed is that our guide was constantly waving at everyone!
In particular, he would always wave to the little children (who were the most enthusiastic wavers) and Westerners. He would also target the youth since all of these people were the most likely to return his (our) enthusiastic waves.
Not forgetting, of course, the many, many photos and videos that all these strangers were snapping of us.
You can even spot a number of pedestrians capturing photos of us as they’re crossing the road Hah! 😂
Here is a photograph of the 4 of us!
Roppongi
After Tokyo Tower, we went past the streets beside Roppongi station.
This is where I offered to switch positions and drove at the back. And boy, that’s when I made a quick realisation: Avoid the back row if you can!
The exhaust smell hits you hard as you’re breathing everything that all the other go-karts in front of you are emitting. I hadn’t realised just how environmentally unfriendly go-karting would be.
Omotesando
I didn’t recognise all the landmarks we passed by but I do know that the next major landmark we hit was Omotesando.
We sped down the long street full of posh streets, stopping at the traffic light just after the overhead bridge. Thereafter, we continued down the road through areas that we hadn’t previously explored on foot.
This was also the point where I started to feel a little cold. The air was chilly but it really started to seep into everything, including my feet!
My feet were positively frozen by the end of the tour even though they had never once been cold, even in -6 degree snowy weather in Hokkaido! I was so glad to have worn my layers, including my windbreaker because they were a real lifesaver.
Shibuya
Shibuya was another clear destination. We stopped at the Shibuya crossing, with its infamous hordes of people waiting to cross.
Of course, this was also the place where the most number of people were taking photographs and videos of us!
The sun also became very glaring so the sunglasses I had borrowed from the shop became very useful. So glad I took a pair with me.
I recommend that you do the same.
Furukawabashi
Honestly, I’m not sure where we were at this point. There weren’t any distinctive touristy landmarks. BUT I’m guessing from the road signs that this was near Furukawabashi?
Minato
And finally, there was Minato, where an overhead sign pointed towards Korinji Temple.
Temples are crucial to Japanese life and there are hundreds of them scattered throughout Tokyo, many of them actively in use.
If you come to Japan during the New Year, you can participate in the Japanese people’s annual pilgrimage to their local temples. It is a MASSIVE event, there are more people then I could possibly have imagined. And I’ll be writing all about that (hint: I went to Sensoji Temple) soon!
Stay tuned or sign up for my newsletter here to get the alert. 😉
Heading back to Shirokane-Takanawa
After all the driving was done, we drove back to the carpark. We all parked in a small corner of the residential car park we were originally in.
Once we got back to the shop, we got out of our costumes and received the photos and one video that our tour guide had taken of us via Airdrop. Those without an iPhone received their photos via Whatsapp.
There were 70+ photos taken overall! At this moment, another group of people were just selecting their costumes for their 1-hour tour. This shop is clearly very popular.
Once our locker was emptied out, we left the shop. Mario Kart go-kart driving in Tokyo: done and dusted.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions for any Mario Kart Tokyo queries that you might still have:
Why should I do Mario Kart in Tokyo, Japan?
Here are 3 quick reasons why:
- You get to see Japan from a different perspective. While the guide never told us where we were exactly in Tokyo, I managed to recognise the main landmarks because I had already been there. But trust me, it’s very different standing on the overhead bridge looking down the long tree-lined street of Omotesando and being on the road itself in a little go-kart, half the height of every vehicle around you, zipping into the small pockets of spaces available on the road.
- You get the unique experience of go-karting on actual, bustling city roads. If you love unique experiences, this is definitely one for the books. I’m not sure there are many other cities that offer this type of experience. Do you know of any? Please do share in the comments below
- You get to say that you were a cartoon/game character zooming around! This might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I loved being able to dress up as Elmo and just zoom around in my severely oversized costume in broad daylight.
This bridge made me feel really tiny as we drove beneath it!
Why is it known as Mario Kart?
You may have been wondering why I refer to this go-karting experience sometimes as Mario kart.
I use the terms interchangeably because I see them as the same. They first gained prominence as people dressing up as Super Mario characters (until Nintendo won its IP case), so the term just stuck.
What is the best Mario Kart tour in Tokyo, Japan?
I only went for one Mario Kart tour so I can’t honestly say the one I went to was the best, but I certainly enjoyed it. And I can’t honestly think of anything to complain about. I think the afternoon timing was perfect for photographs and 2 hours was just right.
Even the area we picked was great because we went past so many major Tokyo landmarks.
So if you’d like to go on the Mario Kart tour that I did, click here. Govoyagin has a 30% offer off the original price!
If you want to explore different areas in Tokyo on the go-kart, there are tours running in Asakusa and Akihabara.
Are there Mario Kart tours running in other parts of Japan?
Yes. You can join go-karting tours in other cities like Osaka and Kyoto. Just remember to book in advance to avoid any disappointment.
What is the minimum age for Mario Kart driving in Tokyo, Japan?
You need to have a valid drivers’ licence and be able to drive independently (i.e. not just have a licence!) to be able to go on Mario Kart adventure.
Let’s be honest: Is the Mario Kart Tokyo adventure really worth it?
Ok, the price is definitely steep and there is a valid case to argue that the price doesn’t quite measure up to 2 hours worth of driving around in a tiny go-kart as a game character. But it’s unique.
And personally, I’m glad I did it. I’ve done it; time for the next adventure.
Do I wish that it was cheaper? Sure. Which is why I dug around the internet extensively until I found Govoyagin’s mega 30% discount off its many go-karting tours.
Conclusion
And that’s everything I have to say about go-karting in Tokyo!
This post covers everything I think you should know prior to booking and zipping around dressed as a game character on the streets of Tokyo, but let me know in the comments if you still have any questions. Or just comments in general. I would love to hear them.
If you found this post helpful, I would really appreciate you sharing this guide using the pins and social media buttons below.
36 Comments
Pam
Im so glad you enjoyed it – we heard mixed reviews about it. It looks like a unique way to see the city! Great guide!
Iuliya
Thank you!
Jenn | By Land and Sea
Fun! I never knew this was a thing! I would love to try this sometime, but don’t have an international driving permit. I will have to keep this in mind for a future adventure.
Iuliya
I didn’t have it either but once I knew about Mario Kart, I went and applied for the permit. It took less than 2 hours! Might be the same for you 😉
Rudy @ Backpack & Snorkel
Wow, this is so cool. I would have never expected to see this in Japan.
We just did sightseeing the old fashioned way…
Iuliya
We did it the old-fashioned way too! This was a bit of an anomaly but once I knew about it… I couldn’t possibly leave Tokyo without Mario karting my way around 😂
Nyri Wesley
This looks like it would be lots of fun, a guide would be a must for me and a great idea. I’m paranoid to drive in other countries where I don’t understand the language but I would try a go cart. Great post and really cute pictures.
Iuliya
No language issues here, actually. The tour guides spoke English; I think the lead guide is actually a foreigner. And most of the time, we communicated primarily with the two hand signals i.e. whether we were to drive single file or in twos. And to keep close. But a guide is an absolute must!
Kez
I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but I’ll probably do it in Kyoto.
Iuliya
Amazing!!
Mayuri
Sounds like an awesome experience! I have never gone karting myself, would love to try it out!
Love
Mayuri Xoxo
Iuliya
I highly recommend it!
Tarun D
Wow! I never knew you could do something like this! It looks like so much fun!
Is there an option to have your kids with you in the cart or is it just 1 person per cart? Do they have an option for children to take part and at what age? thanks
Iuliya
All of the go-karts are for single occupants and you are only allowed to participate if you have a valid drivers licence! Unfortunately, the kiddos will have to wait until they’re of age for safety reasons 🙂
Nomads RTW
That is pretty cool. We saw some people doing it in the Akihabara neighborhood. It is a must-do for our next visit.
Iuliya
Yay! Hope that’s happening soon!!
Alex
This looks like such great fun and what a cool way to see the city! Tokyo is huge so having some wheels definitely helps!
Iuliya
For sure! It was so interesting feeling so very very small on the streets 😂
Erika Ravnsborg
Wow! You guys look like you had so much fun! I’ll have to try that when I got to Japan. I love Japan. So many amazing things to see there.
Iuliya
Definitely recommend go-karting in Tokyo!
Erica
This looks like so much fun! I’ve heard about it and have even seen people doing it while in Tokyo and have always wanted to try it out for myself. 10,000 yen doesn’t seem too unreasonable considering it is such a unique and niche activity. I can’t believe some tours don’t cover the cost of fuel! How funny would it be to see a bunch of Mario Karts lined up at the petrol station filling up on fuel! Haha.
Iuliya
It would be funny, won’t it?! It just sounds like so much hassle haha. I actually first read about it online, saw other Mario Kart tours zooming by on their bright coloured go-karts in Tokyo and just KNEW I had to do it myself!! So glad I did 🙂
Michelle
Oh my goodness, this looks so fun. I love that you get to dress up while karting. LOL! I will definitely be saving this for future reference!
Iuliya
A chance to be a kid again!! Doing “grown-up” stuff 😂
Emma
I’ve heard about this but didn’t really know many of the finer details so good to learn more about it. It looks super fun
Iuliya
Hope you get to try it one day!
Ella
I actually love that this exists, it must be hilarious! I’d be terrified of crashing, but there’s only so serious you can be when driving around in a Go-Kart dressed as Mario. Definitely something I want to try when I find myself in Tokyo!
Iuliya
I was terrified too but you get the hang of it quickly enough!! Time passes fast.
Kristin
I’ve seen this a couple times around the travel community! What a unique experience and way to tour the city! I’m definitely going to consider it when we plan a trip there!
Iuliya
I would do more than consider, but actually DO it!! 😉 and if possible, go for the 2 hour tour because time just flies by!
Jen
What a great way to see the city! I’d be a little nervous about it, especially since it’s just mixed in with other cars. How do the non-go-kart drivers seem to take to it?
Iuliya
Well, there’s lots of news about how the non-go-kart drivers (especially the Japanese themselves!) find go-karters a nuisance and a danger to public safety.
Personally, we didn’t encounter any hostility and everyone along the road were constantly waving and smiling at us (if not taking videos/photos!!). And the Japanese drivers are generally very polite; we were told that our go-kart had a horn but to never use it except in dire circumstances because the Japanese drivers themselves don’t tend to use it!
Reina
I have always wanted to do this! Thank you so much for the detailed information! I’ll be sure to save this post for future use when I actually make it to Japan!
Iuliya
You’re welcome!! This was on my to-do list for MONTHS too and I’m so glad to have finally done it. Haha
Alex
Omg no way! I had no idea this was even a thing! I am so happy you shared this post because I’m pretty sure this has to go on my bucket list now lolz!
Iuliya
It is SUCH a cool thing to do. Definitely a bucket list!!!