Can You Drift at Sodegaura Forest Raceway? Rules, Fees, Options (2026)

Not as a product you can buy. Sodegaura Forest Raceway in Sodegaura, Chiba sells 30-minute four-wheel sport running at ¥3,600 on weekdays and ¥4,200 at weekends, after a ¥25,800 licence course, and none of its official pages mentions drifting. We checked on the official pages on 10 Oct 2026, including the public course calendar back to 2009, and found no drift day anywhere.

That surprises people, because Sodegaura is one of the circuits near Tokyo that visitors hear about. It is a 2,436 m, 14-corner circuit certified by JAF (the Japan Automobile Federation), and the circuit’s own description lists its uses as sport running, car and motorcycle races, cycle races, vehicle and tyre testing and photo shoots. Drifting is not on the list.

What do the official rules actually say about drifting?

Nothing, in either direction. That matters, so here is exactly what we read.

• Sport running page: fees, licence day timetable, equipment, a 95 dB noise limit and an insurance note. No word about drifting.
• Four-wheel licence overview (PDF): the same fees and timetable, plus the forms you sign. No word about drifting.
• Vehicle rules (PDF): saloons, coupés, estates and compacts may run. Minivans, SUVs, trucks and vans may not, and nor may any car at least 160 cm tall, with 17 cm or more ground clearance, or weighing 2.3 t or more. Open cars need a four-point roll bar unless the roof is closed. No word about drifting.
• Course schedule: a public Google Calendar. We searched all of its roughly 9,500 entries from 2009 to December 2026 for ドリフト (drift). None contains it.
• News blog: a search for ドリフト returns a single 2010 post about a lap record, which adds that the record car was, of course, not drifting.

So unlike circuits that ban drifting in writing, Sodegaura simply sells a grip product and stays silent. Treat a sport-running session as grip running. If you plan to slide the car, ask the circuit first on 0438-60-5270; do not assume.

Could an organiser run a drift day there?

The calendar cannot tell you. Hire days appear only as 貸切 (kashikiri, private hire), with no organiser or event name. In October 2026 alone there are 12 hire entries, and 7 of them are marked 一般入場不可, meaning the public is not admitted. A web search in Japanese for drift days at Sodegaura turned up no organiser page either. We will not claim a drift day exists until we can show you one.

How much does a first day at Sodegaura cost?

All figures are from the official sport-running page, checked on 10 October 2026.

Payment is cash only. There is no reservation system: you queue on the day. Four-wheel sessions run in fixed slots, for example starting at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 in the morning and 13:00, 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00 in the afternoon. In October 2026 the calendar shows four-wheel running on only 6 half-days: 3, 5, 9, 10, 17 and 24 October.

What do you need on licence day?

The licence course takes the whole morning. Running is allowed from the afternoon slots on the same day.

Two more rules catch people. Drivers under 20 must ask the circuit first. And the circuit runs no accident-benefit or mutual-aid scheme, so you must take out your own valid insurance before the day you run.

Where can you drift near Sodegaura instead?

Chiba has two proper drift venues. Both facts below come from our own venue guides.

Mobara Twin Circuit is the cheapest real drift day near Tokyo, but it has no drift free-run and no rental drift cars, so you need your own car and a published drift day. Minami Chiba Circuit is where most English “Tokyo drift experience” tours actually go, and the circuit’s own EX hour puts you in the driver’s seat with coaching, on top of a ¥10,000 joining deposit. For the wider picture, our Kanto drift guide covers twelve venues, and every circuit we have checked is in the track directory.

How do you reach Sodegaura Forest Raceway?

The address is 348-1 Hayashi, Sodegaura, Chiba 299-0202. The official access page gives these routes.

No bus route is listed. Since 1 March 2020, cars use the North Gate rather than the main gate, about 220 m past it on Route 409. The car-free route is really for watching, because sport running needs your own car. If you want a licence that works at many circuits, read our circuit licence guide and the driving licence and IDP guide first.