Kadomatsu

 are traditional Japanese New Year decorations that are said to attract good luck. They consist of several tree cuttings, mainly bamboo stalks and pines, bound together with straw rope. In Mario Kart Tour, kadomatsu are added to courses in tours that occur around the New Year, being similar in function to the festive trees that appear in holiday tours. They have appeared in the following tours:
 * New Year's Tour (2020)
 * New Year's 2021 Tour, starting from January 2021
 * New Year's 2022 Tour, starting from January 2022
 * New Year's Tour (2023), starting from January 2023

Kadomatsu are placed around arches, entrances and finish lines and are usually colored white with a single Japanese character. When a driver gets near a kadomatsu, they can hear a dulcimer. In most tours, kadomatsu bounced and gave bonus points when hit with an offensive item or when driven into while invincible or Mega, with the action being displayed as "Happy New Year!", and it also gave an event token in the New Year's 2022 and 2023 New Year's Tours. Hitting a kadomatsu in the New Year's 2021 Tour did not grant bonus points, display the action, or give event tokens.

List of course appearances

 * Tokyo Blur 2, R, T, R/T
 * RMX Rainbow Road 2, R, T
 * SNES Mario Circuit 1, R, T, R/T
 * SNES Donut Plains 1, R, T
 * SNES Mario Circuit 2, R, T, R/T
 * SNES Mario Circuit 3, R, T
 * SNES Vanilla Lake 1, R, T, R/T
 * N64 Kalimari Desert, R, T, R/T
 * GBA Sky Garden R/T
 * GCN Dino Dino Jungle, R, T
 * DS Luigi's Mansion, R, T
 * DS Waluigi Pinball, R, T, R/T
 * DS Airship Fortress, R, T
 * 3DS Shy Guy Bazaar, R, T, R/T
 * 3DS Neo Bowser City R/T
 * 3DS Rosalina's Ice World, R, T

Mario Kart Tour

 * Mario Kart Tour Twitter: Japan's most famous city is back for for another lap with the Tokyo Blur 2 course. Those traditional kadomatsu decorations aren't just for show—hitting them with an item is a great way to rack up some extra points!