Kyotei in Japan: a visitor's guide to boat racing, costs and betting

By the Japan Travel Costs team. Every figure links to its source with the date we last checked it, and figures we cannot verify are left out or marked unverified. About us.

Last checked 9 November 2026. Yen is the price that matters. The US dollar figure uses this site's exchange rate and moves when that rate moves.

What is kyotei?

Kyotei (競艇 (kyōtei)) is Japanese motorboat racing. The public name on signs and tickets is Boat Race (ボートレース (bōto rēsu)). It is one of four publicly run sports. Horse racing was revived in 1946, keirin in 1948, auto race in 1950, and boat racing in 1952 (BOAT RACE English: About).

The statute is the Motorboat Racing Act (モーターボート競走法 (mōtābōto kyōsō-hō)), Act No. 242 of 1951, not 1952 (e-Gov: Motorboat Racing Act (Act No. 242 of 1951)). The first race was on 6 April 1952 at Omura in Nagasaki. The official English site calls that the world's first publicly sponsored boat race (BOAT RACE English: About; BOAT RACE English: SG races).

The races are hosted by 35 municipalities at 24 venues and supervised by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (BOAT RACE English: About). The stated purpose is to support the maritime industry, public-interest projects such as tourism and sport, and local government finances (MLIT: Motorboat racing (chapter 6 PDF)).

The payout to winning tickets is 75% of sales. Article 15 sets that 75% as a floor (e-Gov: Motorboat Racing Act (Act No. 242 of 1951)). Of the other 25%, about 2.9% goes to the Nippon Foundation, about 1.3% to the body that runs the races, and about 0.2% to the Japan Finance Organization for Municipalities. The rest covers costs, and what remains is municipal revenue (MLIT: Motorboat racing (chapter 6 PDF); National Council of Motorboat Racing Organisers: use of revenue).

For scale, sales in FY2025 (April 2025 to March 2026) were ¥2,665,832,164,300 (US$16,853,155,673), which was 105.6% of the year before. Phone and online sales were ¥2,167,458,558,500 (US$13,702,481,720). That online share is about 81%, our calculation from those two official figures, not a separate published percentage. Total attendance and online users together were 480,857,515 (BOAT RACE news: FY2025 sales).

How a race works

Six boats race three laps of a 600 m course, so 1,800 m, anticlockwise (BOAT RACE English: Rules; BOAT RACE English: About). Each boat carries a fixed colour:

• 1 white
• 2 black
• 3 red
• 4 blue
• 5 yellow
• 6 green

It is a flying start. Boats must cross the line between the moment the big clock (大時計 (ōdokei)) hits 0 and one second later. Too early is a flying start, marked F. Too late is marked L. That boat is scratched and bets on it are refunded (BOAT RACE English: Rules).

The boats leave the pits together, then warm up clockwise around the second turn mark before the start. The course a boat actually takes (進入 (shinnyū)) can differ from its boat number (BOAT RACE English: Rules).

A race day has 12 races, roughly 30 minutes apart. Before each race there is a starting exhibition (スタート展示 (sutāto tenji)), a practice run you can watch (BOAT RACE English: step-by-step visitor guide).

Lane 1 wins more often than the others because it is closest to the first turn and has the shortest line into it. The English predictions page makes the same point in plain language: a smaller number is the better race position (BOAT RACE English: How to Make Predictions). From 1 August to 31 October 2026 the official per-venue figures run from 42.4% at Heiwajima to 63.2% at Ashiya. The table further down lists all 24. Those percentages change, so they are labelled with the period. The word for leading all the way from the start is 逃げ (nige).

The boat is a YM-730 wooden hydroplane: 2,895 mm long, 1,316 mm wide, and 68 to 70 kg. The motor is a two-cylinder, about 400 cc two-stroke, 31 PS at 6,600 rpm. Each venue has about 60 motors, replaced yearly. The day before a meeting, motors, boats and Yamato propellers (ペラ (pera)) are drawn by lottery, and the racers tune them (BOAT RACE English: About). Races are roughly 80 km/h and take about 1 minute 50 seconds (BOAT RACE English: SG races).

A meeting (節 (setsu)) lasts 3 to 7 days. The season runs from January to December and ends with the Grand Prix (BOAT RACE Japanese guide, level 1).

The racers

There are about 1,600 racers. The English About page says about 250 women, the Japanese guide says about 16%, and the SG page says about 240, so this page uses "about 1,600 racers, around 15% women" (BOAT RACE English: About; BOAT RACE Japanese guide, level 1; BOAT RACE English: SG races). Men and women race under almost the same conditions, often in the same race. A heart symbol next to a name on the race card marks a woman (BOAT RACE Japanese guide, level 1; BOAT RACE English: How to Make Predictions).

Minimum weight is 52 kg for men and 47 kg for women (BOAT RACE Japanese guide, level 1).

There are four classes, set by win rate (勝率 (shōritsu)): A1, A2, B1 and B2. A1 is about the top 20%, and the cut-off is often around 6.20. Classes are reviewed in January and July. That description is from the Japanese guide as of May 2025. The guide does not publish a full cut-off table for A2, B1 and B2 on the page we used, so those boundaries are not repeated here (BOAT RACE Japanese guide, level 1).

Win-rate points are 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 for 1st through 6th, with bonus points in graded races (BOAT RACE Japanese guide, level 1).

Prize figures are for the winner, from the Japanese guide (BOAT RACE Japanese guide, level 1). Average annual racer income is about ¥20,000,000 (US$126,438), as of 1 July 2025 (BOAT RACE Japanese guide, level 1).

Grades and the big races

The SG calendar on the English site, with the winner's prize (BOAT RACE English: SG races):

The top 18 racers by prize money earned through the season enter the Grand Prix (BOAT RACE English: SG races).

Premium G1 races, each with a ¥13,000,000 (US$82,185) winner's prize unless noted (BOAT RACE English: Premium G1): BBC Tournament in January, Speed Queen Memorial in February, Masters in April, Ladies Championship in August, and Young Derby in September. The Queens Climax in December pays ¥17,000,000 (US$107,472) to the winner. It is for the top 12 women, and the final is on 31 December.

What is on in late 2026

The next SG at the time of this check is the Challenge Cup, 24 to 29 November 2026 at Tokoname in Aichi (BOAT RACE English: locations and schedule).

The 41st Grand Prix is a night meeting from 15 to 20 December 2026 at Boat Race Omura, where the sport started. General booking for paid seats opens at 13:00 Japan time on 11 November 2026, first come first served, on the Omura site. The notice names the seat areas that can be booked and does not publish admission or a seat price, so this page does not invent one (Boat Race Omura: 2026 Grand Prix general seat booking).

How much a day costs

These are published prices, not a quote for your date. A bet is spending, not a ticket price: you choose the stake, and you can skip races. Across all tickets, 25% of sales is not returned to bettors, because the payout is 75% (e-Gov: Motorboat Racing Act (Act No. 242 of 1951)). One person's day can still be a lost ¥100 (US$1) ticket or a large dividend.

Tamagawa, Toda and Fukuoka admission was not on the official pages we opened on 9 November 2026. Do not assume the ¥100 (US$1) guide price without checking those three. Amagasaki's access page shows ¥100 (US$1) for adults. A claim that under-20s enter Amagasaki free was only in a search summary, so it is not repeated here. Omura has not published an admission or Grand Prix seat price on the booking notice. Food-stall prices and specialist newspaper prices are not listed, because we did not find them on an official page.

Three sample afternoons

Each line uses a price from the table. The bets are an example stake, not a required spend. Food is extra, and this page has no official food price to add.

• Free seats, one ¥100 (US$1) bet on each race. ¥100 (US$1) to enter, plus 12 x ¥100 (US$1) in bets, is ¥1,300 (US$8).
• Suminoe with an A seat and ¥500 (US$3) on each race. ¥100 (US$1) plus ¥2,000 (US$13) plus 12 x ¥500 (US$3) is ¥8,100 (US$51). The ¥500 (US$3) stake is a choice.
• Two people at Heiwajima, pair seat, ¥100 (US$1) each per race. 2 x ¥100 (US$1) admission, plus the ¥2,000 (US$13) pair seat, plus 2 x 12 x ¥100 (US$1) in bets, is ¥4,600 (US$29).

How to bet, step by step

The Japanese official site lists seven bet types. The English "How to Bet" page shows five and uses labels that do not match the Japanese names, so this table uses the Japanese seven, with a plain description (BOAT RACE English: How to Bet; BOAT RACE Japanese guide, level 1; BOAT RACE Japanese FAQ: bet types). The "chance" column assumes six equal boats, which is the official way of showing how many combinations there are, not a forecast.

On tickets, a hyphen means exact order (1-2-3) and an equals sign means any order (1=2=3). That reading comes from a secondary guide and matches how the tickets are written (1MARK: bet notation (secondary)). Two ways to cover more than one line, from the Japanese guide, are nagashi (ながし (nagashi), one key boat with several partners) and a box (ボックス (bokkusu), every order of the boats you choose) (BOAT RACE Japanese guide, level 1).

You buy with a mark sheet (マークカード (māku kādo)), an OMR card. Use a pencil and fill the marks thickly. The diagram is ours, so you can see the order of the steps. It is not the official card (BOAT RACE English: How to Bet; BOAT RACE Japanese guide, level 1).

1. Venue number, 01 to 24.
2. Race number.
3. Bet type. One card holds two types, in a top block and a bottom block.
4. Boat numbers for 1st, 2nd and 3rd, depending on the bet.
5. Amount. The values are 20, 10, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. Add the ones you mark.
6. Unit: 百 (hyaku) is ¥100 (US$1), 千 (sen) is ¥1,000 (US$6), 万 (man) is ¥10,000 (US$63). Marking 1 in the ¥100 (US$1) unit is a ¥100 (US$1) bet.
7. A cancel mark voids a row you filled in by mistake.

There is also a box for next-day sales (前日発売 (zenjitsu hatsubai)). To buy, put cash in the machine, insert the card, and take the ticket. To cash out, insert the ticket and press pay (BOAT RACE English: How to Bet).

Odds are multipliers on the monitors and the big screen. The official example: odds of 15.3 on a ¥1,500 (US$9) ticket pay ¥22,950 (US$145) (BOAT RACE English: How to Make Predictions). Winning tickets must be claimed within 60 days, and they can be cashed at any of the 24 venues and at their off-track windows (e-Gov: Motorboat Racing Act (Act No. 242 of 1951); Boat Race Tamagawa: FAQ).

Online betting is TELEBOAT. It needs a designated Japanese bank account, so most visitors bet at the track. See the question on tourists and online betting above. We are not stating a rule about non-residents, because the pages and the terms PDF we checked do not (TELEBOAT membership; TELEBOAT terms PDF).

Reading the race card

Ask for the race card (出走表 (shussōhyō)) at the information desk. It is free (BOAT RACE English: step-by-step visitor guide). The English predictions page treats three fields as the ones to start with: the boat number and its colour, the class (A1 to B2), and the win rate (BOAT RACE English: How to Make Predictions).

The same card also shows the race number, the betting deadline (締切 (shimekiri)), the racer's name (a heart marks a woman), age, the 2nd-place and 3rd-place rates under the win rate, average start timing (平均ST (heikin ST)), F and L counts, and the motor and boat numbers with their 2nd-place rates (BOAT RACE English: How to Make Predictions).

You do not need all of that on a first visit. Watch boat 1, in white, into the first turn, and treat the exhibition run as the preview.

Where to watch: all 24 venues

Venues do not race every day. Check the monthly schedule before you go. The English locations pages use the same schedule legend: Morning, Summer time, Night, and Midnight with no spectators (BOAT RACE English: locations and schedule). Water type, tide and the lane-1 figures are from each venue's official stadium data page. Lane 1 is for 1 August to 31 October 2026. "Night racing: Yes" means one of the seven nighter venues named in the Japanese guide as of September 2018.

Ashiya (芦屋 (Ashiya)) in this table is the venue in Fukuoka, not Ashiya in Hyogo. Edogawa is the only river course (BOAT RACE English: Edogawa). Heiwajima also runs dusk meetings (薄暮 (hakubo)), with an 11:00 gate (Boat Race Heiwajima: facilities). Tamagawa's access page also shows dusk meetings (Boat Race Tamagawa: access).

Easiest from Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka

No train fare is listed. We do not have a sourced fare for these hops, so the notes are the free shuttles and the times the official pages give. Add the fare from the operator or from our airport transfers guide when you are coming from Haneda.

Boat Race Miyajima (宮島 (Miyajima)) is the Hiroshima Prefecture venue, code 17. We have not checked the walk from Miyajimaguchi or the distance from the island, so this page does not give directions or a fare. If the island is the point of the day, use 5 things you may not know about Miyajima and the Hiroshima to Miyajima cost guide. The stadium's own site is boatrace-miyajima.com.

Tips for visitors

• Cash. The English guide says betting windows and food stalls mostly take cash (BOAT RACE English: step-by-step visitor guide). Bring yen. See money and payments. Some seats also have a cashless terminal that needs a membership card, such as Fukuoka's Perabo card (Boat Race Fukuoka: reserved seats). We have not confirmed an ATM at the venues, so none is described here.
• Tattoos. They must be covered (BOAT RACE English: step-by-step visitor guide; Boat Race Tamagawa: FAQ). The same rule is on our etiquette page for baths and some other places. Outdoors by the water, you can get spray (BOAT RACE English: step-by-step visitor guide).
• Lockers and bags. Coin lockers take ¥100 (US$1) or ¥500 (US$3) and return the coin. Many venues have a free bag counter. The guide says to give a hotel address (BOAT RACE English: step-by-step visitor guide).
• English. Use the information desk near the gate. Suminoe has an English pamphlet. Tipsters speak Japanese. Their boat magnets are the part you can follow without Japanese (BOAT RACE English: step-by-step visitor guide; BOAT RACE English: How to Make Predictions).
• When to arrive. For a day meeting, Edogawa's gate is usually 10:00. At Tamagawa, reserved-seat numbered tickets go out one hour before opening, so that queue is the reason to be early. For a nighter, Suminoe's gate is 14:30 and the later races are the ones people stay for (Boat Race Edogawa: first visit; Boat Race Tamagawa: reserved seats (news, 6 Jan 2024); Boat Race Suminoe: facilities).
• Photos. Rules differ by venue. Tamagawa's rules, in force from 23 February 2025, allow smartphone photos without a permit. No flash or extra lighting, no leaning over the water, no drones, and do not film other guests. Commercial or YouTube shoots need a permit (Boat Race Tamagawa: photo rules PDF).
• Wi-Fi. Edogawa has it across the venue after a short survey. Tamagawa has it in the reserved seats (Boat Race Edogawa: first visit; Boat Race Tamagawa: FAQ).
• IC cards. Some gates take an IC card. That is for entry, not a promise you can bet with Suica. Our IC card guide covers the cards themselves (BOAT RACE English: step-by-step visitor guide).
• Cheering. Tamagawa's FAQ says a towel can be held up, not hung on the fence. Do not wait outside events for autographs, and racers do not accept gifts (Boat Race Tamagawa: FAQ).

Edogawa's English page also mentions a goat-shaped robot that takes losing tickets, retro film posters, a Kitaro promenade and a ¥300 (US$2) sticker machine (BOAT RACE English: Edogawa). Heiwajima sits next to the BIG FUN complex, with bowling, a cinema and a hot spring, and the English page says talk shows and live comedy on race days are part of the ¥100 (US$1) admission (BOAT RACE English: Heiwajima). Broader claims about a younger fan base are not on the official pages we used, so they are left out.

Is it gambling? The legal box

Plan the rest of the day

Boat racing is a cheap add-on to a city day, not a reason to replan the trains. Pair it with something you were already doing nearby.

• Pachinko in Japan and pachinko and pachislot for first-timers, the other legal gaming visitors ask about.
• Paid nightlife costs, for a different kind of 20-and-over evening.
• Money and payments, because the windows are mostly cash, and Suica, PASMO and ICOCA for the trains and the occasional IC gate.
• Etiquette, including tattoos, and things to try.
• Airport transfers. Heiwajima is the venue near Haneda.
• Tokyo to Fukuoka and Osaka to Fukuoka if the Fukuoka venue is an add-on to the Shinkansen. Kyoto to Osaka if you are going on to Suminoe.
• Miyajima and Hiroshima to Miyajima costs. Boat Race Miyajima is a separate venue. Access from the island is not checked on this page.
• What a day in Japan costs, if you are fitting a race into the daily budget.

Sources and last checked

Official pages below were the basis for every figure on this page. Last checked 9 November 2026.

BOAT RACE

1. BOAT RACE official English home, BOAT RACE English: About, BOAT RACE English: Rules, BOAT RACE English: step-by-step visitor guide, BOAT RACE English: How to Bet, BOAT RACE English: How to Make Predictions.
2. BOAT RACE English: SG races, BOAT RACE English: Premium G1, BOAT RACE English: locations and schedule, BOAT RACE English: Heiwajima, BOAT RACE English: Edogawa.
3. BOAT RACE Japanese guide, level 1 (grades, prize money, classes, weight, women racers, bet types, the mark sheet and nighters) and BOAT RACE Japanese FAQ: bet types.
4. BOAT RACE monthly schedule, BOAT RACE venue directory, and the stadium data pages linked in the venue table (water, tide, lane-1 win rate).
5. BOAT RACE news: FY2025 sales.
6. TELEBOAT membership, TELEBOAT FAQ, TELEBOAT terms PDF, MUFG: TELEBOAT.

Law and government

1. e-Gov: Motorboat Racing Act (Act No. 242 of 1951). Articles 11, 12, 15 and 20 are the ones cited above.
2. e-Gov: Penal Code. Article 185.
3. MLIT: Motorboat racing (chapter 6 PDF).
4. National Council of Motorboat Racing Organisers: use of revenue.

Venues

1. Boat Race Heiwajima: facilities, Boat Race Heiwajima: access.
2. Boat Race Edogawa: first visit, Boat Race Edogawa: trains, Boat Race Edogawa: reserved seats.
3. Boat Race Tamagawa: FAQ, Boat Race Tamagawa: reserved seats (news, 6 Jan 2024), Boat Race Tamagawa: access, Boat Race Tamagawa: photo rules PDF.
4. Boat Race Toda: reserved seats, Boat Race Toda: access.
5. Boat Race Suminoe: facilities, Boat Race Suminoe: access, Boat Race Suminoe: reserved seats, Boat Race Suminoe: first visit.
6. Boat Race Amagasaki: access.
7. Boat Race Fukuoka: reserved seats, Boat Race Fukuoka: access.
8. Boat Race Omura: 2026 Grand Prix general seat booking.

Secondary, and only for notation

1. 1MARK: bet notation (secondary). Used only to explain the hyphen and equals-sign notation. Not used for any price.

Left out on purpose

These were not on an official page we could cite, so they are not stated as fact: whether a non-resident or someone abroad can hold a TELEBOAT account; Tamagawa, Toda and Fukuoka admission; Amagasaki entry for under-20s; specialist newspaper prices; food-stall prices; ATMs; mascot names; a national problem-gambling phone number; any train fare to a venue; walking access and distance for Boat Race Miyajima; Omura admission and Grand Prix seat prices; Heiwajima grandstand prices other than the English page's ¥2,000 (US$13) pair seat; and claims about a younger fan base beyond the shows the Heiwajima English page describes. The nighter names are from the Japanese guide as of September 2018. The current English guide still says seven venues.