Akiba Kart : An awesome way to relive the Super Mario Kart memories in the real world at Akihabara

So you are a fan of the Super Mario Kart series? I bumped into a rather interesting concept which I had heard a couple of months back. Driving a go-kart in the Tokyo City dressed up as a character from Super Mario or otherwise!!. Now this is really cool huh? the service already popular with hoards of tourists is called Akiba Kart and they allows you to rent go-karts right in the geek paradise of Akihabara in Tokyo. Now, how cooooool is that! Take a look at the below shots and decide for yourself.

It was  a Saturday morning and I bumped into them by coincidence on my way to Yushima Shrine. All the participants were dressed up ready to DRIVE.
Super Mario Kart - Akiba KartAnd guess who was leading? It was the WaLuigi!!! a chubby guy right there in the front with Mario in the background. The awesome part is that each kart can reach speeds of 50 km/h and you can drive without an helmet! Wonder how they got permission for that! Akiba Navi the company behind this provides for free costumes based on availability, but If you want to buy your own dress you can find on Amazon Japanスーパーマリオブラザーズ マリオ & ルイージ セット (帽子・つけひげ付) コスチューム 男女共用 165cm-178cm
Super Mario Kart - Akiba KartAs the race started I followed the group in a car and the group was having great fun with their adventure. My god, I want to do this sooooooon. If you want too, then jump in to the site here and register yourself. Access http://akibanavi.net/ and change the language to ENGLISh at the bottom right of the site and it will give you a translated interface to work with. ADVANCE BOOKING IS COMPULSORY.Super Mario Kart - Akiba KartWaLuigi kind of became a friend and kept waiving back at me at every corner. I should have asked him for his contact and kept in touch :). By the way, anyone with a valid Japanese or international license can drive the karts and the cosplay is not Mario ONLY, but your own choice.Super Mario Kart - Akiba KartNot only guys, but many girls too dressed up with Mario characters were participating and enjoying the Saturday morning. For just 20 dollars or so this is a an awesome way to enjoy Akihabara.Super Mario Kart - Akiba KartWhat I learned from the akibanavi site is that, they will give you a full tank of gas and you can drive the go-kart for about 80 kilometers. You can completely go out of Akihabara, making this a new and interesting way to explore Tokyo, but ensure you leave enough gas to come back, since you cannot desert the cart somewhere and have to return it to its original location.Super Mario Kart - Akiba KartA participant enjoying herself. If you become an Akiba Cart member, you can rent karts for slightly less at 2,000 yen ($18) an hour too!!Super Mario Kart - Akiba KartFrom a safety standpoint, each kart comes with side view mirrors, a horn, and a little red flag at the back to get attention of  drivers around you.
Super Mario Kart - Akiba KartLocation is Akihabara as below and OFFICIAL WEBSITE IS Access http://akibanavi.net/

9 Comments

  1. Reply

    This looks like so much fun and I’d love to do go-karting like this! I’m a huge video game nerd so driving around with these costumes on would really bring back some nostalgia of my childhood. I wonder if there are any places here that do something like this.

    • Reply

      Yeah can totally relate to that! Especially if you are a gaming fan no experience like that for sure 🙂

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  3. Steven Wang

    Reply

    Hi is there availability for 9 people tomorrow at 3pm for a 2hr session?

    Thanks!

  4. Reply

    I was very impressed by this post, this site has always been pleasant news. Thank you very much for such an interesting post. Keep working, great job! In my free time, I like play
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  5. K

    Reply

    Didn’t know such a thing existed. I was just waiting to cross a street in Akihabara and out of nowhere, an IRL Mario Kart procession going by holding polling positions. 0_0
    I’m almost sad that this article makes sense of that.

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