Riding around Tokyo in a go-kart is a crazy new thing you can do

 

“BE CAREFUL and follow me.”

They are perfectly reasonable instructions to receive from a tour guide anywhere in the world.
“There’s a slippery set of stairs ahead so be careful and follow me”. Or, “the path gets a bit narrow but the view will be worth it. Be careful and follow me.”
We are sitting in go-karts, engines idling, about to pull out into the midmorning traffic in Tokyo, city of 13 million, when our guide Yoshi gives us the same instructions.
“Be careful and follow me” seems almost flippant when one of the many things you’re
worrying about is how a Japanese truck driver is going to be aware of a vehicle that stands exactly 70 centimetres off the road.
As we turn out on to the streets of Shinagawa, central Tokyo, I’m also wondering what local drivers will make of that preposterously exposed vehicle being driven by a foreigner in a cartoon character onesie.

Heath Aston found an unconventional way to get around Toyko.Source:Supplied

A few weeks earlier we’d been told by friends that Mario Karting around Tokyo was “the best” thing to do in Japan.
Coming from Australia, the concept of go-karting around ordinary streets seemed almost unfathomable.
Strangely, for a country as tightly regulated and even more law-abiding than Australia, a modified 95-kilogram go-kart is considered by the Japanese road authorities to be a “mini sports car” and is thus legal to drive outside race tracks.

                                          Posing with the Tokyo Tower.Source:Supplied

Checking out the sights of Shibuya.Source:Supplied

The first time anyone combined this wrinkle in the law with the iconic Super Mario series was in 2011 when two dodgy-looking Italian plumbers in overalls and fake moustaches, Mario and Luigi, were spotted in the traffic.
They were actually two Japanese motoring writers.
A company called MariCar was established to take that experience to a wider audience.
The company has been hit with legal action by Nintendo for copyright infringement and now tells customers that MariCar is “in no way a reflection of the game Mario Kart”.

Picking out the perfect costume.Source:Supplied

When we arrive, the first thing to decide after signing the safety waiver is whether to dress up as Mario, Luigi or the other Nintendo characters.
We went a little wider. I chose the Tigger costume and my girlfriend Maria Paula became Minnie Mouse.
After ten minutes of sticking close to the safety of Yoshi’s back wheels, I realise that Tokyo drivers are not aggressive and trucks the size of semi-trailers just don’t exist in the centre of the city.

Stopping for pedestrians at one of Tokyo’s many busy intersections.Source:Supplied

The accelerator foot soon loosens up, particularly around a network of back alleys where a momentary absence of cars allows us to get the go-karts up to a fast-feeling 60km/h and put a bit of work into corners.
We opted for the two hour tour which visits Tokyo Tower, the red light district of Roppongi and bustling Shibuya. The sights are a sideshow to the driving.
The MariCar tour has become a little tourist attraction in itself with Japanese, who are always quick on the draw with an iPhone, taking pictures of our group at most sets of lights.
An Aussie calls out for details of where he can get on the tour but I have to break some bad news.

Maria Moreno in her Minnie Mouse gear.Source:Supplied

Even though the Japanese will let you loose on their streets in a go-kart powered by a two-stroke engine, they will not do so unless you bring an international driver’s permit.

KEEN TO GIVE IT A GO?

An International Driving Permit (IDP) is an official United Nations document translated in nine languages worldwide. The document provides official identification to Australian travellers looking to drive a vehicle overseas. It also serves as an accepted form of general identification.