Go-karting in Odaiba and Tokyo Bay

If you searched for “odaiba go kart” or “street kart odaiba”, you probably saw photos of costumed drivers in tiny karts on Rainbow Bridge. That tour is real, but it runs on public roads, and the licence rules stop more tourists than anything else. Read the next section before you book.

The licence rule, in plain terms

In Japan these karts count as “mini cars” and are driven under an ordinary car licence. So the operator has to check that you can legally drive a car here. Street Kart, the best-known operator, accepts:

• A paper International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention, plus your home licence and your passport.
• A Japanese driving licence.
• An official Japanese translation of your licence (for example from JAF), plus the licence and passport, if your licence is from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco or Taiwan.
• A US SOFA licence.

What is not accepted:

• An IDP issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention. Many countries issue this format, so check the cover of your permit before you travel.
• Card-type, digital or photocopied IDPs.
• Your home licence on its own.

If you arrive without the right documents, you do not drive and you do not get a refund. This applies whether you booked on a platform or directly. An IDP is issued in your home country before the trip, so sort it out weeks ahead.

Street karts to Odaiba: how the tours work

The tours start from shops off the island, not on Odaiba itself. Street Kart runs several Tokyo shops, including Shinagawa, Akihabara, Shibuya and Asakusa. Its Tokyo Bay shop is at 2-10-8 Shinkiba, Koto-ku, a 10 to 13-minute walk from Shin-Kiba Station (JR Keiyo, Tokyo Metro Yurakucho and Rinkai lines); the Shinagawa shop is a separate branch. The Tokyo Bay tour lasts 1.5 to 2 hours and crosses Rainbow Bridge on the general-road deck to Odaiba, with a pass by Tokyo Tower. The operator’s prices vary by date and time slot, from ¥7,500 up to ¥25,000.

A few rules to expect:

• Karts are single-seat. Nobody rides as a passenger.
• A guide leads groups of up to six karts.
• No high heels, sandals or long skirts.
• Helmets are not legally required on these karts, but operators require them.
• The karts never go on the upper deck of Rainbow Bridge. That deck is the Shuto Expressway; a kart that got onto it in 2019 was breaking the law.

Safety rules have tightened over the years. In 2017 the Tokyo police asked operators to improve safety, and in 2018 the transport ministry announced new safety standards for these vehicles, including seatbelts, head restraints and lighting.

Other operators also run bay routes. Kartzilla advertises an Odaiba “Bay Route” of 120 minutes, for example.

Booking the Tokyo Bay route

The Klook listing below is run by Neo Tokyo Kart, a different operator from Street Kart, so its shop, route and licence wording are its own. The GetYourGuide listing is a 90-minute scenic skyline tour around the bay. Both show live prices and ratings on the card. Before paying, check three things in the listing: the meeting shop and its nearest station, the exact licence wording, and the cancellation line.

Shibuya instead of Odaiba

If Shibuya’s crossing matters more to you than the bay, both platforms sell Shibuya street-kart tours. They are useful for comparison, but they do not go to Odaiba.

Since 1 July 2025, Shibuya City has required kart operators to notify the ward 30 days before opening, with their routes and vehicles, to verify customers’ licences and to hold meetings with residents. It was the first ordinance of its kind in Japan and carries no penalties. We found no equivalent rule in Minato or Koto, the wards where Odaiba’s attractions stand.

Four ways across Rainbow Bridge, compared

A kart is not the only way to get onto the bridge. If the licence rule rules you out, one of these may give you what you were after.

The walk is the underrated one. The promenade is open 9:00–21:00 from April to October and 10:00–18:00 from November to March, and closes every third Monday. Details are on our getting there page.

What to bring on the day

• Your paper 1949 Geneva IDP, your home licence and your passport. All three, as originals.
• Closed, flat shoes. No heels or sandals.
• Trousers or shorts rather than a long skirt.
• A jacket in the cooler months. You sit low and in the open wind, and a bridge over the sea is not warm.

Also check the listing for any age limit and for what happens in rain, because each operator sets its own rules.

MariCar, Mario costumes and lookalike websites

The company that started these tours was called MariCar. Nintendo sued in February 2017. In January 2020 the IP High Court ordered ¥50 million in damages and banned both the “MariCar” name and the rental of Nintendo-character costumes; the Supreme Court made the ruling final in December 2020. The company renamed itself MARI Mobility Development, and the tours now run as Street Kart with generic costumes.

So any listing that promises “Mario Kart” in Tokyo is using a name it should not. Book the tour on its own merits.

Headout also sells a 120-minute Street Kart tour of Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Bay, if you already use that platform; we have no affiliate link with it.

Several near-identical “Street Kart” websites exist on different domains, and we could not confirm which one is the operator’s canonical site. If you would rather not guess, book through a platform listing where the refund terms are visible before you pay.

No IDP? Drive on the closed track in Aomi

This is the answer for most people who find out too late about the Geneva permit. City Circuit Tokyo Bay is in Aomi, on Odaiba itself, and opened in December 2023. It is a fenced circuit for electric karts, not a road tour:

• No driving licence needed.
• Minimum height 150 cm.
• Top speed 50 km/h.

You won’t cross Rainbow Bridge, but you do drive with the Odaiba skyline around you, and nobody can turn you away over paperwork. It can also suit teenagers who are tall enough but too young to hold a licence; check the circuit’s own age rules first. For trains to Aomi, see getting there.

Not driving at all: car-culture tours

If someone in your group cannot drive, or you care more about Japanese cars than about steering one, the Daikoku car-meet tours are the popular alternative. You ride as a passenger to see the tuned JDM cars people gather to show off. The Klook private version adds a Rainbow Bridge drive. The GetYourGuide “Tokyo Drift” experience is themed on the film.

Check the pickup point and start time on the card; these tours are built around the car meets, not around Odaiba’s opening hours.

Is a street kart worth it?

Go if you hold a 1949 Geneva IDP, you are comfortable in traffic and you want the photo of yourself on Rainbow Bridge. It is a loud, low, exposed ride among real cars and buses, and that is the point.

Skip it if your permit is the Vienna type, if you are nervous in city traffic or if it is raining; you sit very close to road spray. In those cases City Circuit Tokyo Bay, a Tokyo Bay cruise under the bridge, or simply walking the bridge (free, see getting there) will serve you better.

For more ideas, see things to do in Odaiba.