Japanese Billionaire’s $200M Private Racetrack

The Circuit Built at Home: Inside the $200 Million Private Racetrack a Japanese Billionaire Created for His Family

Incredible story where a man builts a circuit at home just to race with his family members.

High in the mountains of Chiba Prefecture, away from Tokyo’s crowded highways and the traffic that squeezes Japan’s cities every day, sits one of the most unusual racetracks ever built.

It is not public circuit, not a government funded project, and not a corporate motorsport venture.

It is something far more personal, the Magiragawa Club, 3.5-kilometer private racetrack resort, exists because one man, Kenzo Watari, wanted a place where he could simply enjoy driving with his family.

Why Kenzo Watari Decided to Build His Own Circuit

Kenzo is a billionaire and the CEO of Cornes, a company responsible for importing some of the most exclusive cars into Japan, he lived around best sport cars for years.

Owning a supercar but having nowhere to truly to push them to the limits, with Japan’s strict traffic laws, he decided to built this amazing circuit to safely explore the limits of the cars.

Even the few racetracks available in the country are often crowded, loud, and far more private.

For someone who valued both driving and family time, the existing options never felt right.

So instead of settling for what already existed, he did somethign almost nobody would ever consider, he built his own circuit.

Designing a Track That Feels Like Art

Designing the track was not a simple case of pouring asphalt in a loop.

Watari called in Hermann Tilke, the same architect behind F1 circuits.

The terrain of Chiba’s mountainous landscape became their canvas, and what they created looks more like a high-speed sculpture than a traditional racetrack.

The circuit swoops through the hills with dramatic elevation changes, over two-hunderds-fifty meters from its highest points to its lowest, giving drivers the feeling of surfing on asphalt waves.

The twenty-two corners challenge even experienced drivers, while the long straightaway, stretching for nearly a kilometer, invites cars to roar toward their top speed with Mount Fuji glowing in the background.

A Racetrack Built to Feel Like a Resort

But what makes Magarigawa fascinating is that it was never meant to be cold, technical facility focused only on driving.

Watari wanted the place to feel warm, comfortable and welcoming.

He imagined mornings where his daughters could practice handling a car safely, afternoons spent relaxing in a pool overlooking the mountains, and evenings where the family could dine together without ever leaving the property.

That vision turned the club into something closer to a luxury resort. The main clubhouse rises above the track with glass walls that capture the valley below.

There is a spa, a gym, a fine-dining restaurant, and even small touches like karaoke rooms and a dog park, amenities you would expect at a five-star retreat, not a racetrack.

👉 The British Circuit That Hosted F1 — Then Faded Away

The Personal Reason Behind the $200 Million Project

The natural assumption is that something this expensive must have been created as a commercial project, but the truth is more than intimate.

Waltari, the Japanese billionaire built it first and foremost for his wife and daughters.

He has said privately that he wanted a place where they could learn to drive safely, where they could share the excitement of motorsport together, and where family time could feel adventurous and meaningful.

Memories mattered more to him than publicity.

As strange it sounds, the $200 million racetrack began as a family playground before it became anything else.

When a Family Private RaceTrack Became a Private Club

Eventually, however, the scale of the project grew so large that limiting it to only one family no longer made sense.

The Magarigawa Club slowly opened to a small number of wealthy enthusiasts who shared the same passion for safe, private, high-performance driving.

The Magarigawa track is not public, you cannot buy a ticket and enter the circuit, and no one can simply drive in for a weekend lap, for now it’s closed and private racetrack.

Instead, it operates as a members-only club with a joining fee that has been reported to exceed two-hundred-thirty thousand dollars.

For most people, it remains a dream rather than a possibility, the idea to drive in that circuit for now, its impossible.

A Club That Stays Quiet, Selective, and Protected

Still, the presence of new members has not changed the original character of the place. It remains peaceful, quiet, and heavily protected.

Those who drive in this circuit, are just invited participants in rare private events such as the Motorsports Club of Clubs gathering.

A small number of journalists have also been allowed in under special circumstances, mainly to test cars or document the scale of the facility.

These glimpses from the outside world have only strengthened Magarigawa’s reputation as one of the most secretive and luxurious racetrack environments ever built.

👉 Mosport Park: The Forgotten Gem of Canadian Formula 1

Not a Venue for Racing—A Sanctuary for Driving

As for professional racing, that is not the purpose of the circuit. The track was designed for enjoyment, not competition.

There are no grandstands packed with fans, no large-scale championships, and no intention of hosting major motorsport events. The club focuses on driving in its purest form, personal, controlled, and pressure-free.

Members can push their cars without worrying about spectators or strict race regulations.

Some even attend driving academies on-site, where professionals help them master techniques they would never learn on public streets.

The Heart of the Story: Family, Passion, and a Quiet Dream

What makes Magarigawa truly unique is the story behind it. This is not a tale of a company trying to impress the world, nor is it about a billionaire flaunting wealth.

It is a story about passion and family, about a man who loved cars enough to build a sanctuary for them, but loved his family even more, and wanted them to share that passion with him in complete safety.

The result is one of the most extraordinary private circuits ever created, a place where engines echo through the mountains and where every turn carries the intention of creating unforgettable moments.

In the end, The Magarigawa Club stands as proof that motorsport can be personal. It can be emotional. And sometimes, it can be born from something as simple as a father wanting to spend more time with the people who matter most.

Bangkok’s F1 Journey Begins — Beach Office Has the Story