Ebisu Circuit – The Home Of Drifting

Ebisu Circuit – The Home Of Drifting

When you think of drifting in Japan, the world-renowned Ebisu circuit located in the highlands of Nihonmatsu city, Fukushima prefecture – about 250 kms north of Tokyo has to be on top of the list.

ebisu circuit drift courses
Ebisu Circuit -The Home Of Drifting

Ebisu circuit is quite literally heaven on earth for drifters. Inside the massive complex, there are 7 race circuits and 2 skid pans – yes SEVEN tracks in one complex!

how to drift at Ebisu circuit

Four out of the seven tracks are full-time dedicated drift tracks. North course, South course, School course and Touge (mountain pass) course. The two skid pans are named Kuru-kuru land 1 and 2. The other two tracks, West and East track are predominantly for grip/time attack style racing.

Go Drifting Any Time

These tracks are open to the public for use every day, all year round, except for days when there is a competition such as D1GP or Formula D Japan, or when the tracks are closed for maintenance, being rented by a private group.

It’s also important to note that it snows during the winter months (Dec to March) so there is a possibility that some or all the tracks may be closed due to snow cover. I would advise that you check in advance the availability of the track you’re hoping to use before coming.

Anyone can come to Ebisu and drift! There are a ton of options.

  • You can bring your own car.
  • You can buy a car through Powervehicles which is situated inside of the Ebisu circuit.
  • You can buy a car privately through FB groups like Gaijin Ebisu Drift cars where most of the cars are at Ebisu already.
  • You can take a Team Orange drifting lesson from a professional drift driver such as Naoto Suenaga from Team Orange who supply you with a practice drift car and everything else you need for the lesson. I have full information about the drifting lessons here on my site.
  • If you don’t want to drive yourself and would prefer a passenger ride, you can take a ride in the Team Orange drift taxi. This is the cheapest and easiest drifting experience you can do at Ebisu. Up to three passengers can ride in the drift taxi so you can split the taxi fare with a couple of your friends.
  • Or if you bring your helmet along, you might even be lucky enough to bum a passenger ride with a local driver who is there practicing. You just need to pay for insurance (around 500 yen) at the gate if you ride as a passenger.

If you just want to come for a look, that’s fine also. There is almost always something to see any day of the week, whether it be locals or foreigners having fun or pro drivers practicing for an up-coming competition or a full blown competition.

Drift Matsuri

Drift matsuri at Ebisu circuit Japan

During the Drift matsuri events, which occur three times a year in Spring, Summer and Fall – all 7 tracks are open to drifting! This includes the West and East courses which are usually reserved for grip racing only.

These matsuri (Japanese for festival) run over a whole weekend – from Saturday morning right through the night until Sunday afternoon. That’s around 44 hours of non-stop free drifting on all the tracks. These matsuri weekends attract large crowds and you could expect to see 100+ car and driver entries, with a large portion of them being foreigners. I have more info about them on the Drift Matsuri page.

The week leading up to each matsuri is known as ‘drift heaven week’, as there are a ton of people here prepping and practicing for the drift matsuri and also for the foreigner-only drift competition G1Gp which is put on by the Ebisu staff the Friday before each drift matsuri. Read more about G1Gp on this page.

How to Get to Ebisu Circuit

Ebisu circuit in the mountains of Nihonmatsu
Ebisu circuit has 5 dedicated drift tracks in total nestled in the mountains on North-eastern Japan

Ebisu circuit is located in Nihonmatsu city, Fukushima prefecture. It is about 250 kms north of Tokyo.

There are a few options to choose from to get to Ebisu from Tokyo.

Method 1 – Rent-a-car

The best way is to hire a car from Tokyo or Narita airport and drive all the way up the highway to Nihonmatsu I.C. (interchange a.k.a. exit). It’s about a 3.5 hour-drive up the Touhoku Highway and about 20 minutes from the highway exit at Nihonmatsu to the circuit.

How to get to Ebisu circuit from Japan

Every hire car in Japan is equipped with Sat nav (“navi” in Japanese, and likely to be set to Japanese language) which will make it easy to set the location and drive.

However, whip out your smartphone and open Google Maps to find the best route to Ebisu circuit. Just make sure you have an internet data plan to use in Japan.

Method 2 – Trains

First, from Tokyo station, catch a ‘Touhoku shinkansen’ (bullet train on the Touhoku line) and get off at Koriyama station (1hr 40-minute). After getting off at Koriyama, catch a local train on the ‘Touhoku honsen’ (Touhoku main line) and get off at Nihonmatsu station (approx. a 30-minute ride). From outside Nihonmatsu station, jump in a taxi and head up the mountain to Ebisu circuit, a 20-minute taxi-ride.

In total, you’ll need to allow at least 3 hours from Tokyo station to Ebisu circuit if going by trains, which is only slightly less than if you were to go by car.

Accommodation Near Ebisu Circuit

Ebisu circuit is about a 4-hour trip from Tokyo, so doing a one-day return trip is going to be tough. A lot of visitors choose to stay for a night couple of days to get the most out of their trip. There are several places nearby available for accommodation.

There is Urban Hotel in front of Nihonmatsu train station which is  a good option if coming to Nihonmatsu by train. There is a 7-11 convenience store, bars and restaurants nearby. From Urban Hotel to Ebisu circuit is about a 20 minute taxi ride (which is the most convenient way to get to Ebisu). As for buses, they run about once every hour.

Mt. Inn Dake onsen Japan

Closer to Ebisu Circuit, there is Mt. Inn hotel in Dake onsen hot spring town – about a 10 minute drive to Ebisu. This is a good option if you have your own rental car, as there are no buses that go directly there and to get a taxi would require you to call and wait for one.

For a very ‘outdoor’ accommodation experience, there is Adatara forest park which has cabins which you can rent out.

It’s easy to see why Ebisu circuit is known as ‘drift heaven’. Hundreds of foreigners visit Ebisu circuit every year and have an experience they will never forget.

– Disco Stu