FH6 Beginner's Guide — Your First Hours in Japan
Forza Horizon 6 drops you into Japan with more content than any previous entry — and more systems to understand. This guide covers everything you need to know in your first few hours: the Prologue, starter car choice, how progression actually works, and the ten things you should do before anything else.
The Prologue — don't skip it
FH6 opens with a cinematic drive through Tokyo. This is not a tutorial you can fail — just drive and enjoy the scenery. The game is introducing you to Mei (your companion) and Jordy (the returning Horizon veteran). At the end, Mei hands you your Collection Journal — the most important menu in the game. Everything you collect, every barn, every stamp, every car is tracked here.
After the Prologue, your World Map unlocks. Mei signs you up for the Horizon Qualifiers — a series of six events to earn enough Festival Points to enter the Horizon Invitational. Complete these in any order — the game doesn't force a sequence.
Choosing your starter car — don't stress
After your Yellow Wristband, Mei offers you one of three starter cars. You get all three in your garage within the first two hours anyway — this is purely about which one you want to drive first.
The two progression tracks — understand this early
FH6 runs two completely separate progression systems at all times. Most new players don't realise this until several hours in. Understanding both from the start saves a lot of confusion.
Fast travel — it's free in FH6
This is a significant change from previous Forza Horizon games. Fast travel in FH6 is completely free from the start — there are no Fast Travel Boards to collect, no house to buy, no credit cost. The only requirement is that you must have driven to a location first. Roads you haven't driven stay grey on the map and can't be fast-travelled to.
This means driving the map manually has real value — every road you drive opens a new fast travel point. Don't fast travel everywhere in the early game. Drive around and open up the map.
Your first 10 priorities
| # | Action | Why | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finish the Qualifiers + Invitational | Unlocks Festival access, Wheelspins, Collection Journal features | Do first |
| 2 | Open Collection Journal | Pause → Collection Journal. Check both Horizon Festival and Discover Japan tabs. This is your mission board. | Do first |
| 3 | Start Discover Japan Story chapters | Yellow badge events — highest Stamp points per minute. Unlocks Barn Finds. | Day 1 |
| 4 | Drive every road manually near your start area | Opens fast travel points. Also smash every XP board and Mascot you pass. | Day 1 |
| 5 | Complete your first Wristband event | Unlocks more race types, higher car classes, and Player Houses | Day 1–2 |
| 6 | Buy Yashiki House (The Estate) | Gives daily Wheelspins and is the base for XP/Skill Point farming later. Costs around 3.5M Credits but is worth it. | Early game |
| 7 | Collect the 9 Treasure Cars | All free, no prerequisites, one per region. The Ford GT and Lancer Evo III are S-tier cars you get for nothing. See our Treasure Cars guide. | Early game |
| 8 | Check difficulty settings | Higher AI difficulty = more Credits per race. Even one or two steps up from default pays out significantly more. | Early game |
| 9 | Smash all Regional Mascots you see | Each gives 5,000 XP and 5,000 CR. There are 200 across Japan = 1,000,000 XP total. Also count toward Discover Japan Stamps. | Ongoing |
| 10 | Enter Festival Playlist (weekly) | Resets every Thursday. Limited-time cars you can't get elsewhere. Check the Festival Playlist guide each week. | Weekly |
Settings to change before you race
The default settings in FH6 are not optimal. Before your first proper race, go to Settings and adjust:
- AI Difficulty — raise it one or two notches above default. Each step increases credit payouts significantly.
- Driving Assists — turning off ABS and Traction Control increases the credit multiplier. Only do this if you're comfortable without them.
- Motion Blur — most players turn this off. It doesn't help performance and makes the screen harder to read at speed.
- HUD — consider turning on the mini-map if it's not showing by default. Essential for navigation.
What not to worry about early
- Tuning — don't touch tuning until you reach S1 class. The default setups are fine for the early game. Read our tuning guide when you're ready.
- Auction House — wait until you have surplus cars from Wheelspins before engaging with it.
- Wristband 7 (Gold) — don't rush to Legend Island. Enjoy the journey. The early and mid-game has some of FH6's best content.
- Perfect races — finishing second or third still earns Festival Points and Discover Japan points. Don't restart every race you don't win.