Ninja Hideaway

Ninja Hideaway is a race course from Mario Kart Tour that was introduced in the 2021 Ninja Tour as its featured course. The course takes place at a Japanese dojo called Ninja Manor and features two routes that drivers can alternate between: one main, ground-level route and one elevated route usually accessible through regular ramps or Glide Ramps. The course is strewn with obstacles such as ninja Shy Guys and shuriken traps. On the front of the manor are characters reading "way of the ninja". Wario-related iconography can be seen throughout Ninja Hideaway, such as depictions of his mustache and nose on the front of one of the buildings, as well as garlic motifs seen on windows, banners, and fences, referencing Wario's love for garlic.

This course is a favorite of Pink Yoshi, Fire Rosalina, Cat Toad, Penguin Toad, Tanooki Mario, Wario (Cowboy), Nabbit, Shy Guy (Ninja), Petey Piranha, and the Green and Spike Mii Racing Suits. It can also be a favorite of Mario (Samurai) if he reaches level 3, and King Bob-omb (Gold) if he reaches level 6.

Ninja Hideaway reappears as a classic course in the Booster Course Pass DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as the fourth and last course of the Lucky Cat Cup.

Course layout
In the standard layout, the course begins atop part of the manor rooftop before moving onto an arched bridge. A right turn appears at a Chain Chomp motif, followed by a wooden deck with two left turns. At the second left turn, there is a wooden staircase leading up to an upper level. If this route is not taken, the player then moves into multiple rooms inside the manor with a few shoji doors and shuriken traps, the last of which serves as a platform on the upper route and can lead to another upper area filled with coins. After another left turn, the player encounters a few ninja Shy Guys before taking a Glide Ramp past Shy Guys on kites and air-blowing bamboo stalks to a pagoda - this applies to the upper route as well. The pagoda's upper path features a few floorboards the player can traverse, while the lower path features a sewer system with running water. Both paths curve left and lead to a side roof with a grated path above, along with a few upwards wind currents produced by pinwheels. The course then makes an S-curve to the finish line, along with a Glide Ramp on the left that the player can use to access the upper floor of the manor.

The course also appears as Ninja Hideaway R (reverse), Ninja Hideaway T (with ramps) and Ninja Hideaway R/T (reverse with ramps). The first two variants debuted alongside the normal variant in the 2021 Ninja Tour, while the last debuted in the Mario vs. Peach Tour.

Appearances
For this course's tour appearances, see List of Ninja Hideaway tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Ninja Hideaway makes its console debut in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe via the Booster Course Pass. It is the fourth and final course of the Lucky Cat Cup, and as such was added in the first wave of the DLC. The track's design is mostly identical to its appearance in Mario Kart Tour, albeit upscaled and with updated visuals. The pond nestled before the entrance into the manor can now be tricked off of and a light near it was moved. The trickable slanted wooden surface that appeared in Tour right before the shuriken rooms has been removed. The ridges in the rooftop section can now all be tricked off of, even if they do not drop off to lower portions of the track. Depending on the item settings in play, the ninja Shy Guys may be replaced with items other than Bananas, or no items at all. The finish line gate can no longer be spun around, like it does in Tour; gliding drivers will fly over it, and items and drivers colliding with it will not make it spin. In Time Trials, the player starts slightly off-centered, which only occurs on this course.

Similar to Dragon Driftway, the course has a shamisen and shakuhachi added to its intro theme. The music has also been updated, removing the electric guitar heard in its original arrangement.

If the player lands on the sign immediately after the final moving spiked platform in 200cc, they will be unable to move.

Ninja Hideaway is one of three courses to originate from Mario Kart Tour to appear in the first wave of the DLC, alongside and  making it the only course to not be based on a real-world city. It was the only course in the Booster Course Pass first appearing in Mario Kart Tour to not be based on a real-world city until Wave 3, with the introduction of Merry Mountain.

Even though the track appeared first in Mario Kart Tour, and the eShop page classifies it as a "Tour" track, the game does not assign it a "Tour" prefix. Because of this, it was the only classic race course in the series to lack a prefix at the time of its release (not including the Extra courses in Mario Kart: Super Circuit), and was one of three classic courses to lack the prefix in general, alongside Block Fort and Pipe Plaza, which appeared as battle courses in Mario Kart DS. Most official promotional material does assign the course with the prefix with the exception of the Nintendo UK Booster Course Pass site and the American site starting with the full announcement of Wave 3.

As with all other courses from Wave 1, this course's icon was updated in the 2.1.0 update. Unlike the other courses, however, this course's icon was darkened, as opposed to being brightened.

Mario Kart Tour

 * Mario Kart Tour Twitter:
 * The Yoshi Tour is wrapping up in blue. Next up is the Ninja Tour! Beware the traps in the new course Ninja Hideaway!
 * Race under cover of darkness, illuminated just by the light of an ominous moon. The new Ninja Hideaway course debuts in blue! Dodge the falling ceiling and keep an eye out for stray ninja... It'll take a keen eye to get 1st place!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

 * Nintendo Switch News Wave 1 DLC spotlight:
 * This course first appeared in the Mario Kart Tour game.
 * It seems like ninjas like to live in fancy ninja manors. Swanky!
 * This manor is filled with obstacles like lowering ceilings and pinwheels. Ninjas do like their privacy, after all.
 * You'll want to get familiar with all the multiple pathways. Choosing the right path is the key to victory.
 * Nintendo Magazine 2022 Winter: "A course like a ninja manor, with complex routes and multiple gimmicks!"