The go-kart tour people search for as “Mario Kart Tokyo” is real, but the document that gets you into the driver’s seat cannot be obtained in Japan. Street Kart, one of the operators, states it plainly: “IDP cannot be issued in Japan. You must obtain the IDP in your home country BEFORE coming to Japan.”
The name is also gone, by court order. Nintendo sued the company that traded as MariCar, and the case ended with an injunction and 50 million yen in damages. The karts still run; the Mario costume does not.
Nintendo won, and the costume was the part it won
Nintendo’s own news release of 28 December 2020 sets out the case against the company then named Kabushiki Kaisha MariCar, later renamed MARI Mobility Development, and its representative director. Four decisions were handed down across three courts:
- Tokyo District Court, judgment of 27 September 2018
- Intellectual Property High Court, interim judgment of 30 May 2019
- Intellectual Property High Court, final judgment of 29 January 2020
- Supreme Court, First Petty Bench, decision of 24 December 2020 dismissing the petition for acceptance of a final appeal
The Supreme Court decision of 24 December 2020 made the result final. Nintendo’s release describes what was ordered as an injunction against unfair competition, covering the business use of the marks “MariCar” and related forms, and the lending of Mario character costumes, together with payment of 50 million yen in damages.
That is why the operator’s own FAQ now carries the sentence “Street Kart is not reflected with Nintendo or the game ‘Mario Kart’ in any way.” The FAQ still invites you to “choose your favorite costume! All costumes are washed” – it simply no longer names the characters you were picturing.
The same FAQ settles a question families arrive with: “Currently, we do not offer carts that can support more than one passenger at a time.” One kart carries one person, which means every member of a group needs a licence and a full document set of their own, not just the person who booked. The vehicles themselves are described as automatic and easy to control, and as a “custom made go-kart” that “is for public roads in Japan.”
The permit has to be the 1949 convention, and it has to exist before you land
Japan does not accept every international driving permit. The National Police Agency states that the permit valid for driving here is the one issued under the Convention on Road Traffic, the treaty commonly called the Geneva Convention, and Street Kart narrows it further in its own requirements: “International Driving Permit(IDP) (1949 Convention ONLY).”
This is a trap for visitors from countries that are party to a different road traffic treaty, because a permit issued under another convention carries the same name and looks much the same. The booklet names the treaty it was issued under; check that line before you leave home, because neither the police page nor the operator’s page recognises anything else.
Two clocks then run at once. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department states the condition as a permit issued by a Geneva Convention country in the treaty’s prescribed form, valid within one year of issuance and within one year of arrival in Japan. The National Police Agency puts the same rule the other way round: the driving period is the shorter of one year from the day you land in Japan or the permit’s own validity period. A permit issued eleven months before your flight gives you one month of use, not a year.
Six jurisdictions skip the permit and use a translation instead
For licences from a short list of places, Japan does not use the international permit route at all. The National Police Agency names them: Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco and Taiwan. A driver holding one of those six licences drives on the national licence itself, accompanied by an official Japanese translation.
Who may write that translation is specified, not open. The National Police Agency lists three categories: the foreign licensing authority or its consular office in Japan; bodies notified by that country’s authority and approved by Japan’s National Public Safety Commission, for which it gives the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association and the German automobile federation as examples; and bodies designated by the National Public Safety Commission itself, of which it names three – JAF, Zip Plus Inc. and the Japan Visiting Drivers Support Association.
A translation produced by a commercial translation service outside those categories is not the document the rule describes.
Three document sets, and turning up without them costs the whole booking
Street Kart publishes the combinations it accepts at the counter. None of the three is a single document.
| Route | Licence | Second document | Identity document |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geneva Convention permit | Local driver’s licence | International Driving Permit, 1949 Convention only | Passport |
| Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco, Taiwan | Local driver’s licence | Authorised Japanese translation | Passport |
| United States forces in Japan | U.S. SOFA (USFJ 4EJ) or military driving licence, or a U.S. state licence | None listed | U.S. Department of Defense or military ID |
The permit itself carries the same two deadlines the police pages set out: Street Kart’s own requirements page states that it must be within one year of the date of issue and within one year of entering Japan.
The penalty for getting this wrong is total. Street Kart’s licence page states: “If you arrive at our shop without required original documents to drive in Japan, you can’t join our activity and can’t get any refund.” The word original is load-bearing – a photograph of a permit is not a permit.
Leaving Japan for a weekend does not reset the clock, if you live here
There is a rule that catches residents rather than tourists, and it is worth knowing because it is often described backwards. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department explains it under Article 107-2 of the Road Traffic Act: for a person recorded in Japan’s Basic Resident Register who leaves the country and returns in under three months with a newly obtained international permit, the day of that return is not treated as a new starting date for the driving period.
The National Police Agency states the same effect for departures with exit confirmation or re-entry permission followed by a return within three months. In other words, a short trip abroad to collect a fresh permit does not buy another year. Someone who is still inside one year of their previous arrival, and inside one year of the permit’s issue date, may drive; someone relying on the new landing date to restart the count may not.
What these sources do not cover
Three points stayed open after checking the official pages. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police page does not specify which vehicle categories an international permit holder may drive, and the only route it offers towards an answer is the telephone contact it prints for its driving licence headquarters. Street Kart’s own pages do not publish a minimum age or a minimum height. And neither the police material nor the operator’s FAQ mentions helmets on this class of vehicle, so nothing above states what is or is not required.
What is settled is the part that ruins trips: the permit is issued at home, it is checked against the 1949 convention, it is checked against two separate one-year limits, and the counter turns away anyone whose originals are missing.
Sources Checked
Nintendo Co., Ltd. – corporate news release of 28 December 2020 on the use of its intellectual property by a public-road kart rental service
Confirmed that the defendants were the company formerly named Kabushiki Kaisha MariCar, later MARI Mobility Development, and its representative director; that the Tokyo District Court gave judgment on 27 September 2018; that the Intellectual Property High Court gave an interim judgment on 30 May 2019 and a final judgment on 29 January 2020; that the Supreme Court First Petty Bench dismissed the petition for acceptance of a final appeal on 24 December 2020; and that the outcome was an injunction against unfair competition covering business use of the MariCar marks and the lending of Mario character costumes, together with 50 million yen in damages.
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/corporate/release/2020/201228.html
National Police Agency – official page for holders of a foreign driving licence
Confirmed that the international driving permit valid in Japan is the one issued under the Geneva Convention; that the driving period is the shorter of one year from the day of landing in Japan or the permit’s own validity period; that a departure with exit confirmation or re-entry permission followed by a return within three months does not restart that period; that licences from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco and Taiwan may be used with an official Japanese translation; and that the translation must come from the foreign licensing authority or its consular office, from a body notified by that authority and approved by the National Public Safety Commission, with the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association and the German automobile federation given as examples, or from a body designated by the National Public Safety Commission, namely JAF, Zip Plus Inc. or the Japan Visiting Drivers Support Association.
https://www.npa.go.jp/policies/application/license_renewal/have_DL_issed_another_country.html
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department – official page on driving in Japan with an internationally issued permit
Confirmed that the permit must be issued by a Geneva Convention country in the form the treaty prescribes; that it must be within one year of issuance and within one year of arrival in Japan; that Article 107-2 of the Road Traffic Act governs the case of a person in the Basic Resident Register who departs and returns within three months, whose return date is not a new starting point; and that the page does not specify authorised vehicle categories, printing a telephone contact for the Metropolitan Police driving licence headquarters instead.
https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/menkyo/menkyo/kokugai/kokusaimenkyo.html
Street Kart – operator’s own driver’s licence requirements page
Confirmed the three accepted document sets: a local licence with an International Driving Permit under the 1949 Convention only plus a passport; a local licence from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco or Taiwan with an authorised Japanese translation plus a passport; and a U.S. SOFA (USFJ 4EJ) or military driving licence or U.S. state licence with a U.S. Department of Defense or military ID. Confirmed that an international permit cannot be issued in Japan and must be obtained in the home country before arrival, that it must be within one year of the date of issue and within one year of entering Japan, and that arriving without the required original documents means no participation and no refund.
https://streetkart.com/en/license
Street Kart – operator’s own FAQ
Confirmed the statement “Street Kart is not reflected with Nintendo or the game ‘Mario Kart’ in any way.”; that customers choose a costume and that all costumes are washed; that karts carrying more than one passenger at a time are not offered; and that the karts are described as automatic, easy to control and custom made for public roads in Japan. Confirmed that this page publishes no minimum age or height and does not mention helmets.
https://streetkart.com/en/faq
Last updated: September 2026
