Go Karts On The Street... Wtf

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This is legal at present but as soon as there is an accident, I imagine it will be shut down pretty quickly.

Looks like a great fun thing to do in Tokyo. Esp going over the rainbow bridge.
 
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I may be checking this out over the weekend, sounds like fun. Are go karts considered "motor vehicles", as in they are held to the same standard?
 
TapDat said:
I may be checking this out over the weekend, sounds like fun. Are go karts considered "motor vehicles", as in they are held to the same standard?
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They fall under scooters I think, they have the same license plate.
 
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TAG Manager said:
They fall under scooters I think, they have the same license plate.
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They're light motor vehicles, slightly different classification, and you do need a car license to drive them.
 
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I have a license, was just wondering about obeying traffic laws and stuff. But I guess that's something I could ask when I go :)
 
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TapDat said:
Few weekends ago I saw a bunch of people dressed as Mario characters riding go karts around Tokyo. This is amazing where do I sign up.

Anybody have any details on this?
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roots reggae said:
If they have not arrived yet, you may want to have them get an International Drivers License before they get here and take the Mario Cart tour-looks fun!:

http://maricar.com/#en
Be careful, you need the valid driver license for driving Japan: Japanese Driver License or International Driver Permit with the passport and SOFA License for USFJ or Japanese Transration(only for Switzerland, Germany, France, Taiwan, Belgium, Slovenia, Monaco) is needed. Please check here..

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mario-jpg.2096


I've written about these folks a couple times on TAG. Above is a post from August with a link for info.

Happy Times!!!
 
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Just saw a group of people with the non-branded Maricar versions... Seems they were able to keep operating despite the lawsuit by Nintendo.

The cars don't have the 'Maricar' logos anymore, look pretty plain now...
 
TAG Manager said:
Just saw a group of people with the non-branded Maricar versions... Seems they were able to keep operating despite the lawsuit by Nintendo.

The cars don't have the 'Maricar' logos anymore, look pretty plain now...
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Yes, i saw and artice on one of those Japan news sites for foreigners saying the carts won the lawsuit.
 
These damned karts have made it to Thailand. As if the roads here aren't chaotic enough.

Riding a motorbike, even walking across the street in Thailand already has the feel of being in a "flesh and blood" version of a video game.

I often think of Frogger when I'm crossing the street, I'm not sure that dressing up in a Mario costume would add much to the experience, but if you did happen to die while wearing a Mario costume at least it would be a "fun" death.
 
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iwory said:
Really??
I haven't seen them in Bangkok before.
I agree though that the road here is chaotic enough without these carts especially with all the motorcycles.
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I knew that they had indoor tracks... But had not heard that's there was a similar service offering there as Maricar provides in Japan.

After my last post, I saw two more groups of Maricar karts. Some people had costumes on, others didn't.
 
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User#8628 said:
Yes, i saw and artice on one of those Japan news sites for foreigners saying the carts won the lawsuit.
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There were actually two suits in the courts, the one just decided (based on the "marikar" business name) was only the first. The one based on the costume rental (which I suspect they'll lose) is still pending.
 
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I just want to say that anyone considering this should absolutely try it. Racing the train across the Rainbow Bridge and scaring pedestrians at the love hotels is so much fun. I did it Saturday night from the Akhibara #1 location and had so much fun I did it again tonight from the original Shinigawa location. Both courses are fun and go across the Rainbow Bridge but the Shinigawa course goes through Shibuya and Roppongi and is easily the best one. Also you go TOWARDS Tokyo Tower rather than away from it so you actually see rather than having to look around behind you at stop lights.

Also, if your not FAT like me these carts go FAST across the Rainbow Bridge. I hit 80 kmh (50mph for my fellow Imperialists) myself and the tour leader and cart in front of me (each of them about half or less my weight) were going even faster because they kept pulling ahead.
 
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I should also add that the tour guide you get makes a difference in how fast your gonna get. Japanese guide I had Saturday kept us to no more than 55kmh on the bridge. Lebanese guide from tonight goes as fast as he can (allowing for slower drivers to keep up, some are fat like me, others just afraid to floor it). If you want the fastest ride ask for Mohamed's group.
 
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Are there now several companies doing this or is the difference of the groups I have noticed recently just because of the shop location within the same company?
 
MikeH said:
Are there now several companies doing this or is the difference of the groups I have noticed recently just because of the shop location within the same company?
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Well, let me put it like this. When I came to Japan the first time in April I looked into this and booked a tour but had to cancel. At that time they had one shop in Shinagawa and one in Shibuya I think. That was when the lawsuit with Nintendo was active still.

When I looked again just before this current trip they had two Shinagawa offices, Two Akhihabara offices, Shibuya, something called "Tokyo Bay BBQ" and an Asakusa office. That's just in Tokyo.

They have also opened an Osaka, Okinawa, and Yokohama branch. (my tour guide from last night is supposed to be the new manager of Yokohama soon). So it's growing like crazy and that's probably the differences in the groups.
 
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As a girl that is currently in Bangkok/other towns in Thailand just after Tokyo, I concur. The streets are crazy enough and like a horrible deadly video game without any additional obstacles!
Even crossing the street is a nightmare sometimes, no pedestrian crossings, cars and motorcycles everywhere that don't stop.

But it is something I would actually consider in japan, I love go karts both in Nintendo form and real form
 
I saw those karts twice in Shibuya and once in Minato where I live. Foreigners are usually driving them... I guess this is how locals see us, a bunch of weirdos.
 
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