Driving in Japan, pt 1

As some of you may know, since I live in a super inaka part of Japan, (This means I live out in the middle of nowhere country side) I have a car to use to get around to my schools, as well as in my daily life. Sure, there are more middle of nowhere places in Japan, but the public transportation system in Matsue leaves much to be desired, hence cars.

Since I got my driver's license in America way back in m high school days, I'm allowed to drive here in Japan using my American license and an International Driver's license I got from AAA before I left. Peachy keen once I figured out how to drive on the wrong side of the road, read their Japanese road signs, and realized that in general, Japanese drivers do not actually know how to drive and love to randomly stop in the middle of roads constantly. But hey, as long as they turn on their hazard lights it's all good, right? However, the Japanese government says that's only cool for 1 year. If I want to stay in the country and keep driving longer than 1 year, I need a Japanese license. Yay.

To get a Japanese license, you can attend their driving course and then take the driving test at the amazing price of around $3000. What a deal! Or, if you have a license from another country that you've had for at least 6 months before moving to Japan, you can just switch over that license to a Japanese one for considerably less time and money.  Thank goodness for that, it should be easy peasy, right? I mean, I've already had my American license for approximately 10 years. Sadly, that depends on where you're from.

If you are from Australia, England, Canada, or a few other countries that are not America, you don't have to take a driving test. If you're from America and all the other countries in the world not on that short list, be prepared to drive around with a scary little Japanese driving instructor who is going to grade you harshly. Really harshly.

Let's backtrack and start at the beginning of the process, shall we?

Upon realizing that you are going to be in the country longer than 1 year, and your international license is going to expire soon, you should start the Japanese license acquiring process relatively soon. It can take a couple months to get it depending on if you actually need to go to your job and how bad the government feels like messing with you.

First, take a peek at your license. Does it have an issue date on it? If not, you should get an official letter from your government stating when you got it, because you have to be able to prove to the Japanese government you've been driving in your home country for at least 6 months. If you haven't, hope you are ready to shell out $3000 and a lot of time going to Japanese driving school. My Michigan license didn't have an issue date anywhere on it, so I had to ask the Secretary of State for a letter saying when I got it. I ended up not needing it, as the information was encrypted in a code and easily found when translated, but it's good to have, just in case.

If your license has an issue date, or you have a letter saying when that is, you can start the next step, which is to get your license translated into Japanese. The Japanese driving center doesn't speak your language, so you need to put everything into theirs. Makes sense. The easiest place to get your license translated is JAF, the Japanese equivalent of AAA. Take your driver's license, gaijin card, 3000yen, and a book to read while you wait. Despite their translating services, don't expect them to speak English unless you're in a big city. They just plug your license number into a computer program that does all the work. It should take about 30 minutes.

Once your license is all translated and good to go, you need to make an appointment at the driver's license center for an interview. For the interview you need the translation papers you got from JAF, your driver's license from your native country, your passport, your gaijin card, and your international driver's license. Make sure you show up 10-15 minutes early, and be prepared to spend some time sitting around waiting. When you arrive, they'll have you fill out a questionnaire filled with easily answerable questions like "What was the name of the person who gave you your driving test?" and "What is the exact date you started driving?" Of course, this is all in Japanese, so you better be super fluent, or bring a translator. My company sent a translator with me, thank goodness.

After filling out the approximately 20 questions about strange driving stuff that no one in their right mind would actually remember, especially if you're from America and got your permit over 10 years ago, you hand over the questionnaire and wait. Eventually, they'll be ready to see you and will invite you in to be interrogated.

The Japanese official will go over every single question on the paper and won't be able to understand why you don't remember events that happened 10 years ago when you were a teenager who didn't care how the system worked, it was just cool that you could drive. If you don't know the answers, obviously you are lying about something. They are equally distrusting about the fact that you don't know the secret interworkings of your own government. How many people actually know how long licenses are good for? When you get a thing in the mail saying renew, you renew, that's how long. For my interview, the man couldn't wrap his head around my license being good for 3 years and 7 months. In the paperwork, it says 4 years. Why is my license not for 4 years? (The reason being Michigan driver's licenses expire on your birthday, yet I got mine when I moved back to Michigan in February. I couldn't wait 7 months until my birthday and then get a license that lasted for exactly 4 years.) Yoshino-san (my translator) and I tried to explain it, but he didn't like that answer. Umm, okay? Finally, he said we were finished, and IF my information was okay, they would call with a time to take the driving test. I'm not so sure about that IF. I told them the truth about everything, so I'm not really sure what happens if they decide I didn't pass. I don't want to think about it.

So, here's hoping everything checks out, and I get to take the driving test soon. I'll keep you posted.