I recently visited Japan in April and May, and even included a little hop over to South Korea, which was lovely. The cadence of my second trip to Japan was quite different than my first trip in 2020, partially due to the fact that we were concentrating two main areas (Tokyo and Kyoto), rather than scanning the entire country like I did on my first visit. I also made sure to see different areas in Tokyo and Kyoto than I had in 2020, including areas like Harajuku.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of our stay in Tokyo in particular was the two-hour Street Kart Racing event we took part in one evening in the Akihabara district of Tokyo. We donned more sedate haori jackets in preparation for our outing, while the other two participants decided to go full bore with Hopeful Heart Care Bear and Stitch onesies, both of which were hilarious. After a brief lesson on how to operate the karts, we were on our way, a single-line procession of gas-powered street karts on an adventure in Tokyo!

Here is a video I found on YouTube from RCBtrips which shows part of the route we took. It was far more fun and interesting for us to begin our drive at 6 pm, shortly before sunset, then continue our crawl at night, because we were able to see the transition to the display of lights throughout the city.

https://youtu.be/MGbw61MakcU?si=QYecG0FDgiMZJXra

Perhaps the best aspect of driving for two hours on the streets of Tokyo, other than the absolute thrill of driving with the wind in your face, is the fact that this is one of the best ways to see Tokyo. You get to see the lay of the land, and while driving, you are bound to see areas which you want to visit later. I would absolutely recommend this adventure to anyone who is willing to get behind the wheel in a foreign country. It certainly was a lot more fun than the 23-hour stress bomb that characterized my driving experience on Koh Samui, Thailand in 2022. As long as you are willing to obtain an international driver’s permit from AAA (if you reside in the U.S.), you can experience an awesome driving adventure in Japan!

I used Klook to book my driving adventure. Click here to book yours!