A day at the go kart races in Maishima!

Maido!
I’m a huge car fan and love racing games!

But I had never been on a go kart until I took a trip to Maishima.

I arrived early, and the sky was overcast.

But by lunch time, the sky had cleared and I knew it was the perfect day for go karting🏎

Just seeing the track with all the karts lined up to go was so exciting!

As you can see, there are a few twists and turns out there, so I started planning my strategy right away.
Everyone else was excited to race too!

All drivers wear helmets for safety and the helpful staff were there to answer all our questions.
They actually have kids karts too, so this is a great activity if you’re traveling with a family.

(Children as young as 2 can ride with an adult & 4 and over can drive their own kids kart.)

I was impressed with all the tight corners the skill of other drivers. I knew this race was going to be tough!

This handy map shows you where to apply the brakes with squiggly lines and where to take your foot off the accelerator with strategically placed circles.

The track definitely has a few sharp curves.
So I decided to do a little more investigative work before getting behind the wheel.

Here’s the inside of the clubhouse. There’s plenty of room to sit and relax.

The Kids Kart Challenge looks very family friendly.

And here we have the monitor where you can check footage from the helmet cameras.

Pretty neat! It feels like I’m already racing.
There’s a simple instruction session using the go kart in the clubhouse.

Looks easy enough.
The accelerator is on the right, brakes on the left.
Apparently the engine can get pretty hot, so don’t touch that!

If you don’t have your own helmet, like me, it’s easy to rent one.
Just make sure you wear a face covering for hygienic reasons.

Helmets on and we’re ready to go!

First, we did 5 laps for practice and then the real race.
It was pretty easy to get the hang of, so the 10 lap race was a piece of cake!

You can take a commemorative photo on the award podium too.
I felt like a real F1 driver!

And there’s a shot for the last 3 finishers too!

It was a great experience!
And everyone I raced with can’t wait to come back.
Here’s our final photo of the day.