Drifting cars is a global thing, but perhaps it is most popular in Tokyo, Japan. Now, the Uber Japan app is letting you experience the real Tokyo drift! Here’s the scoop.
Book a Tokyo Drift experience - for real!
Before this, typing “Formula Drift” licensed professional and hitting enter on the Uber Japan app was a joke, but this time, you can get results like getting results when you are looking for “shawarma” on the Uber Eats app.
True, you can book a real, limited-time experience wherein you ride a Nissan Silvia S15 driven by a real Tokyo drifter, and experience what it’s like to ride a car like a movie character.
It is real? It is real. It’s not a drift simulator, or a theme park ride, but a real tire smoke, real grip loss, and real sideways action at a real circuit, driven by a driver who professionally compete on the international Formula Drift circuit for a living.
The name is ‘Uber Drift’
“Uber Drift” is the official name of the experience. Uber Drift is part of the global “Go Anywhere campaign of Uber – CNN? Well, going back to the topic, this campaign in the past offered experiences such as Uber Safari in South Africa and Uber Balloon in Türkiye.
What’s more, Uber Drift is not just happening in Tokyo, but in various places. Tokyo is only its Asia-Pacific debut, the city where drifting was born, now accessible through Uber on your mobile phone.
Here’s how it goes.
Once you’ve booked, an Uber Black picks you up from wherever you are in Tokyo. Uber Black isn’t basically an Uber colored black, but pertains to Uber’s premium rideshare tier, connecting passengers with top-rated professional drivers in high-end, late-model luxury cars. Uber Black cars are designed for airport transfers, corporate travel, and special occasions where comfort, modern design, and a quiet, professional environment are on top of list.
From your area, the car will travel around 90 minutes south to Mobara Twin Circuit, a track where most of Tokyo’s drifts happen. Once there, you spend 90 minutes at the circuit.
Your Uber Drift session includes multiple runs, and the kind of lateral acceleration and tire smoke that Uber worked to make unique for you. Uber Drifts are more of leisurely activities, rather than necessities.
Safety? Well, it’s not like a random, regular Uber driver asking you, “Want to drift?” It does not work that way. Rather, your drift driver holds a Formula Drift license. The entire list of car options is the Nissan Silvia S15 and a Nissan 180SX, both tuned for competition drifting.
After the drift, your driver will take you back to central Tokyo, where you’ll smell not a grilled Japanese barbecue smoke, but a tire smoke. “She drifted,” the people around will talk about you.
Kidding aside, Japan is the home of drifting. It’s not imported here, but actually was invented here in the 1970s, a driving technique that has become an international motorsport, and even inspired a Hollywood movie, and even console games.
But, there’s a catch
There’s always a catch. Slots are limited.
Yes, there are only four, yes, four group bookings available per day across the entire 29-day run, a maximum of 116 groups for the entire event between now and July 1.
As for the price, it’s, well, around $50 per person if you fill the car, and around $190 for the group, with the round-trip price not included.
To book, launch the Uber app, find the Uber Drift icon on the homepage, select a date, and enter your Tokyo address. Tap Confirm. So, this is really something that Uber takes seriously. The experience runs until July 1st, so hurry before the time runs out!