Riding around Tokyo in go-karts, just like in the Mario-Kart games I used to play. How can you not say “YES!”. AND you get to dress up in your favorite character, with the wind in your hair and Tokyo traffic zipping next to you. This has got to be one of the most amazing and memorable experience I have ever done! We were very thankful to our tour guides, Adam and Vinc at Monkey-Kart, Asakusa, Tokyo, for making this amazing experience happen safely.
We arrived at Monkey-Kart in Asakusa about 30 minutes early as instructed, BUT my wife forgot to bring the international drivers licenses. Fortunately, the manager was willing to drive one of us back to the hotel to pickup our IDL. Very accommodating and helped us not waste our day. We are so thankful.
We were given excellent detailed instructions by Adam and Vinc on how to operate the vehicles and given some easy to remember hand signals, so we would be able to communicate with our lead tour guide. Once we were given the brief, off we go or as Mario would say, “Here-a-we-a-goooooo!!!”
As in Japan, you had to drive on the left side of the road, which most of us are not so used to, but thanks to our guides Adam and Vinc, we were very comfortable in following and reading their hand signals and their instructions. They always ensured we were between them in traffic and comfortable in the navigation and safety.
We were off motoring with our tiny go-kart motors screaming in our ears and the smell of gas in the air. The pedestrians in the side walks were watching us zoom by and they were giving us thumbs up. Some people were asking us “Hey, where can I get a ride?!”. We passed bicyclist, taxis, trucks, buses, trains, cars, and pedestrians, and many towering Tokyo buildings. We passed by Tokyo Skytree, Senso-ji Temple, Akihabara, and a Sumo Wrestling Arena. I was absorbing and enjoying being the middle of downtown Tokyo on my excellent vacation.
In addition, to the fun of driving go-karts on the streets of Tokyo. Our tour guides were taking photos of us, so that we can take home momentos of this exciting event in our short lived Tokyo experience.
I cannot fully express in this review how much fun it is to experience an adventure of driving go-karts in Tokyo. You must try it yourself and you must go with Monkey-Karts, Asakusa, Tokyo, because Adam and Vinc gave us the best experience possible, in my opinion.
Thank you Monkey Kart and thank you Adam and...
Read moreI’m the kind of person that normally doesn’t like to do these sort of things, but I will say I highly recommend it and here is a list of the reasons why.
1: Even though it is nerve-racking to drive on the left side and a foreign country and in a vehicle that feels like you’re driving a lawnmower, Japan is the safest country to do such a thing the which is is perfect for families that have kids that are old enough to drive.
2: We scheduled our tour during the twilight hours, so the climate was quite nice not hot at all and it was a cool perspective to see Japan and a go kart style drive-through. The options of warring costumes also made the tour interesting.
3: A special shout out to our tour guide Issam he diligently took all the best shots for our group photos while we were driving the go karts. He knew how to get all the good angles. It’s not really the kind of thing that but at the end of the tour when he sent us our photos that he took, I was quite impressed worthy if you are into that sort of thing .
4: My favorite part of the tour was driving over the bridge and seeing the Tokyo sky tree and all its glory.
At the end of the tour, there are nearby, local restaurants, eating places where tourist do not frequent. Ask one of the employees name TK he will tell you where it is. It was one of the best areas when it comes to quality of food and prices.
Japan is not a tipping country, but after seeing the photos that Issam had took, I wish I had tipped him more Because good photo takers are...
Read moreI went on the Asakusa (Route 1) tour with Sho. We saw the Sumo Arena, Skytree tower, and Sensoji Temple all from the view of a go-kart. I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS TOUR MORE!!!! This is a must do tour when in Tokyo. You get to ride a street legal go-kart around Tokyo and see all these sites from a different perspective. Sho was an amazing tour guide that showed us all the common tourist sites but also other buildings and popular areas to visit/explore. He took the already awesome experience to the next level. The entire staff was kind, patient, helpful, and charismatic. I went with my mother, so this is an experience for multiple generations. You need to be of legal driving age to drive the go-kart. You also need to obtain an international drivers license before you come to Japan. We got ours through AAA. They take safety seriously and go over everything about the go-karts before you start. They also go over hand signals and how to ride on the street in a group. It all felt very safe and well organized. The tour guide will also take pictures of you throughout the trip to ensure you are able to capture the moment without missing any of the fun. These pictures are shared with you as part if the experience. Which is a great perk. And you are like a local celebrity with people on the side walks taking pictures and waving to you. This is such a unique opportunity that...
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