Go-Karting in Tokyo with Kids or a Passenger

Children cannot drive on a Tokyo street-kart tour, and on most of them they cannot ride along either. The street-tour listings that state an age set 18 for drivers, or 17 on BC support Co.,Ltd.'s tour, and every driver needs a licence valid in Japan. A family has three real options: a two-seat kart at City Circuit Tokyo Bay in Odaiba, where a child of about 105 cm rides as a passenger and the same height can drive the children’s kart; Monkey Adventure Kart’s two-seat Can-Am, offered on one route; or a racing-kart track in Chiba that takes children from 120 cm.

Why the street tours say no

Street karts are built for one driver. Kartzilla’s karts take one person only (Kartzilla, checked November 2026), and the karts sold under the supplier name AKIBA KART OSAKA are “for 1 person only”. And every driver needs a home licence plus a 1949 Geneva Convention permit (JAF, checked November 2026). The limits, in the shops’ own words:

From the GetYourGuide listings, checked November 2026.

Street Kart’s own shop pages give no minimum age, but its GetYourGuide listings rule out children under 18 and its Viator listings give 18 as the minimum age.

Option 1: City Circuit Tokyo Bay

The circuit in Aomi needs no licence and has two karts for families (City Circuit Tokyo Bay, checked November 2026):

• The two-seat EV kart. A driver 150 cm or taller with a passenger of about 105 cm or taller, top speed 30 km/h, JPY 3,500 for a 10-minute session on weekdays and JPY 4,000 at weekends, for the kart and both of you.
• The children’s EV kart. Riders 105 cm or taller drive it themselves, at up to 15 km/h, mainly on the indoor course: JPY 2,000 for 20 minutes, walk-in only.

The adult single-seater takes drivers from 150 cm, so a tall teenager can drive one too. City Circuit Tokyo Bay has the hours and how to get there.

Option 2: a passenger seat on a street tour

Monkey Adventure Kart’s FAQ lists a Can-Am two-seater, one driver and one passenger, on its Road Route 1 only (Monkey Adventure Kart, checked November 2026). It does not give a minimum age or height for the passenger, and the GetYourGuide listings for its tours do not mention the two-seater. Ask Monkey Adventure Kart before you book, and say how old and tall the passenger is. Monkey Adventure Kart has its routes and shops.

Option 3: a racing-kart track from 120 cm

Outside Tokyo, a racing-kart session at New Tokyo Circuit in Ichihara, Chiba, is listed on GetYourGuide for children aged 6 to 12 who are at least 120 cm tall (an adult plan runs from 13), with no driving licence needed. The online price (US$167 a driver, November 2026) covers the kart and fuel for the midday session, 12:00 to 1:30 PM; a facility fee of JPY 2,700 a person (JPY 8,600 for the full day) and JPY 500 damage cover are paid at the circuit (its listing). It is a track about an hour from central Tokyo, not a street tour: you get there yourself (249 Kamifutamatsu, Hikita, Ichihara), each driver has their own kart, and the weight limit is 90 kg. The listing had 12 reviews when we read it in November 2026.

If only the adults drive

On the street tours everyone drives their own kart, Monkey Adventure Kart’s Can-Am aside, so a parent who wants the Shibuya ride books it for themselves and the family meets up afterwards. Most tours last about an hour, and the shops ask you to arrive 20 to 40 minutes early. Every tour by area has the start points, so you can pick a shop near where the rest of the family will be.