We’ve had hands-on time with Forza Horizon 6‘s preview build — a slice of the early game with full map access (minus Legend Island and the Estate). Here’s what surprised us most about what you can and can’t do while exploring the Horizon series’ take on Japan:
Can you drive up Mount Fuji?
Ever since the Horizon series was announced to be coming to Japan, whether or not you can (or can’t) drive up Mt Fuji has seen massive speculation. Unfortunately the answer is: No. You can’t drive up Mt Fuji. In fact, you can’t access it at all — at least not really.
Mt Fuji serves as an incredible, beautiful, imposing backdrop to the map, but a backdrop is all it is. At least for now. Fingers crossed for Mt Fuji-focused DLC down the line?
But take comfort in the fact that Mt Fuji provides some of the most stunning views in the game, from all over the map.
Can you get hit by a Shinkansen?
Japan’s Shinkansen, or bullet trains, traverse all over Forza Horizon 6’s map. The train tracks are traversable for the most part (excluding where they exit off the map), and if you do stray onto them, expect to get hit.
It isn’t as dramatic as it sounds — and the consequences are far less severe than real life. Perhaps we can expect a Shinkansen race in the full release?
Can you drive through cherry blossom trees?
The Forza Horizon 6 preview build was fixed to Spring — cherry blossom season. Unsurprisingly, spring is in full bloom here, and the cherry blossoms transform Japan’s scenic landscape into a cloud of beautiful pink and white petals.
Forza Horizon 6 also treats each fallen cherry blossom as a physics-enabled object, meaning they’ll scatter authentically as you drive through them. But you can’t mow them down like the vast majority of other flora in the game.
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Cherry blossoms, or sakura, are deeply meaningful in Japanese culture, embodying the Buddhist philosophy of beauty and mortality. It’s great to see Forza Horizon respecting the importance of sakura and paring back the typically destruction-heavy nature of the game.
Can you land on the roof of the rocket hangar?
I did this by accident, and I didn’t even know what I’d landed on. But yes, it is a rocket launch pad, and the building is a rocket hangar — the Irokawa Spaceport, to be specific, based on the real-life Tanegashima Space Centre.
You’ll find it at the southernmost point on the map in the Nangan Region. Approach from the south-west and you can’t miss the jump as you exit the funnel.
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Looking forward to seeing what Forza Horizon 6 does with the spaceport in the full game. Expect a Rush event or two.
Can you drive fast enough to jump over Tokyo Bay?
Tokyo’s shipyards provide an absolute playground of ramps and jumps, perfect for Forza Horizon 6’s new Rush events, but also perfect if you love getting big air.
To the north-west of the shipyard, you’ll find a big ramp pointing toward Tokyo City, over Tokyo Bay. Muster enough speed and you’ll be able to clear the bridge and land in Tokyo City.
You’ll need serious speed, though — at least 320km/h. That’s no easy feat when there are buildings and shipping containers in the way. Start your build-up on the road to the south-east of the shipyards, then thread through the warehouse and between the containers to make the most of this fantastic jump.
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Forza Horizon 6 lands in early access on May 15th, 2026 on Xbox Series X|S and PC.
A pre-release preview build of Forza Horizon 6 was supplied to Quest Daily for the purpose of this article.
