What You Need to Drive a Go-Kart in Tokyo
The licence rule for Tokyo go-kart tours: a 1949 Geneva Convention IDP booklet, the JAF translation for six countries, what the shops add, and what happens at the counter without them.
To drive a go-kart on a Tokyo street you need a licence that is valid in Japan, and for most visitors that means three originals on the day: your home driving licence, an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention, and your passport. Licences from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco and Taiwan are the exception: they need a Japanese translation from JAF instead of a permit (JAF, checked November 2026). Without the right documents the shop will not let you drive, and the listings that say what happens next give no refund.
What Japan accepts
JAF, the Japan Automobile Federation, sets out two routes for visitors:
| Your licence | What you carry | Valid for |
|---|---|---|
| From a country that issues 1949 Geneva Convention permits | Your licence and an International Driving Permit under the 1949 Geneva Convention | Up to 1 year from the date you enter Japan |
| From Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco or Taiwan | Your original licence and a JAF Japanese translation of it | Up to 1 year from the date you enter Japan |
Source: JAF, english.jaf.or.jp, checked November 2026.
Two details catch people out. Permits issued under other treaties, such as the 1968 Vienna Convention, are not valid in Japan, even though they look much the same. And JAF does not translate International Driving Permits: the translation route is only for licences from the six places above. JAF accepts translation applications only from within Japan, for JPY 6,000, so a German or Swiss driver has to fit the application in after arriving.
The permit itself comes from the country that issued your licence, through its own authorised body. You cannot get one in Japan, and a permit bought from an online company will not do: JAPANKART’s tours turn those away.
What the shops add
The national rule is the same at every shop; the extra conditions differ from tour to tour:
| Tour | Extra conditions on the day |
|---|---|
| Shibuya and Shinjuku Streets Guided Go-Karting Tour (BC support Co.,Ltd.) | Licence, permit and passport, all three; the permit in booklet form; not available to permit holders from Brazil, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or Bahrain (its booking notes); its description adds Pakistan and Kuwait |
| Official Japan Go-Kart Through Shibuya / Shinjuku (JAPANKART) | The permit in booklet form, not paper form, issued in your own country, never bought online |
| Shibuya Go Karting Tour from Shinjuku to Shibuya (Akiba Kart Shibuya) | Book-type permits only; card and digital types are not valid |
| Shibuya Crossing with Photos (Monkey Adventure Kart) | A hard-copy booklet; online copies, photocopies and card licences are not valid; no permits from Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Kuwait or Qatar |
| Street Kart Experience in Shibuya (Street Kart) | Licences from countries outside the 1949 convention “such as China, Indonesia, Mexico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia” cannot be used; the physical permit and passport |
| Premium Go-Karting Tour through Shibuya (ShibuyaKart) | Hard copies only; the UAE’s blue booklet-type permit “is not recognized by the Japanese police”; drivers from India should contact the shop before booking |
| Shibuya Crossing and Tokyo Tower (Kira-Kira! Tokyo! Tours!) | Originals only: digital copies, photos, photocopies and application receipts are not accepted |
| Guided Electric Go-Kart Tour (Tokyo Z Kart) | No digital licences, photocopies or photos; residents of Japan need a Japanese licence |
| Tokyo Old Town Go-Kart Tour (Kartzilla) | Residents of Japan need a Japanese licence; US forces can drive on a SOFA permit |
From the GetYourGuide listings, checked November 2026.
Street Kart and Monkey Adventure Kart also take a SOFA licence for US Forces Japan (the operators’ sites, checked November 2026).
The country lists do not all agree
JAF’s pages name six places whose licences take a translation. Some operators print a longer list: ShibuyaKart’s own site adds Slovenia, Monkey Adventure Kart’s FAQ adds Estonia, and a Viator listing under the supplier name AKIBA KART OSAKA lists Slovenia too. We go by JAF, the body that issues the translations. If your licence is from Slovenia or Estonia, ask JAF and the shop before you book, not at the counter.
What happens at the counter without them
Turn up without the right documents and you do not drive. On BC support Co.,Ltd.'s tour there are no refunds for “incorrect/invalid documents on the activity day”. On Akiba Kart Shibuya’s tours a missing or invalid permit means the tour is cancelled “without refund”. On JAPANKART’s tours, no hard copy of the permit means you “will be unable to participate without possibility of reimbursement”, and on Kartzilla’s no refunds are given either.
It happens. Among the 350 most recent reviews of BC support Co.,Ltd.'s tour that we read in November 2026, the oldest from 8 July, one traveller wrote in August that they “did not pick this up” about the international licence, could not take part and got no refund, and another wrote in September that they could not drive with digital permits.
Street Kart’s own pages suggest sending photos of your documents after booking so the staff can check them in advance (Street Kart, checked November 2026), and Street Kart emails after a Tokyo Bay booking on GetYourGuide about the documents you need. Checking in advance is worth doing with any shop.
If you have no permit
The street tours are closed to you, but you can still drive. City Circuit Tokyo Bay in Aomi, Odaiba, is a course where no licence is needed: an electric single-seater for drivers 150 cm and taller, and a two-seater that takes a passenger (City Circuit Tokyo Bay, checked November 2026). It is a circuit, not a ride past Shibuya Crossing, and it is the place in Tokyo we found where you can drive a kart with no licence at all.
If you do have the permit, every tour by area is the place to choose a route.
More in Tokyo
Tokyo Tours with Open Dates
Other ways to spend a few hours in Tokyo, with live availability. Where each starts, what it includes and the cancellation terms show before you book.
One Hour Through Shinjuku and Shibuya
BC support Co.,Ltd.'s guided kart hour from Nishi-Shinjuku: Yoyogi Park, Shibuya Crossing, Harajuku and Kabukicho, costumes and the guide's photos included. Bring your licence, IDP booklet and passport; free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Check dates