LogFAQs > #985776527

Alteres posted...

They have mario kart races on the actual roads?

"races" isn't the best term for them, here's how they work:

You go to one of their garages where they have the go-karts, you have to have an international driver's permit (easy to get, just pay a fee before you go to Japan), and you have to read through a guide on how to read the traffic signs. I'm sure people ignore the guides but at least the shops give them out for people who actually care. The guide explains various hand signals and dos/don'ts, so for example, when you come up to a stop light, you must all collapse down to fit two karts side-by-side and you have to be as close to the kart in front of you as you can get so you take up as little room as possible. When you're driving, you need to be in single file and you need to stay as close to the person in front of you as you can - think Nascar. Unfortunately, people are flat out terrible about obeying this rule and in my personal experience that's what causes the most problems. Obviously you're supposed to obey standard traffic rules, so if a red light is going to cut you off from the group, you're supposed to stop and then the guide will wait for you down the road in a safe spot. The guides are generally familiar with the area so this shouldn't happen unless you're lagging behind like an idiot (seriously, the people that lag behind piss me off). On paper, it shouldn't be a problem. However, when you consider the drastic spread of skill levels of people driving (they have pictures of all the F1 drivers who have driven with them over the years, then you get girls who pull out their cell phones at literally every chance they get, despite the fact that the guide is taking far better photos than they ever will), you can wind up with any level of stupidity on the road. Racing or throwing banana peels or dumb stuff like that is strictly forbidden.

I've done a Toyko tour and an Osaka tour. I'm well aware of how much they're hated, and if there was a way to make people prove their driving skill level before they'd be allowed to participate in the tour, I'd be all for it. The Osaka tour demanded far more environmental/spacial/situational awareness than Tokyo. At one point it passed through a street that was all foot and bicycle traffic, and while the pedestrians are easy to avoid, bicyclists will come up beside you from behind when you're not expecting it, and the rear-view mirrors on the karts aren't that great, so you have to be very aware. They are honestly a fun way to tour the city, but it's definitely unfortunate that they've caused the problems they have.

I do fear for the problems the irresponsible tourists are going to cause for the rest of us who do our best to get educated on etiquette and cause as little of an impact on things as we can. All I can say is if you are planning on visiting Japan but haven't, please watch videos on Youtube that explain how to behave on trains / in restaurants / tourist stops / etc first.