The Welcome to Japan festival playlist is live in Forza Horizon 6, running from May 21 through June 18. Four seasons, four weeks, and a pile of cars you can earn without spending a single credit at the Autoshow. The series rewards alone include a 2008 Mazda Furai and a 2010 Nissan 370Z, and that's before you factor in the season-specific unlocks sitting behind lower point thresholds.
What do you need to start the Welcome to Japan playlist?
Before any of this matters, you need at least the yellow wristband to unlock seasonal activities. If you're still working through the early festival progression, check out the Forza Horizon 6 beginner's guide for a breakdown of how the wristband system works and what to prioritize first.
Once you're in, the playlist is split into seasonal challenges, daily tasks, seasonal events, online challenges, and series events. Each activity pays out points, and those points unlock cars at specific thresholds.
Series reward car thresholds
Series rewards: What cars can you earn?
These two cars are available across the full four-week run of the series. Accumulate points from any activity across any season to hit these targets.
The Mazda Furai is the more attainable of the two at 60 points, and given how many daily challenges pay out 1 point each, hitting that threshold shouldn't take more than a few days of consistent play. The 370Z at 120 points requires more sustained effort across multiple seasons.
You don't need to grind a single season to exhaustion. Points carry across all four weeks, so spreading your effort across seasons is the most efficient approach.
Summer season rewards: What's available in week one?
During the first week of the playlist (starting May 21), two additional cars are locked behind the summer season point track.
The Toyota Altezza RS200 Z Edition at 15 points is genuinely easy to grab in a single session. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR at 30 points will take a bit more work but should be reachable within the first two or three days if you clear the weekly challenge and knock out a few dailies.
Summer season car rewards
Weekly challenges: How do you complete them?
The weekly challenge for the summer season is built around the 2022 Toyota GR86. You need to own and drive it, then work through four steps in sequence.
All four steps of the weekly challenge must be completed to receive the 25,000 credit payout and the 5 points. Completing only some steps gives you nothing, so make sure you have the GR86 before starting.
Don't attempt the weekly challenge steps in a car other than the 2022 Toyota GR86. The Speed Zone stars and Speed Skills earned in other vehicles won't count toward the challenge requirements.
The treasure hunt is located in the Ohtani region and pays out 100,000 credits plus 3 points. That's one of the better single-activity credit payouts in the playlist.
Daily challenges: Full schedule for the summer season
A new daily challenge unlocks every day at 10:30 a.m. EDT. Each pays 5,000 credits and 1 point. Miss one and it's gone, so check in daily.
The May 24 challenge requires the 1993 Autozam AZ-1 specifically, so make sure you have it in your garage before that day hits. The May 27 photo challenge needs any Toyota, which is easy to satisfy given how many Japanese manufacturers are in the game.
Daily challenges are time-limited. Once the unlock window closes, you can no longer complete that specific challenge, and the points are gone for the season.
Seasonal events: What are the car restrictions?
Seasonal events require cars that meet specific class and category restrictions. Show up in the wrong car and you won't earn rewards or points, regardless of how well you finish.
The three seasonal championships are the most valuable events in the playlist at 5 points each. The 1989 Toyota MR2 SC, 2021 Pagani Huayra R, and 2021 McLaren Saber are all exclusive rewards tied to these championships, so they're worth prioritizing.
The three A (700) Japan-restricted events (Airfield Takeoff, Sekibe Time Attack, Bamboo Hilltop) are quick to knock out if you already have a Japanese A-class car tuned up. Combined they're worth 7 points and three wheelspins.
Online challenges: What do you get for playing with others?
The 2022 Ferrari 296 GTB from the Hide & Seek challenge is a strong pickup for 2 points. Hide & Seek completion doesn't require winning, just finishing a game, so it's one of the lower-effort car unlocks in the playlist.
The Floor It! challenge awards the 2003 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning for earning 3 great speed skills during Horizon racing. Speed skills in online events can be inconsistent depending on traffic and track layout, but three great skills isn't a high bar across a full race session.
Series events: How do monthly rivals work?
The monthly rivals event at Soni Circuit pays 4 points and a super wheelspin for posting a single clean lap. You're racing against an NPC rival's time, but you only need to beat them once to collect the reward. After that, a faster rival appears, but the reward is already locked in.
A super wheelspin for 4 points is solid value, and clean laps at Soni Circuit are achievable with most A-class or S-class cars.
The monthly rivals event doesn't require a specific car class, so bring your fastest clean-handling car rather than trying to meet a category restriction.
How many points do you actually need?
Here's a quick breakdown of every point source in the summer season to help you plan your approach.
With 48 points available in the summer season alone, you can hit the 30-point threshold for the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR within week one. The full 120 points for the Nissan 370Z requires sustained play across multiple seasons, but it's very achievable if you stay consistent.
For everything else the game has to offer, the full Forza Horizon 6 guides collection has you covered across every system and region in Japan.