The permit you need to drive in Japan
Four documents let you drive. Your home licence on its own is not one of them. The permit Japan accepts says 1949 on the cover — a 1968 permit will not get you on a kart.
Four documents let you drive. Your home licence on its own is not one of them. The permit Japan accepts says 1949 on the cover — a 1968 permit will not get you on a kart.
These are road-legal karts on public roads, in live traffic, in a convoy behind a guide. It is not a circuit and it is not private land. Japanese law therefore decides who may drive one, and it applies the same rule it applies to a car.
That single fact is behind almost every bad review in this category, ours included. Nobody expects a go kart to need paperwork, so nobody checks, and the check happens at the counter on the morning of the ride.
You need one of these. Not a combination of your own devising, and not a home licence on its own — that is never enough, in any country.
Japan accepts the International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic. Permits issued under the 1926, 1943 and 1968 conventions are not valid here.
1968 is the Vienna Convention, and it is the one that catches European riders out — most of Europe issues it. The convention year is printed on the front cover of the permit. Look at it before you fly, not at the counter.
Important: We cannot make an invalid permit valid, and we cannot refund a rider we are not allowed to let drive. Check the cover.
In the country that issued your licence, before you travel. Permits are not sold in Japan, and we cannot issue one for you.
A permit is also void on its own — it is valid only when carried together with the licence it was issued against, which is printed on the permit itself. Bring both.
A small group of countries is handled by translation instead. You bring your own licence plus an official Japanese translation of it, made by JAF — the Japan Automobile Federation — and ordered from them before you travel. Switzerland, Germany, France, Taiwan, Belgium and Monaco are on that footing.
Estonia is a special case: JAF’s current English list and the 1949 party list disagree on it, so we are not guessing either way. If you hold an Estonian licence, message us before booking.
Important: A translation you arranged yourself is not accepted, however official it looks. It has to be the JAF one.
Then do not guess, and do not let us guess either. Japan accepts licences and permits from a fixed list of countries, and being wrong in the optimistic direction costs you the booking.
Send us a photo of your licence before you book. We answer during opening hours and it costs nothing.
Almost certainly, yes. These are road-legal karts on public roads, so Japanese law decides who may drive.
You need one of four things: a Japanese driving licence, an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention, a licence from one of six listed countries plus an official JAF translation, or a SOFA licence. Your home licence on its own is never enough.
No. Japan accepts only the 1949 Geneva Convention permit, and the year is printed on the front cover. Permits issued under the 1926, 1943 and 1968 conventions are not valid here.
1968 is the one that catches most European riders out. Check the cover before you fly: we cannot make an invalid permit valid at the counter, and we cannot refund a rider we are not allowed to let drive.
In your own country, before you travel. They are not sold in Japan and we cannot issue one for you.
It also has to be carried together with the licence it was issued against — a permit on its own is void, which is printed on the permit itself.
Six countries are handled by translation instead: Switzerland, Germany, France, Taiwan, Belgium and Monaco. You bring your home licence plus an official Japanese translation of it made by JAF, the Japan Automobile Federation, ordered from them before you travel. A translation you arranged yourself is not accepted.
Estonia is a special case: JAF’s current English list and the 1949 party list disagree on it, so we are not guessing either way. If you hold an Estonian licence, message us before booking.
A SOFA licence is enough on its own — no permit, no translation. The same goes for dependants holding one.
Message us with a photo of your licence before you book and we will tell you straight away.
Japan accepts licences and permits from a fixed list of countries, and guessing in either direction is what gets riders turned away. Ask first — it takes a minute and it is free.
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