Tokyo Drift: Go-Karting the Streets of Shibuya

August 2024 Update: Exciting news! Street Kart is now back! Since re-opening their shops in April 2023, they now have 7 active locations across Japan; 5 in Tokyo, 1 in Osaka and 1 in Okinawa!

March 2023 Update: Unfortunately, Street Kart (originally named MariCar) was sued by Nintendo in 2017 for intellectual property infringement. Nintendo won the case and the Supreme Court of Japan has dismissed Street Kart’s appeal. Mario Kart costumes are not allowed anymore, however, Street Kart still provides tours.

When we were in Tokyo in 2018, we noticed something interesting - people in go-karts zipping down the busy streets of Shibuya. We thought, “is this even legal??” Turns out, yes! It’s somehow legal to drive full on go-karts on the road, alongside cars, and with a quick internet search, we found a company called MariCar that offered this across town.

MariCar offers go-kart tours in Shibuya and other parts of Tokyo while wearing costumes inspired by video game characters such as Yoshi and Donkey Kong. It is a real life Mario-Kart experience! You prep by choosing your favourite character’s costume and after a brief safety overview, a tour guide will gently take you out on the streets of Tokyo.

The experience was definitely a highlight of our trip and I couldn’t believe we were ‘allowed’ to drive our go-karts on real roads dressed up in Mario Kart costumes. It was slightly tricky driving on the left side of the street (coming from Canada where we drive on the right) but after a few minutes, and with the help of our fantastic guide, it didn’t feel too intimidating.

MariCar has 7 shops in Tokyo and 3 outside the city. We went with the one in Shibuya but there are others in Asakusa, Tokyo Bay, and even Osaka, Kyoto and Okinawa. There are also multiple ‘courses’ you can choose and they vary in length. You can also book your tour during daytime or at night. We were booked in the middle of the afternoon, but it would have been awesome to drive around Tokyo at night.

If you are interested in go-karting around the streets of Tokyo, check out the Street Kart (renamed) website.