However, this very month, a new challenge arose. My license was about to expire.
 |
| The shock! The horror! The danger! The giant eyes! |
My birthday being in September, I have a renewal period of August to October. Now you may be saying, "Hey, that's 2 months. Plenty of time to renew it! No big deal, right?" And perhaps you would be correct, except for the Japanese love of all things in duplicate paper work, everything thing being EXACTLY perfect, and a penchant to make people re-do things over and over and OVER until it is how they want it. Let's also add in strict rules about what times you can actually go to renew, and the probability that you can't actually understand what anyone is saying to you. In my prefecture's case, to renew a license, one needs to go to the driving center during the registration times of 8:30-9:30am, or 1:00-2:00pm, Sunday through Friday.
As someone who teaches English in schools, and therefore is busy every weekday from 8:30-4:00, renewing creates a bit more of a challenge. However, in August, it's still summer vacation (ish... I've already been to one of my schools 3 times, and will go back more later this week.) The perfect time to do the things you don't have time for normally! My last Tuesday of Freedom was quickly approaching, and decided that this was my chance, no having to figure out how to go during a time when I was supposed to be working. Yes, Sundays are a possibility, but from everything I heard, Sundays are also terrifying, because that is when ALL the people who work weekdays go. If you go on a Sunday, be prepared to get there as soon as possible (hopefully, BEFORE 8:30) and line up with everyone else in hopes they'll get to see you.
That being said, the people at the driving center do have this down to a science. I showed up at 8:30, and they were ready to direct me where to go. As I have changed addresses from when I got my license, I first had to go to Window 5 (that's in my center. Your center may be different.) to get a change of address form. Apparently, I was supposed to have already done this at my local police station when I first moved, by taking them my license and 2 pieces of mail (official type stuff like bills or paychecks) and having them change it. I, however, did not do that, due to ignorance or laziness or who knows what. I didn't do it. This did cause a small problem for me in that all drivers receive a postcard in the mail telling them:
A) Your license is about to expire!
B) This is where you go to renew!
C) These are the times you can go to renew!
D) Probably other important information!
E) Don't speak Japanese? Bring this postcard with you, and they'll know exactly why you're there, no broken Japanese explanations necessary.
Instead, I troubled the people at my office to get me all the information I needed, and then my friend Kako to go with me and help translate. I'm such a stinker.
So, anyway, I had to go to window 5, where they took my DL and copied it, and checked my mail I brought that it was indeed a different address. Or something, I have no idea what they were looking for. Then, I got a piece of paper where I had to write my name and my new address. They took that back and took my piece of mail back to check that yes, the address I wrote and the address on my mail were indeed the same. They then proceeded to copy my DL again. They stamped some things, gave me my DL, mail, and 1 of the copies of my DL and the new address written on it, and told us to go start at the beginning.
So, we went back to the entrance, handed the DL and the papers over, they nodded that everything was in order, and sent us to window 1. At window one, they once again copied my DL (so much paper!) and had me pay the 4000yen renewal fee, and gave me some paperwork to fill out. The paperwork was 2 papers, one were I wrote my name, birthday, DL number, and chose a PIN for the IC chip they put in the new DLs. (Not sure what the use of that will be.) The other paper was questions about illnesses and if they hinder your driving. I actually have no idea what they asked because Kako read them and told me I didn't have any of those problems and just to check no for everything. Sign. Date. Done.
We then moved on the the eye check station. I handed over my paperwork and license, and he asked if I could see without my glasses (the answer being very much no.) He then informed me that he couldn't tell if the 6 I wrote on the question form was a 6 or a 4.... Which to me is idiotic. It was today's date. Of course it's a 6. However, he pulled out a new paper and I got to re-write all the answers, the date, and re-sign it, while he voided my other paper and put it to the side. I wrote my 6's very carefully. Then I got to look into a machine and point which way the C was facing, very easy, and he signed off on my nonsense and sent me to the next section, where I got to take my new picture. That was it. All that took maybe 20-25 minutes.
Then came the fun part. As part of renewing your license, you are required to sit through a lecture of road laws and safe driving. Depending on how long you've had your license and how many traffic violations you've had, it can be 30 minutes to 3 hours. For renewing the first time, a wonderful 2 hour lecture was in order. Like the registration times, they have them only 2 times a day, at 9:45 and 2:15 at my center. If you are too late in registering and miss it, they will tell you to come back later or the next day. If too many people register in front of you and fill up the lecture, they will tell you to come back later or another day. You will not get your license until you participate in the lecture.
 |
| The lecture's books, about driving safety. |
 |
| What you get to stare at for the next 2 hours. |
Despite my complete lack of knowledge of the Japanese language, I was still required to sit though it. From what I could understand, they basically talked about the number of accidents in the area, things to watch out for when driving, laws that may have recently changed, no drinking and driving, etc. The instructor used power point on the TV. When there were pictures, I could figure out what he was talking about, even though I couldn't really understand him. The slides with just text and numbers were beyond me. There were also many slides that were copies of a poster or pamphlet, squished to fit on the slide. The media arts major inside of me was in severe pain. There was also a 45 minute movie about hitting pedestrians and cyclists with your car and how to be careful. It included 6 examples, in which at least 4 the pedestrian or cyclist was definitely at fault as they sped through stop signs, didn't look for oncoming traffic at all, wore dark clothing as they jaywalked at night, hung out in drivers' blind spots, and basically disregarded all traffic laws. This is actually pretty accurate of the pedestrians you typically find in Japan.
When the lovely lecture I didn't understand was over, we were escorted back to window 5 or 6, where they took our old license, punched a hole in it, and gave us our new ones. And that was it, mission accomplished.
All in all, much easier than getting the license was, but I'm happy I won't have to do it again for at least 3 years. I've also heard you can go to the central police station instead of the driving center to do this, but you have to bring a photo for the license with you (please make sure it's the right size and layout) and it can take up to 2 months to receive your new license in the mail. It's better to go to a driving center if possible.
