Drifting in Japan: cost fact sheet
As of 29 October 2026, a day at a Japanese drift circuit costs ¥500 to ¥1,700 to watch, ¥5,000 to ¥15,000 in circuit fees to drive your own car, and ¥48,000 to ¥420,000 to rent a drift car for the day (ranges from TSUISO’s verified data).
Compiled 29 October 2026. Every figure is read from the data behind TSUISO’s event calendar, track directory, drift car rental directory and tyre directory, each row with the date it was last verified on the venue’s or operator’s own page. Nothing is estimated. For the story behind the numbers, read how much it costs to drift in Japan; this page is the table.
| Item | Typical price | Range or note | As of | Source page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watch an organiser or circuit drift day (gate fee) | ¥500 | Free to ¥1,700. Free on Mobara weekdays, at Motorland Suzuka and on Okinawa Multi Field’s shared-use days; ¥500 at Meihan (Sundays and holidays), YZ East, Bihoku and Mobara on Saturdays; ¥1,000 at Central; ¥1,200 at Fuji Speedway; ¥1,700 at Ebisu. ¥500 is the median of the 84 calendar rows with a published spectator fee. | 4 Sep 2026 to 6 Oct 2026 (calendar); 26 Aug 2026 to 30 Sep 2026 (circuit pages) | Event calendar Track directory |
| Watch a regional or national competition (other than D1GP) | ¥1,500 | ¥500 (JDC final at Bihoku; Min-Dori Team Battle at YZ) to ¥6,000 (D1 Lights at Tsukuruma, same-day; ¥4,400 advance). D1 NEXT rounds ¥1,000 to ¥1,500; Formula Drift Japan rounds ¥3,000 to ¥5,000 a day; Kansai All-Star at Meihan ¥1,500. | 4 Sep 2026 to 6 Oct 2026 | Event calendar |
| D1GP spectator ticket | ¥5,500 to ¥6,600 in advance, per day | Autopolis: ¥5,500 advance / ¥7,500 same-day per day, two-day pass ¥9,900 advance only. Ebisu: ¥6,600 (B seat) to ¥11,000 (SS seat) advance, ¥8,800 to ¥14,300 same-day, a separate ticket for each day. Parking ¥1,000 at both. Tickets for the Odaiba final were not yet published when checked. | 4 Sep 2026 (Ebisu); 6 Oct 2026 (Autopolis, Odaiba) | Event calendar |
| Ride along in a drift car | ¥500 to ¥2,500 for a circuit’s own passenger ride | ¥500 (Tsukuruma Circuit; HYPER DRIVE’s one-coin ride at Fuji Speedway plus the ¥1,200 gate) to ¥50,000 per car, up to three people, for Ebisu Circuit’s 45-minute Drift Taxi. Mobara’s ride-along right ¥1,500; Owara ¥2,500; SidewaysX hot laps ¥25,000 plus ¥2,200 gate and insurance. A seat with a private entrant on an organiser day has no published price; it is arranged person to person, and Ebisu charges ¥500 passenger insurance. | 28 Sep 2026 to 29 Sep 2026 | Drift car rental directory |
| Drive an operator’s drift car with an instructor | ¥45,000 to ¥60,000 for an all-in hour or session | ¥10,000 (Motorland Kijo, one hour in the venue’s kei car, six runs) to ¥83,000 (HYPER DRIVE school day with a rental S14/S15 and two tyres, the only drift rental day in Japan you can insure). Minami Chiba’s EX hour ¥45,000 weekday / ¥50,000 weekend; SidewaysX Ride and Drive ¥60,000 plus a ¥3,000 driver pass. | 28 Sep 2026 | Drift car rental directory |
| Rent a drift car for a day (a car to yourself) | ¥130,000 all-in (Team Orange at Ebisu: car, circuit, tuition, four tyres and fuel) | ¥48,000 (Hokkoringo Roadster on an organiser day at Tsukuba, plus ¥15,500 entry) to ¥420,000 (k-dori 1JZ SIL80, all-in, experienced drivers only). SidewaysX 350Z ¥175,000 for a full day; T-SPEC JZX100 ¥100,000 a day, car only, circuit not included. Crash damage is billed to you at almost every operator. | 28 Sep 2026 | Drift car rental directory |
| Drive your own car on a free-run or drift day (circuit fee only) | ¥8,500 (Ebisu drift day pass, Course 4) | ¥5,000 (Bihoku A course; Ebisu’s winter rate is ¥5,500 from 1 Dec to 31 Mar) to ¥15,000 (Mobara full day booked ahead; Okuibuki weekday individual run). Fuji Speedway Drift Park ¥9,900, licence holders only. By the hour from ¥4,000 at YZ East, Motorland Mikawa and Motorland Suzuka on weekdays, or ¥2,500 for 30 minutes on Suzuka Twin’s D course. Fuel, tyres and getting the car there are extra. | 22 Aug 2026 to 30 Sep 2026, per circuit | Track directory |
| Entry fee for an organiser drift day (sōkōkai) | ¥10,000 to ¥16,500 for a full day | ¥8,000 (Bihoku, entered early) to ¥18,000 (Nihonkai Maze, any class). Nikko organiser days ¥12,000 to ¥16,500; Mobara ¥15,000 booked ahead; YZ East ¥10,000 to ¥11,500; half-day sessions ¥4,700 to ¥8,000. ¥10,000 is the median of the 87 calendar rows with a published entry fee. A gate fee or insurance of ¥500 to ¥1,000 is sometimes charged on top. | 4 Sep 2026 to 6 Oct 2026 | Event calendar |
| Enter the Ebisu Drift Matsuri | ¥20,000 in advance without a pit | ¥22,000 to ¥30,000 with a pit, depending on the course; ¥25,000 entering on the day; Sunday only ¥20,000 from 6:00 or ¥15,000 from 12:00; passenger insurance ¥500. Spectating is ¥2,500 for the whole event at the spring and summer rate; the autumn rate was still TBC when checked. | 6 Oct 2026 | Event calendar |
| Circuit licence, where a venue requires one for free running | ¥10,000 to ¥33,000, issued the same day after a briefing | HSR Kyushu ¥5,500; Nikko ¥10,000 new including ¥4,000 insurance (renewal ¥5,000); Fuji Speedway Drift Park ¥25,000 new / ¥22,000 renewal; Autopolis ¥13,200 to ¥33,000 depending on the quarter you join; Nihonkai Maze ¥33,000 first year including ¥20,000 of running vouchers. Ebisu, Bihoku and YZ East sell drift running with no circuit licence. | 26 Aug 2026 to 21 Sep 2026, per circuit | Track directory |
| A set of four drift tyres | ¥47,600 (VALINO GREEVA 08D 215/45R17, ¥11,900 each from the maker’s store) | Per tyre in 265/35R18, maker and importer prices: ¥8,690 (SHIBATIRE’s budget line) to ¥35,400 (VALINO VR08GP NEUMA), so ¥34,760 to ¥141,600 for four. SHIBATIRE R23 compound 240, the maker’s own drift-rear tyre, is ¥14,850 each, ¥59,400 a set. Operators advise two to three pairs for a full day. | 14 Sep 2026 to 16 Sep 2026 (directory); September 2026 (GREEVA) | Drift tyre directory Cost guide (article) |
| Trip support, parts buying or car export through TSUISO | No published price | Quotes are individual: a trip, a parts order or a car search is priced on what it actually involves, so there is no rate card to quote. | Standing rule | Trip support |
Yen only; at ¥160 to the US dollar, ¥10,000 is about $63. “Typical” is the figure most visitors meet or the median of the priced rows, as stated in the row. Circuit fees exclude fuel, tyres and transporting the car.
How much does it cost to watch drifting in Japan?
Usually ¥500 at the gate: that is the median spectator fee across the 84 priced rows on the calendar, and the standing charge at Meihan, YZ East and Bihoku. Some days are free (Mobara on weekdays, Motorland Suzuka, Okinawa Multi Field’s shared days) and Ebisu charges ¥1,700. Competitions cost more: ¥1,000 to ¥1,500 for a D1 NEXT round, ¥3,000 to ¥5,000 a day for Formula Drift Japan, ¥4,400 advance or ¥6,000 same-day for D1 Lights, and ¥5,500 to ¥11,000 advance per day for D1 Grand Prix.
How much is a D1GP ticket?
Between ¥5,500 and ¥11,000 in advance for one day, depending on the round and the seat: Autopolis sold a day at ¥5,500 advance or ¥7,500 same-day with a ¥9,900 two-day pass, while Ebisu ran from ¥6,600 for a B seat to ¥11,000 for an SS seat in advance and ¥8,800 to ¥14,300 on the day. Parking is ¥1,000 at both and each day needs its own ticket. Prices for the Odaiba final had not been published when we checked on 6 October 2026.
How much does it cost to rent a drift car in Japan for a day?
Published day rates run from ¥48,000 for a Roadster on an organiser day at Tsukuba (plus ¥15,500 entry) to ¥420,000 for k-dori’s 1JZ SIL80 with tyres, fuel, transport and circuit entry included. The clearest all-in day is Team Orange at Ebisu at ¥130,000 with the car, circuit, tuition, four tyres and fuel. If you only want an hour at the wheel with an instructor, Motorland Kijo sells one for ¥10,000 in its kei car, and HYPER DRIVE’s ¥83,000 school day is the only rental day you can insure. All rates were read on the operators’ own pages on 28 September 2026.
How much does a drift day cost with my own car?
The circuit fee is the small part: ¥5,000 for a full day at Bihoku, ¥8,500 for Ebisu’s drift day pass (¥5,500 in winter) and ¥15,000 at Mobara or Okuibuki, or from ¥4,000 an hour at YZ East, Motorland Mikawa and Motorland Suzuka. An organiser’s sōkōkai is usually ¥10,000 to ¥16,500 for the day. Add the gate (¥500 to ¥1,700 per person), then tyres: a set of four is ¥47,600 for VALINO GREEVA 08D or ¥59,400 for SHIBATIRE R23 240, and a day can use two to three pairs.
Do I need to buy a circuit licence?
Only at the circuits that require one for free running, and only if you want to run on your own rather than on an organiser’s day. Where it applies it costs ¥5,500 (HSR Kyushu), ¥10,000 (Nikko, including ¥4,000 insurance), ¥25,000 (Fuji Speedway Drift Park), ¥13,200 to ¥33,000 (Autopolis, by quarter) or ¥33,000 (Nihonkai Maze, with ¥20,000 of running vouchers), issued the same day after a briefing. Ebisu, Bihoku and YZ East sell drift running with no circuit licence at all.
How much do drift tyres cost in Japan?
From ¥8,690 to ¥35,400 per tyre in 265/35R18 at maker and importer prices, so ¥34,760 to ¥141,600 for four. The two figures most people plan around are ¥47,600 for four VALINO GREEVA 08D in 215/45R17 (¥11,900 each, September 2026) and ¥59,400 for four SHIBATIRE R23 compound 240, the maker’s own drift-rear tyre at ¥14,850 each. Tyres, not the track, are the biggest line on a driving day.
Where the numbers come from
- Event calendar: entry and spectator fees for every confirmed drift day, matsuri and competition round, verified against the organiser’s own page.
- Track directory: each circuit’s running fees, gate fee and licence rule, with the date read.
- Drift car rental directory: every operator that puts a visitor in a drift car, price per row.
- Drift tyre directory: one tyre, one size, every published maker and importer price.
- Glossary: what sōkōkai, free-run, kashikiri, gate fee and circuit licence mean, in one sentence each.
TSUISO arranges trips, parts orders and car searches in Japan; those are quoted individually and have no published price. Send your dates if you want a plan priced for what you actually want to do.