Licensing

Getting a driver`s license in Japan...

May as well be impossible. So I know I am behind on a lot of entries and I should actually be studying for my MCAT now but I want everyone to hear the craziness of getting a license in this country and the hurdles you will have to jump through so you can be prepared. Or equally annoyed.

First, you must have a paper copy of everything. I did not luck out when I got to this country because I need to provide proof of driving in my country of origin (America) for three months prior to my arrival in Japan. I had to renew my license before coming so the new license says June 3, 2010 (only 2 months before I arrived) and the old license is expired. I have to provide Japanese copies of both of these licenses instead of the normally required single copy. Each translation costs 3,000 yen (roughly $35).

If I was from pretty much any other country besides America, this would be all the proof I needed of driving ability and they would give me a Japanese license on the spot (for a fee). Being as America does not have national driving requirements and instead laws are organized at the state level, Japan decided to be on the safe side and require people from America to take a few extra steps to acquire their Japanese license. And also to make completing those steps as agonizing and painful as possible.

Besides the copies of (both of) my licenses, I must also provide proof of residence (30mins and 300 yen at city hall) in Japan. I must also be able to provide all the information on my passport and answer questions as necessary in Japanese to service clerks (date of immigration, length of visa, etc). Oh, and the 3 days it took me to figure out the paperwork for the license translation and the fee for both of those (around $70).

But the real kicker isn`t the mound of paperwork (I guess considering the JET application the paperwork really isn`t that bad...) it`s that I have to take the written, physical and driving portion of the Japanese licensing exam. WHAT?!

Turns out, pretty much everyone fails this the first time... and many the second. There are a lot of silly things you have to over-exaggerate in the exam for the purpose of demonstrating understanding that you never repeat in real life driving. For example, you must check under, in front of, and behind the car before entering and say `Yosh!` at every checkpoint. Does not seem too troublesome until you find out there are over 40 `Yosh!` instances and that for missing a small number of them, you fail. B (who is fighting this battle with me) and I decided that to help avoid failing the test (and wasting the testing fee - about $80) we would try and take a driving class like the Japanese students. But being as we already know how to drive we want to just skip to practicing driving around the test center in their car have them tell us how the test will go. Knowing K had done this a few years before reassured us it would be possible and she mentioned the class cost only a nominal fee (about $100).

Well, after a week of searching we finally found a driving school who would give us the course we wanted. Two, one hour classes after work for the above mentioned price. Having called and scheduled the appointment I felt really accomplished and like I was well on my way to completing the tasks required of me for this damn license...

Until I realized I had not yet made my appointment at the Oita driving center for the actual driving portion of the test. I tried calling myself... to no avail. I then asked a teacher to do it for me... to no avail. Finally I spent all morning and most of lunch with my boss between classes today and once the very rude office clerk finally let up, we had made my appointment. And only at the loss of time and patience. I better not fail the damn test.

Did I mention the whole procedure can take up to three months to complete? And that the licensing center refuses to serve more than two foreigners a day? Oh, Japan...

Overall, I would say this experience is one well worth being prepared for if you are expecting to drive in Japan for more than one year and while it is strict and awful, hopefully now you know a little bit better what to do. (The purpose of this blog is after all to help prepare future JETs as well as allow me an outlet for bitching and updating ^=^).

Otherwise though, life is moving on here and since I start holiday tomorrow, expect an update or two about life here. Love!