Can You Drift in Saitama? Honjo Circuit and Nearest Drift Days (2026)

No, you cannot drift at a circuit in Saitama in 2026. Honjo Circuit (Saitama) has prohibited drifting since the 2020 financial year and sells only grip sessions, at ¥2,500–3,500 per 15 minutes for visitors. We checked this on the official pages on 25 September 2026. The nearest real drift days are over the prefecture line in Chiba and Tochigi, from ¥8,500 for a half day at Mobara Twin Circuit.

Saitama is a sensible base. It is next to Tokyo, hotels are often cheaper, and plenty of visitors stay there with family. So the question comes up a lot. The short version: keep the base, but plan your drift day somewhere else.

Why can’t you drift at Honjo Circuit?

Because the circuit wrote it into its rules and has kept it there. Honjo’s running regulations for 2026 carry one line on the subject: 「２０２０年度よりドリフト走行は禁止となりました」, “drifting has been prohibited since the 2020 financial year”. The 2027 regulations, already posted for next season’s hire bookings, keep the same line. The course-hire page adds a note that drifting has been banned since Reiwa 2 (令和2年, the Japanese era year for 2020).

Honjo is a real circuit, just not a drift one. It is a 1,112 m course with 11 corners in Kodama, Honjo City, in the north-west of the prefecture. Running is 9:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:00 in 15-minute blocks, with a 98 dB noise limit measured on track. Houses sit around the circuit, which is part of why the rules are strict.

Paying cash takes ¥300 off every 15-minute session. The briefing runs twice a day, at 8:00 and 12:00, for about 30–40 minutes, and you can drive the same day. Only members may take a passenger.

Is there any other place to drift in Saitama?

Not a public one that we could confirm. Okegawa Sports Land in Okegawa City is Saitama’s other car circuit, and its hire regulations say four-wheel drifting has been banned since the 2013 financial year, blamed on worsening manners. Its rental page says four-wheel hire days are allowed for grip running only.

We also searched Japanese listings for 埼玉 ドリフト 走行会 (Saitama drift sōkōkai, a club-run track day). A national track-day site’s drift category listed events at Nikko, Mobara, Tsukuba and Meihan, but none in Saitama. Our Kanto guide covers the wider region, including the Chiba and Ibaraki venues that also ban it.

Where is the nearest drift day from Saitama, and what does it cost?

Five venues within reach of a day trip sell drift running. The distances below are straight-line kilometres from Omiya Station in Saitama City, measured on a map. Roads add more, so treat them as a ranking, not a drive time.

*Fuji figures were checked on 4 September 2026; the Drift Park page loads its details by script and we could not re-read it today. All other figures were checked on 25 September 2026.

Two more options sit further out. Tsukuba Circuit in Ibaraki runs drift days only through organisers or whole-course hire. Ebisu Circuit (Fukushima), the best-known drift venue in Japan, is about 3.5 hours by car from Tokyo; its drift day pass was ¥8,500 on our 26 August 2026 check.

Can you get there from Saitama without a car?

Mostly not. Two drift venues near Saitama have a bus close to the gate. For Mobara, JR from Tokyo Station to Mobara Station takes about 45 minutes, then a bus or taxi for 15–20 minutes. From Saitama you add the ride into Tokyo first. Fuji Speedway is served mainly at weekends: on our 4 September 2026 check, 11 buses ran from Suruga-Oyama Station to the East Gate on weekends and holidays, but only one arrived on a weekday.

The others end in a car. Minami Chiba’s own site calls public transport very difficult and asks you to drive. Tsukuruma sits in a district with no scheduled bus. Nikko Circuit is reached from Utsunomiya IC by road. So the day stacks up: a circuit that sells drifting, then a car that can run there, then a last leg from a station that has no bus.

Is Honjo still worth a visit?

If you want lap time rather than angle, yes. A visitor can run grip sessions from ¥2,500 after one briefing, and Honjo also runs its own grip events, gymkhana and kart days. It is a cheap way to learn a Japanese circuit routine: briefing, licence card, 15-minute blocks, noise checks.

If you came to drift, skip it and spend the day in Chiba or Tochigi instead. Every venue on this page, plus the ones that ban drifting, is in the track directory, and dated drift events are on the calendar.