The first race of Pixar’s Cars 2 takes place in Tokyo.
The Tokyo race opens the World Grand Prix storyline and introduces the international scale of the sequel. Lightning McQueen enters the competition after being invited by Italian Formula-style racer Francesco Bernoulli, while Mater becomes involved in Finn McMissile’s espionage investigation.
Tokyo gives the film a visually distinctive setting filled with neon signs, elevated roads, and night racing. The World Grand Prix later travels to other locations, including Porto Corso in Italy and London in the United Kingdom. These locations help Cars 2 move beyond the American road-trip environment of the first film.
Tokyo is the city, while Japan is the country; questions about the race may use either level of description, but the canonical city answer is Tokyo. The race is also separate from the film’s later London finale and from the Radiator Springs scenes that frame parts of the story.