Akihabara Go-Kart Tours: Where They Start and What They Cost

One go-kart tour on GetYourGuide says it starts in Akihabara: Street Kart’s Original Street Kart Experience from Akihabara, from its Akihabara #1 shop, about 550 metres on foot from JR Akihabara Station. It runs through Marunouchi past the Imperial Palace, on to Tokyo Station and Ginza, and finishes back in Akihabara, a route of approximately 50 to 60 minutes depending on traffic, for up to 6 drivers, from US$73 a person (checked November 2026). Three more drive through Akihabara on longer routes, and one Viator tour starts five minutes from the station.

Pick a date to see the start times. The listing’s duration is 1 hour; free cancellation runs until 7 days before. GetYourGuide lists Street Kart’s tours under the provider name Reservation Center.

Which tours start in Akihabara, and which drive through it

GetYourGuide prices checked November 2026, per driver. The From price is the lowest price shown on the day we read it.

Street Kart’s is the only one of the four whose listing places its start in Akihabara. Monkey Adventure Kart’s tour starts at the shop its own site calls its Asakusa shop, in Yokokawa, about 4 kilometres east of the station in a straight line. JAPANKART’s East Tokyo tour comes in two lengths, a 2-hour route through Toyosu, Ginza, Nihonbashi, Akihabara, Ueno and Asakusa and a 1-hour route through Asakusa, Ueno, Akihabara, Kappabashi and Tokyo Skytree, so check which one you are booking. Kartzilla’s Old Town tour had 16 reviews when we read it.

Street Kart’s Akihabara tour is also sold on Viator: Official Street Go-Kart Tour - Akihabara, from US$74, rated 5.0 from 1,906 reviews (checked November 2026).

Getting to the Akihabara starts

Walking distances are routed on the street network from the JR Akihabara Station building. Street Kart’s addresses and directions from its store pages (streetkart.com), Beauty of Japan’s from its Viator page, checked November 2026.

The #1 shop is north of the station and the #2 shop east of it, on the Showa-dori side; the two are about 740 metres apart in a straight line.

Street Kart’s two Akihabara shops, and Viator tours from and to Akihabara

Street Kart lists two Akihabara shops on its own site: #1 at Sotokanda 4-12-9, course A1-S, about an hour; and #2 at Kanda-Sakumacho 4-16-7, with two courses: A2-S, about an hour through Akihabara, Tokyo Station and Ginza, and A2-M, about 1.5 to 2 hours past the Imperial Palace, Harajuku and Shibuya Crossing (Street Kart, checked November 2026). The GetYourGuide tour above runs from the #1 shop. The #2 shop is booked on Viator, as Official Street Go Kart Tour Akihabara 2nd, from US$74 for its 1-hour option (Akihabara, Tokyo Station, Ginza, 50 to 60 minutes of driving); its 2-hour option goes round the Imperial Palace, Harajuku, Shibuya Crossing and Tokyo Station. Up to 6 a booking, drivers 18 and over.

One more Viator tour starts in Akihabara. Beauty of Japan’s Akihabara: Go-Kart Experience with Local Guide in Tokyo, from US$71 and rated 4.7 from 60 reviews, drives Akihabara, past the Imperial Palace walls, to Tokyo Station on its 1-hour plan; a 2-hour plan goes on to Ueno and Asakusa. Its drivers must be 150 to 185 cm tall, under 100 kg and at least 18, and a 15 to 20 minute safety lecture comes before the road.

Tokyo Go-kart Experience’s Tokyo Go Kart Street Tour Asakusa to Akihabara, from US$78, starts at its Asakusa shop (a red-brick building; arrive 30 minutes early) and uses electric single-seat karts for 55 to 65 minutes, with a 10-minute photo stop in Akihabara and up to 6 a tour.

Viator prices checked November 2026. The operators price in yen; Viator shows a dollar figure.

Choose by the ride you want

Book the route that fits your day:

Prices, ratings and review counts from our November 2026 data check; operators price by date and start time, so treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.

What you need to drive

Every tour here is on public roads, so every driver needs a licence valid in Japan, in the original. Japan recognises an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention (not the 1968 Vienna one), valid for up to a year from your entry; licences from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco and Taiwan go with a JAF Japanese translation instead (JAF, checked November 2026). The licence and IDP guide covers the details.

The operators add their own conditions. On Street Kart’s tours a valid IDP must come from the same country that issued your licence and cannot be obtained online while travelling; an email after booking explains the documents, and without the originals you cannot join and get no refund. Monkey Adventure Kart’s tour needs a hard-copy paper booklet of the 1949 IDP; online or soft copies are not valid. JAPANKART’s needs the IDP in booklet form, not on loose paper, and without a hard copy on the day you cannot take part, with no refund.

Street Kart’s Akihabara tour is not suitable for children under 18, pregnant women, people with back problems or mobility impairments, wheelchair users and visually or hearing-impaired people, and it does not allow high heels, sandals, slippers or phones. Monkey Adventure Kart’s takes drivers over 18 and rules out people over 180 cm or over 150 kg and pregnant women. JAPANKART’s takes no drivers under 18 and no heels, sandals or bare feet.

Cancelling and rain

On GetYourGuide, Street Kart’s Akihabara tour can be cancelled for a full refund up to 7 days before; Monkey Adventure Kart’s, JAPANKART’s and Kartzilla’s up to 24 hours before. In heavy rain, contact Monkey Adventure Kart’s team; JAPANKART offers a full refund or a new date if bad weather cancels the tour. For the hour of day, see go-karting by day or at night.

Despite the name, neither of Akiba Kart Shibuya’s GetYourGuide listings describes a start in Akihabara: its tour from Shinjuku starts at Shinjuku 1-2-8, and its Shibuya tour drives Shibuya Scramble and Dogenzaka.

Questions

How much does go karting cost in Tokyo, Japan?

From Akihabara, Street Kart’s tour costs from US$73 a person on GetYourGuide; the routes that pass through Akihabara start from US$63 with JAPANKART and US$88 with Kartzilla, and Monkey Adventure Kart’s is US$80 on promotion, usually US$95 (GetYourGuide prices checked November 2026). Every Tokyo tour by area and price has the rest of the city.

What do I need to drive go-karts in Tokyo?

The originals of your home driving licence, an International Driving Permit under the 1949 Geneva Convention and your passport; with a licence from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco or Taiwan, the licence, a JAF Japanese translation and your passport instead. Street Kart also accepts a Japanese licence and, for US Forces members, a SOFA licence. Monkey Adventure Kart does not accept online or soft copies of a permit.

Can I drive in Japan with a U.S. driver’s license?

Not on its own. You need an International Driving Permit under the 1949 Geneva Convention as well, carried with the licence and your passport, and it is valid in Japan for up to a year from entry (JAF). Street Kart adds that it must come from the country that issued your licence and cannot be obtained online while travelling; JAPANKART names AAA or AATA as the US issuers.

Where can I go go karting in Tokyo streets?

Guided street tours start from shops in Akihabara, Shibuya and Shinjuku, Sumida near Tokyo Skytree, Shinagawa and Shinkiba on Tokyo Bay. Every Tokyo go-kart tour by area lists them with their starts and prices.

Can you go-kart in Japan without a license?

Not on the street: every street tour requires one, and Street Kart’s pages put it as “NO LICENSE NO DRIVE!!”. City Circuit Tokyo Bay, a closed course in Aomi, needs no licence; its single-seat karts take drivers from 150 cm (City Circuit, checked November 2026).