Is there a drift weekend I can do near Osaka or Kyoto?

Yes. Five drift venues sit within reach of an Osaka or Kyoto hotel, and the weekend version of the trip runs through Meihan Sportsland in Yamazoe, Nara. The circuit sells no drift running of its own, so cars run its C course only on organiser days: the official monthly schedules, read on 14 September 2026, listed 28 of them between 14 September and 30 December, overwhelmingly Sundays and public holidays. Watching one costs ¥500 per person at the gate on Sundays and holidays; driving one means entering through the organiser, who sets the fee (SEIMI STYLE’s 6 September round was ¥10,000 per car, running 08:00 to 16:00). The other weekend options, checked on 6 August 2026 for our Kansai tracks guide, are Suzuka Twin Circuit in Mie (¥1,000 weekend gate plus ¥2,500 for a 30-minute slot on its drift-only D course, booked by phone) and Central Circuit in Hyogo, whose organiser drift day is ¥10,000 per driver plus ¥1,000 admission on pylon courses behind the main stand.

How to build it:

• Pick the date first, then the hotel. SEIMI STYLE has the most Meihan dates left in 2026 (4 October, 8 November, 13 December, 29 December) and the Kansai All-Star drift day takes the C course on Sunday 1 November. Our Meihan Sportsland guide covers the C course, its famous wall, and why the old meihanc.com domain is dead.
• Expect Japanese-only entry. None of the roughly 20 Meihan organisers takes entries in English, Suzuka Twin books by telephone only, and Central’s day runs through the organiser’s LINE account and a Japanese bank transfer; its 6 September round was already full in early August.
• Budget a car. Meihan is 5 minutes from Kono-guchi IC, roughly an hour to an hour and a half from Osaka, with no station and no bus to the gate. The closest public chain, in our guide to reaching Meihan without a car, is the Nara–Nagoya express bus leaving JR Nara at 06:50 for Yamato Kogen Yamazoe (¥2,550, phone booking only), then a taxi ordered in Japanese, which still lands you after a 07:45 briefing. Central’s last weekend bus leaves at 16:33; the drift day runs to 16:55.
• Bring kit and cash. A helmet, gloves, long sleeves and trousers and closed shoes are required at all five venues, and gate fees are cash.

If the organiser’s Japanese entry, the LINE thread or the rural taxi is the wall, we can make those calls, confirm a date that actually exists and come with you on the day: drift days in Kansai with us, Meihan and beyond.