Ebisu Drift Matsuri: The Complete First-Timer's Guide (2026)

If you only ever attend one drift event in your life, make it a matsuri (祭り — festival) at Ebisu Circuit. Three times a year, the mountainside complex in Fukushima opens every course it has and lets drifting run non-stop through the night. It is loud, chaotic, friendly, and unlike anything else in motorsport.

This guide covers the two remaining 2026 dates, what it costs, and exactly how to enter — including the part most English guides get wrong: the paperwork is easier than you think, because Ebisu now publishes it in English.

2026 dates (verified)

Both dates are published on the official Ebisu matsuri page (linked in Sources). Dates for each new year are typically announced in January — the 2026 page went up on Feb 1, so bookmark the official page rather than a fan blog from three years ago. Ebisu runs three matsuri a year; the spring round (May 9–10) has already been and gone.

Ebisu is not the only Japanese circuit whose entry window closes weeks before the event — our calendar of Japanese drift events shows each round’s entry fee and the date its entry window shuts, which is the detail that decides whether a trip is still bookable.

What it costs

Autumn spectator pricing may be adjusted — the official page states the ¥2,500 / ¥1,200 figures cover spring and summer, and flags autumn as subject to change.

What actually happens at a matsuri

Driving starts Saturday morning and runs through the night into Sunday afternoon. Every course is open to every entrant: the high-speed Nishi and Higashi layouts that are normally reserved for competitions, the Kita course wall runs, the narrow Touge course, and the Kuru Kuru Land skid pads where beginners can spin in peace.

There are no timed sessions to qualify for and no judges. People run in trains — long chains of cars chasing each other — which is where the magic is. Saturday night on Kita course is the thing you will still be talking about years later.

How to enter (the English paperwork)

This is the part that used to stop overseas drivers. It no longer should — with one catch worth knowing before you start:

One detail on the English form tells you how normal overseas entries have become: it has a “Support company” box, and the printed options are Powervehicles and The Sideways Experience — the two operators that most foreign drivers at Ebisu already run with.

You need a normal driving licence, a helmet (borrowable on site for some activities, but bring your own to drive), and a car. Long sleeves are standard.

Getting there without a car of your own

Ebisu is about 3.5 hours’ drive from Tokyo (Nihonmatsu IC, then 15 minutes). The no-car route: Shinkansen to Koriyama (~75 min from Tokyo), then a rental car or taxi via Nihonmatsu. Spectators can also take a local train to Nihonmatsu Station and a taxi from there. Book accommodation in Nihonmatsu or Koriyama early — matsuri weekends fill the area.

A taxi is not always the only option. For big matsuri weekends the circuit has run a temporary shuttle from Nihonmatsu Station, and it announces the details itself — in both languages:

That was the 2025 Matsuri MAX, so treat it as proof the no-car route exists rather than a timetable you can book against. The shuttle is announced per event — check the circuit’s own feed in the weeks before your dates, and keep the taxi as your fallback.

If you want seat time without importing your life savings, the circuit hosts resident operators that rent prepared drift cars and run passenger laps. Those are separate businesses with their own booking — arrange them weeks ahead, not at the gate. Ebisu now says so itself: a notice on the official page asks spectators to stop asking entrants for rides, since the drivers are enthusiasts running their own cars, not a ride service. Book the seat properly and you get the lap without putting anyone on the spot.