Gorilla Kart or Street Kart
There are two real operators on the island and we are one of them. Here is the comparison as we would give it to a friend, including the parts that do not favour us.
There are two real operators on the island and we are one of them. Here is the comparison as we would give it to a friend, including the parts that do not favour us.
Street Kart is the bigger operation — nine shops across Japan, and more Okinawa web addresses than we have staff. If you have seen street karting in Tokyo, Osaka or Shibuya, you have most likely seen them. They also list longer tours than we sell.
We have one shop, in Kumoji in Naha, and exactly two Tours: 60 minutes and 90 minutes. That is the whole product. If you want a two or three hour ride, we are not the ones selling it and we will say so rather than talk you into a 90.
Our riders name their guide in reviews. Not "the guide" — the actual person, by name, unprompted, across different platforms and different years. That happens when the same people run the same route often enough to be good at it, and it is the one thing a chain of interchangeable shops cannot arrange.
We hold our prices level. We are not the cheap option and we are not trying to be — booking direct with us costs the same as booking us through a marketplace, and we would rather spend the difference on the printed photos than on a discount.
So if two operators cost about the same, choose on the ride and the people. That is a fair fight and we are happy to have it.
The licence rule is the same for both of us, because it is Japanese law and not a company policy. A 1968 Vienna Convention permit will not get you on a kart at our counter or at theirs.
Read the permit page before you book anyone. If you turn up with the wrong document you lose the booking whichever of us took it.
Not sure your licence works in Japan? That is the one thing worth settling before you book.
Read the permit rulesTwo tours. 60 minutes at ¥9,000 covers Kokusai Dori and the Naha Airport coast road.
90 minutes at ¥12,000 covers the same, plus the bridge over to Senagajima and Umikaji Terrace.
Cosplay rental, the guide, professional photos and video. Nothing on that list is an extra.
Real roads, in live traffic, in an escorted convoy with a guide in front. The route runs past Kokusai Dori and the airport coast. This is a city ride, not a circuit.
English and Japanese.
The rest are on the FAQ, or emailinfo@gorillakartt.com.
¥12,000 per rider. Pick a day and a time — you are booking with us directly, not through a marketplace.
Book nowMore of these: routes, licences and the things people ask before booking.
All guides