Driving in Japan past the Japanese driver test

I have spent the Japanese test pilots? Vlog # 22

Driving in Japan past the Japanese test driver.
Learning to drive is a costly and time-consuming process in most countries, but perhaps especially for the foreigner living in Japan Many people visiting Japan will eventually find the need to pass a driving test to drive here even if they already hold a valid license their home countries the process is not as simple as you can imagine, and it is even more complicated for people learning to drive from scratch This Article documenting my experience business and passing the Japanese driving test.
Most people who arrive in Japan undoubtedly come with an international driver license, which is valid for one year from the date of the license, or a year from your date of entry more short of the two pipe dates on an expired license is illegal and you could face heavy fines if caught doing even if you feign ignorance to continue driving after the first year, you have to change your license International to a Japanese driver's license as well, you can not drive in Japan at all if you enter without an international license, you must obtain a Japanese license.
However, the conversion of a foreign license to Japanese driver's license can be tricky process varies depending on which country you have licensed the source; people from countries like U K and France November 2011 exempted from the requirement to pass a test, while other countries like America and Brazil are expected to take one to drive here.
But what about those of us who never learned to drive in our country undoubtedly a much smaller, select group of people, but a harsh reality if you're like me and did never felt the need to get a driving license at the University of Japan has many unique and beautiful places that are inaccessible by public transport, and if you live outside of a big city, it can be very convenient to move, too, what happens if your Japanese driver's license expires or is revoked it is that you will have to go through the same process as I did, getting your Japanese license from scratch Continue read on to learn all about the long and painful process.

Most people who arrive in this article will probably fall into this category Fortunately, there is already a good bit of information out there on the Internet to help foreigners who are unfortunate enough to come from a country in need of take a test to get a driver's first Japanese driver in place, let's separate the chance of bad luck Source Metropolitan police Service.
Countries exempt from having to take Iceland written driving test and practical, Ireland, UK, Italy, Austria, Australia, Holland, Canada, Korea, Greece, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Finland, France, Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg, Taiwan.
These lucky people who come from one of the countries listed above can convert their foreign license to Japanese driver's license for a small fee and some very little pain involved at all paperwork Everything you needed.
1 A foreign driving license of one of the countries above 2 After holding this license while living in the country for more than 3 months 3 Translation of your foreign driving license obtained from the Japan Automobile Federation JAF for 3000 4 yen Various other application and costs about 5000 yen documents.

There's much more information here for people who fall into this category, I needn t go all again.
The poor people who come from a non aforementioned countries, unfortunately, must pass a written and practical driving test to prove they can drive safely on the roads of Japan The process is as follows.
1 A driver not driving abroad of one of the countries above 2 After finding this license while living in the country for more than 3 months 3 Translation of your foreign driving license obtained from the Japan Automobile Federation JAF 3,000 yen for a fitness test 4 Take 5 Take a written test on the rules of the road 6 Take a practice test in the driving test center 7 Various other application and costs about 5000 yen documents.
In a way, it is not quite as bad as it appears above, but in another way, it is much worse.

The written test is usually just a set of 10 true or simple questions with a passing score 7 10 You can even take English in several prefectures The fitness test usually checks that the vision and color blindness, but can also include hearing and physical fitness to drive the good news.
The bad news is that the practical test can be a nightmare for some people, in theory, a good driver, even one of the countries not listed above should be able to move you learned to drive safely, right in practice, people have various bad habits have held for some time a driver's license, and what constitutes good behavior on the road and normal traffic is definitely not what you get through the practice test again, the book has a decent summary Supermelf source.
The practical examination is not so much a test of your driving ability because it is a test of your ability to navigate a game during the appropriate times, the skills overlap, sometimes they are not It tests your ability to control the car, whether it is fast or slow it tests your ability to navigate the narrow sections of road there is a test to show that you are aware of any possible danger at any time, even if it is physically impossible it is a test to show that you are patient and careful.
Opinions differ on which the prefectures of the hardest tests, cities or inaka Each prefecture will have different levels of stringency of different things at the end, it usually depends on the proctor, so try to make a good impression practical test taken on a private course giant over like a to a driving school or a go-cart park tours tend to be marked by small signs B1 or D2 or so the proctor may be specific You take test in their vehicle, not your own vehicles are white plate cars full size which were taxis once, so if you are used to a narrow car, be especially careful if you are driving a manual, you must take the test in a manual Alternatively, you can take either.

There's not much more I can add to that, but I can verify from personal experience By taking the practice test for my provisional license, I had to drive around the course of the test center, often with another person to rear of the car also took the test, it is the same course that people who transform their license must navigate.
I was asked to memorize the 3 possible routes in the test center I found out what road I would drive half an hour before the test The examiner will be a member of the National Police Agency of all test centers driving are handled by the police, they will sit on the left and check you various skills, such as navigating an S curve, a hill start and test the crank They will give comments in Japanese, unless you are lucky enough to have someone who has the ability and is ready to speak English my experience of taking the test center, the reviewers were very strict, but fair.
Since I manual to learn, I had to be reasonably good with the clutch I did not instantly my first time in the S-curve to catch my wheel on the sidewalk and down slightly in the grass area I tried to reverse I failed my second time because the clutch too shaken I finally passed my third attempt with a minimum score of 70 points out of 100 course, it was just step 2 of my long journey learning to drive to see further.
Again then, it is already much information documented for the unlucky people who fall into this category, including many, many opinions and advice of different people who have gone through the process of converting their license, I needn t Go over it all again.
So, finally, we come to the undocumented portion Regarding my research has determined there is some valuable information in English on the Internet to learn to drive abroad in Japan What is more, it is even less information about learning to drive without a driving school was my goal to both learn to drive, but avoid the exorbitant costs associated with all driving schools in Japan, it was a long process and laborious, and certainly not cheap.
First up, let's get the note on the road driving schools Over 90 Japanese will attend one of the many driving schools littered to Japan to learn to drive a school of the driving is probably a much better method that I have chosen, mainly because almost all costs associated with learning to drive are included in the basic payment and the center is really like a school, the instructors are friendly and are pleased to continue working with you until you switch schools also offer different options, including evening sessions for those who have a job and unable to participate in the day, and even intensive short courses that you involve attending a boarding school and learning every day.

That said, most driving schools are more than 300,000 yen The Koyama Driving School appears to be one of the few that offer courses in English offers a course priced at about 400,000 yen After graduating from a registered school you must always make the final written test a small fee of a few thousand yen to a prefectural control centers managed by the national police Agency After that, you have your license Japanese dive.
Needless to say, the idea of ​​paying more than 300,000 yen 3,800 at the exchange rate in force in November 2011 call didn t for me, I decided to skip enrolling in a driving school and instead try what everyone said I could not do learn to drive without attending a driving school.
Learning to drive without attending a driving school.
1 This is the process that worked for me and fees paid on time can vary greatly depending on your personal situation, and especially your natural ability to conduct it also involved a degree of risk, both legal and regarding security 2 Don t naive and think you can take the tests without driving practice you are not a natural pilot, and even if you have a driving ability, most of the rules of the road and driving skills you need to demonstrate not down to common sense 3 Don t for a second think you can just learn to drive free or almost free even as I originally fantasized I had with many Japanese friends, including training outside of practice centers and even cost me a chunk of change Although there was still much cheaper than going to a driving school.
In order to get your full Japanese driver license, you will have to follow a rigid process, passing each stage before moving to the next step Each comes with its own small fee to be paid and will require that you take the time to work on one day a week to complete the in how many other people are in the system backlog, it can also mean that you deal with weeks or months of waiting between each step.
Here is what you will do in order to obtain a Japanese driver's license from scratch As I mentioned earlier in the article, the process is the same for people who have had their license revoked or simply forgot to renew an existing Japanese driver's license Yes, you heard Forgetting to renew and you can kiss 6 months of driving goodbye and look forward to a costly and maddening set of tests, all taken in a downtown test administered by the national police Agency lose your license because of bad behavior, and you'll usually banned for a year of driving before you even start the process of 6 months to get a new license.

1 Take the test writing in a temporary test center 2 Take the test provisionally practice on the course of the examination center.
3 Practice on 5 separate days on the road with someone with a full driving license 4 Take the test in a complete theory test center 5 Make the final practical test on the road with a test center examiners follow 6 a course in first aid and another last course, in theory, driving in a driving school.
Here's a rough approximation and distribution costs for me.
Lessons at the center of local practice 77000 yen 7000 yen x 11 fee to train practical centers and test 19600 yen 980 yen return x 20 registration fee for the practice center 3,500 yen examination fees for the written exam temporary 6,200 yen 3,100 yen x 2 fresh examination of the first attempts to provisional 11150 yen 1,650 yen practice exam attempt x 1; 4,750 yen retries x 2 Issuance of a provisional license fees 1,200 yen review for final exam written 2400 yen examination fees for the final practical examination 18,000 yen 1,000 yen first attempt x 1; 3,400 yen retries 5 x 4hr class and practical training expenses after spending 9,800 yen 3hr training first aid after spending 3,600 yen Issuance of a full license costs 2,100 yen lunch gasoline costs while driving 3,000 yen with friends they were very generous and wouldn t allow me to pay most of the time.

You can also include treating friends to a party all-you-can-drink after spending 20,000 yen.
Cost of going to the local school fees 344210 yen final exam written 2400 yen Issuance of a full license 2.100 Total 348.710 yen yen.
The first step, naturally, is to take the provisional theory test taken at one of the examination centers managed by the Agency of the national police in my test center in the prefecture of Aichi, written tests are to held on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday morning I had to pay a small fee each time I tried the test.
I decided to do the test in Japanese, partly by the desire to test my ability, and part on hearing that the English translation is a bit dodgy though I can not confirm that I borrowed the old manuals Japanese friends who had attended a driving school and spent the better part of a few weeks to study Japanese as much as I know at the time, there weren t manuals available commercially in English for those learning to drive from zero Sod's law then that I discovered the English version of the main textbooks about 3000 yen per book are available for purchase in driving schools, you will need to search the manuals entitled Master your driving by Chubu school Nippon Driver Probably better to go to the biggest school in the region.
There are also paper thin summary of the complete manual available from JAF centers that you can buy for 1,000 yen This is for students who convert their license to a Japanese and need to learn basic road signs and the laws it not include anywhere near the level of detail of the manual, as I learned a lot my disappointment as such, it is almost impossible to pass the test by studying this little single book search English versions of main textbooks they exist, although I did not find them in bookstores or online.

The provisional test itself is available in English in several major prefectures I spent my provisional theory test in Japanese on the second attempt He has 50 questions to 30 minutes, you need more than 45 correct to pass the test was fairly simple, without a lot of tricky questions, but did check the important signs and driving knowledge, it is advisable to thoroughly research before you try it notes although the test is not the same as the incredibly easy test of 10 questions that the conversion of foreign licenses must take.
After the written test, the student then books a date to pass the practical test to obtain their provisional license This was by far the hardest and most frustrating experience for me, or at least it was until I graduated to the ultimate road test.
I had naively thought I would just take the test again and again, improving slowly but eventually passing the costs prohibitive weren t as 4750 yen per attempt, and especially each attempt costs unless the use of the practice center proximity.
What I didn t factor in my thinking, however, was the wait between attempts Surely it'll be just a week or so I thought no problem, it turned out that there was a huge backlog of people trying obtain their provisional license They consisted mainly Brazilians Aichi has a very large population of Japanese and Brazilian Brazilians who came to work, often in large automotive plants, some Japanese seniors who had lost their license for one reason or another , and me.
As I noted earlier, more than 90 Japanese attend driving school rather than take the tests directly, so it makes sense that most people who try to get their license in test centers will be aliens, stingy or bad drivers lazy Talking to close practice center staff, they said they also teach many Brazilians, but unfortunately, they hardly enough practice t Some of them were heading 10 attempt on the provisional test.
Due to the large amount of people trapped in the system of not getting their provisional license, in general, I had to wait about 3 weeks between my tests the practical examination There was no way I could keep my original strategy to take the test again repeatedly until I passed was reluctantly I enrolled at nearby practice center to get some driving time and speed up the process 7,000 yen for 50 minutes, it was very expensive, but it was exactly the same route and in the exact same used cars for examination it wasn ta better way to improve the course in preparation for the practical test.

Until then, I practiced in parking with the help of friends some time driving a light truck manual, and time to practice basic driving skills in a small automatic car is a risky thing to do in lead parking is still conducted in a public space Although no realistic police will be checking or coming hard on people to drive around a nearly empty parking lot, I'm on the wrong side of the law one of my friends told me a story of an international organization of his friends had led only 100 meters on a country road, was arrested by police and severely punished for driving without a license, I made sure my Japanese friends knew the risks before help me in parking lots, however, and some of them were happy to do that said, anyone attempting should do it at their own risk, I do not advocate it as.
So with my 10 hours or more experience in car parks, I told myself to take the provisional practical test would agree, I am ready to fail several times and finally pass Once I got my provisional license I told myself I could legally practice my heart content on the road with friends Until then, practice outside the center was a risky business.
My first time with the practice center has revealed the extent of my inexperience Several stalls, grab the sidewalk, misuse of the clutch, unable to reach 40 km h on the straight stretch of road, unable to do a hill start with confidence even the list goes on after 10 hours or practice outside the school, it was clear the two practice sessions paid weren t going to be enough to get up to speed with that said, I actually improve much after the first tests, and my 4th session of practice, I was sailing course without making serious mistakes.
I failed on my first attempt to pass the practical test, I took the wheel before turning the curve S, mounts the sidewalk It would not be a failure in itself, but as I put it in reverse, my wheel slipped down into the out of bounds grassy area I managed to get out and complete the S-curve, but the examiner told me to come in early, they let me didn t even finish during practice for instant fail.
The second attempt was better than I completed the course without errors in the L-crank or S-curve, I did a pretty good hill start and didn MISS indicating also that my performance was unsatisfactory that I had to drive over left when the power turns to the left, move up 3 and 4 fishing gear more often rather than remaining in the second, rest my foot on the ground when not using the clutch and above all, I had to get used to the feel of the clutch my examiner said there was too much rattling caused by being in the wrong relationship, or not change between the relative ease the difficulties of conducting speed manual cars were apparent.

After a few practice sessions, I had my third attempt, this time I did it over with almost no clutch rattle and successfully moved and down when needed Even though I finished without any error serious, my examiner was still very critical, noting that it seemed extremely nervous as I left the car waiting for my results, she reminded me to remind me to take my business with me, always seated the back of the Crap car.
But I managed to finally move 70 points out of 100 the bare minimum to pass the test interim practice, but a pass was a pass, I could finally get a decent education without paying crazy fees in the center of the practice .
After being released my new license paper with a limit of 6 months, the member of center staff explained the next step I had to go on the road at least 5 times with someone who had held a full driving license for 3-year course, the car had to be manually too.
Another riddle almost every car on the road in Japan Everyone Automatic leads, except a few selected people with a passion for manual cars, or those who drive specialized vehicles such as light trucks for transportation of goods, it meant that I would have a hard time trying to find a friend who owned a manual car, much less let me drive, I phoned several rental companies and no manual cars for rent closest they had been light truck quite a different feeling from the regular car 1400cc manual used in the test center wouldn t it be great to practice more, should the person with me holding a manual license to rent the lot of my friends were only qualified to drive automatic cars.

But I found my savior It was none other than my section chief, he had recently bought a lightweight 660cc manual car, even with resistance from his family because he liked to drive with a clutch is also willing to let me drive and sign my form for me to take the next step of the driving test Grand.
Curiously, to pass the final written examination, the student must first have their mentor complete the form indicating that they have led on the road on 5 different days, I do not know why it had to be in place before taking the written test, but I saw it as something else drag an already long process that I would practice on more than 5 different days in preparation for my final practical exam, but the written exam was a mammoth 90 questions a test, and I was not confident I could spend it first time, there was little chance that my boss could take me on 5 consecutive days in practice we decided to complete the form in advance our practice sessions something I had asked one of the policemen about the testing center on one occasion before the officer had said, with a slight nod, as of course they almost never check to ensure that the practice was made in advance.
So it was that I walked back into the test center a week later with my form of road training completed and applied to the written final exam There would be plenty of time to over the road practice, even after spending my written examination.
The test of the final theory was very difficult Again, a true or false format, consisted of 90 questions and 5 questions 2 points to 1 point, to take 50 minutes to 5 questions each had three parts Each included an illustration a situation on the road, and the student must answer all 3 parts per question to assign full 2 ​​points get a bad part means that you are wrong the whole question that means there are 105 boxes on the paper while a total of 100 points pass mark is 90 100.
In my preparation for the written examination, I found what turned out to be a very useful site Sá This large site with hundreds of simulated questions and categories for each level of the written test that allows you to practice for free There is a section paid necessary if you use the site too much in one day, but I never hit the limit format usually consists of a series of questions and a time limit to respond in After submitting your answers, and provides brand beautifully detailed explanations of all aspects of each issue, including additional information on the issue and the questions asked by other Japanese users is the site here.
It is no exaggeration to say that this site is the main reason I was able to pass the written tests without the frustrating experience of learning how issues trying to fool you, and refreshing precise figures and situations in my head, again and again, I probably would have failed many times, you get an idea of ​​the way the questions are structured, tiny differences in the language used and an idea of ​​how quickly you need to be read and respond as the test written interim, the final exam is also available in English in some prefectures, but I have no idea of ​​the quality of translation due to the complexity of issues and situations amount trick, I have doubts about if the English translation grasp the right nuances in language that allow the student to determine whether an issue is right and wrong and of course, there no English website with sample questions to practice, which means that you will have more difficulty learning issues trick if you're studying English.

Again, I chose to take the test in Japanese He made the most sense, since all expressions that I was studying Japanese, and all matters of something I had memorized were Japanese, I ' I managed to finish the test in only 50 minutes, but has not had time to return to the answers to questions that I was less than sure.
It felt long and I was pretty tired after completing 10 questions per page, each with 2-3 Japanese lines of text for the question Some questions were so long that I had to read five lines with complex situations frustrating but I managed to view on my first try, scraping with 91,100 Hell yeah.
I booked my last practice test on the same day that pass the written test, it would be composed of two sections of the first, a road test that would require me to memorize 6 possible routes and drive a day, and the second, reverse parking brief test on the test drive itself with a few weeks to go, I flesh out my schedule with different sessions of driving with my boss and other friends on the road, we would head to opportunity on the test site itself to drive the same route used in the final exam has not been easy with the crappy card in black and white, they provided me, especially because the practice was mostly limited to night sessions.
I also decided to go back for a couple more workouts the day in the center of the practice, it would prove important for learning the course and get a feel for using the 1400cc taxi normal style on the road quite a different feeling light 660cc car my boss drove slowly I began to iron my right turns and get a better idea of ​​when to say when I was up now, much too early.

I arrived well in time, even taking a walk in a place of pilgrimage near and talk with a guide on the history of the place before reaching the test center After the signing, I was told over, I will ride that day course D and also during parking I need to finish a course I was the only person opting to take the day hand, and two or three other Brazilian girls had to pass the self-test as they did could do both at the same time, the examiner asked me to wait outside the test center until their return.
70 minutes later, another examiner became free and took me to my test Slapping my hands numb with cold, I turned the key in the ignition.
I d practiced during D before, but less than other courses, but it was not particularly difficult your path The examiner also told me that if I was not sure of the towers, I could confirm the driving That makes me feel a little better the situation, and I left comfortably.
It wasn t long though before things are horribly wrong just traveling inside the 40k h speed limit down a stretch of road, suddenly a tottering old man from behind a corner and stood waiting to walk crosswalk There was no light for this crossing, which meant I had to stop Although I knew it at the time, given the speed I was going and little distance between me and the crossing, I thought it would be safer to go rather than break suddenly of course, this pretty much immediately I missed so says the old man decided to run in front of me but I thought that if the break was also suddenly considered dangerous.
I guess the lesson learned is to drive slower, even though we told of conduct would be too slow as we lose Sigh points.

The main point that I failed on many failed to notice an oncoming car making a right turn shortly after that I can only recognize and hang my head to my attention by not ensuring pedestrians crossed the other side of the road before turning, and I have not recheck the oncoming traffic before turning it was a lesson well learned, but a moment that the failure of the instructor had to break the car.
It was the time of my second attempt in November I wrote most of this post, thinking that I spend on my next two tests As I learned of the provisional license practice test, however, the test center was subject to was getting backlogged, meaning I ended up waiting weeks between attempts Tests 2 and 3 have passed fails I was angry, but resigned on one occasion, a Japanese who was driving for 7 years, have also failed with me, so I'm quite sure it wasn t all forms of discrimination which put me in check, I guess I need more practice.
And so I begging my boss for letting me use his car weekday nights to drive around town, and on some occasions, all the way to the test center so I can practice the actual roads used in the examination that I could not have asked for a more patient mentor and friend, and I am particularly indebted to him to continue to let me use his car, even after managing to scrape the bottom of it on a sidewalk it was terribly embarrassing at the time, but fortunately no damage was done.
January came and so did my attempts to come whenever I felt like I was driving well, but I always slip on something once I hesitated upon seeing a large truck stopped on the road flashing their hazard lights Instructor told me to cross the midline and move if I could, I could do without problems, but the hesitation among other things was a big minus another occasion, I was following the car in front, crossing the zebra lines limiting the right turn in normal traffic, it would be perfectly acceptable, but because he was examined, it was a very bad move and I sigh heavily penalized for.
On my fifth attempt, I'm pretty confident and everything was fine until I almost missed a turn on the playground, which Instructor bickering and become irritated me Having managed to get the car at the crossing a first for me several months to questions compounds, I pressed the wrong button to close the window after, resulting in a situation like I panicked because the windows were open and close around the car Needless to say it was a failure, but I put it to luck most of the bad weather there were other little things, like not enough hugging the left line at left turns, that they kept harassing me about all the good practices, however, I kept saying to comfort me, I got very worried, however, that my provisional license expires before I could pass the test, it is only Valab the 6 months until April mine, and several weeks between sessions, there was a real danger that I might just get another 2 or 3 tries before time ran out if time ran guess what you new start, from scratch not failing again was not an option at all.
Finally my sixth attempt, I could pass early February was at that time, and I cursed my luck because I gave myself one course C course I was completely lost when I practice at night months before have an hour before the exam itself, so I walked the 2 kilometers to the course to see the parts of the road that I contemplated borrow a bike temporarily, but no such opportunities arose, so I had to time, he walks with care and back in order not to be late Fortunately, however, my preparation to check out some of the road helped to advance, and I sailed through the exam without mistakes I was pretty sure that I 'had spent this time, because the instructor basically only comment on a small thing my grasping the handle too well in corners and asked me if I felt nervous Funnily enough, I also asked if I was rveux when I passed the interim examination may be an indication.

But it was finally finished, I got my provisional license stamped with the end February 9 A Japanese instructor more patted me on the back, grinning behind his surgical mask used to prevent colds.
Just a little while I was smiling Thanks again for your help.
The guy at the reception beckoned me and told me how to go to complete the course that is right then the worst was well finished, I still wasn t get my license easily.
To actually get my license granted, I still had to go and take two courses in a driving school The courses are mandatory and consist of a 4-hour session called Shutoku-ji koshu 取得 時 講習 and a 3-hour session called Okyu kyugo sochi koshu 応 急救 護 措置 講習 training 4 hours is a final check of your driving, you go out on the road with an instructor at the driving school and they save your conduct Then you look together and talking points you missed or need to improve also watching a DVD on the highway driving before going for a test drive on the highway itself 3 hours of training is the first CPR basic training of help and nothing too difficult emergency response in both courses, and the atmosphere is much more relaxed and friendly than in testing centers run by the national Agency Police said you can not fail these training sessions, although I suppose if you were driving dangerously they could deny you usher cate showing that you completed the training.
To book these sessions, I had to call the driving school and ask when they proposed the formation that I should not have been surprised, but it turns out that I was for another long wait The first many schools were in April and some didn t provide training until May wait another two months I ended up calling to more than 50 different schools asking Japanese on training the first school I could find to offer training in the first three weeks in March subsequently, only 2 separate days 2 more days I needed to take time off to attend classes, he would have to do, I booked the sessions and I went down to my city Hall to purchase money loans stamps to pay for the regular cash price was not acceptable.
I received certificates of completion after attending two training sessions they were surprisingly fun to go, actually full of young Japanese teenagers and a friendly staff buzzing around it was really to be back at school until a lady selling bento lunch and snacks, and school bell tinkling between sessions students transported in textbooks and complete records of the leaves of progression and red stamps marking their completion I even made a friend on the 2 days I had my training and it made me wonder was the pain that I went up to save money is really worth.

I d saved about 200,000 yen about 2 3 of the actual cost would be to attend a school, but getting a driving license by attending a school that could be done in the evening without having to take a lot of time off work , with friendly instructors and a safe environment I get to know other students and we go through all the tests, I asked how long students usually take to complete the course of conduct in a school too Apparently is several months, so not much shorter than it took me to complete it myself, which was 7 months, I guess it really comes down to what you cherish most in this situation time or money given again the choice, I would still have chosen to save money, because I learned a lot after this indirect process and had to overcome many difficulties that have undoubtedly shaped me as a person and pushed my Japanese skills, but after all, I do not think I can recommend the same approach to other foreigners who want to learn to drive in Japan Ju st pay the money and attend a school, it is far too much trouble to go through the indirect approach as I did, unless you particularly like challenges.
As the last step, I had to take my back completion certificates at the test center, as well as my personal inkan seal and pay 2100 yen to get my license issued, as usual, what had to be done a weekday morning I got up, had a shower, jumped my contact lenses and directed onto the train for the last time at a test center for women police there recognized me and offered his congratulations to finally pass as I processed documents most of the staff seemed there to know me by that point a group of 5 or 6 of us then led upstairs to have our picture taken, then our licenses were created as the perfect speed I might add, given how damn long the process had taken so far.
I left feeling the air hot spring, tightening the new license in my hand he had a lime green band, signaling to the world that I'm a new pilot Penalties are particularly strict in the first year after graduation driving license, and by law, I have to novice marks on the car when I drive, I thought back to a year earlier, it was in February 2011, when I started thinking seriously about getting my license, I practiced a few times with friends, but never got seriously underway until August when I passed the provisional theoretical examination here I was, seven months later, on March 8, just happy to be finally done with the whole thing, it turned out to be a piece of paper bloody expensive to obtain.
But, I guess the real lessons I learned repeatedly failed and knowledge gained from intensive Japanese study are worth much more, having experienced this painful process, I am absolutely resolved that I will let nothing come between me and my driving Japanese This is the exact process that you must pass to get a license that has been revoked because of too many points or illegal activity is also the same process you have to go through if you forget just renew your license before it expires after several years as a poor Japanese guys told me as he took his test, it is clear now for blinding me never, never lose ever Japanese driver's license.
And on that note, it's just a thing to do now take my friends for a drink to celebrate D.

Ota-hancho, my boss, for his tireless efforts driving back and forth to me on the test site during practice for my final practical examination also have the courage to let me take his light manual 660cc car that was only a few months on the road without it I would not have been able to practice using the clutch, which was crucial for me to save money from having to participate in the center of the practice almost all cars used by normal people in Japan are automatic, except for light trucks.
Fukada-san, a colleague who I participate badminton with it let me practice driving his big automatic car in parking lots and on the road after getting my provisional license.
Kurahashi-san, for letting me drive his light manual truck in the fleet in the early stages, including me take a country road hill begins to practice using the clutch.
Koumei to lend me his old textbook annotated and let me practice in her small automatic car in parking lots in the early stages.
Manami to lend me his blank books and telling me the difficulty of the process of learning to drive was.
Mayumi, for the constant support and study with me while I was preparing to pass written exams.

And a big thank you to everyone who helped and chatted with me along the way, including all the awesome people who supported me on Google and Twitter.
I form vietnam, I already have the vietnam driving license, I want to get the lience Japan Do I look like the Japanese and the number of questions I must study is 1000 questions I also want to know that one page of the site that I can download this file to study practical advice please for me.
Hi your site is great and was a great help for me I checked many sites giving information on obtaining a license in Japan and yours is by far the most informative He also convinced that although they may be expensive, the approach of the driving school was for me I decided the closest was the best and enrolled in a school in the center of the city of Kyoto they offer 3 courses, の ぞand み ひ か り こ だ ま lol signed to express what I wanted to finish everything on my summer vacation, I am a high school teacher, so have 6 weeks without summer 275000 Cost plus 5250 for an English version of text book, I decided against the 安心 コ ー ス, a form of insurance against multiple failures I m 48 and have never led, but just decided to give a go Although this is Kyoto, bounding with city foreigners, not many seem to go to driving school, s Porte instructors seemed more nervous than me lol.
Everything was fine, we had to attend 20 hours of class instructors give helpful hints on what is important to remember the written tests and do 15 hours of driving on their course before taking the provisional license tests all have smoothly, thankfully.
Level 2, 15 additional hours during the first part of aid and 19 hours of driving, including regular driving through central Kyoto, under the highway, on the highway in the hills with their narrow roads, windy and some lessons in school school also on how to reverse turns and parallel parking on the whole very intensively a website where you can practice for the final test in English the same idea as SafetyDriver , very useful.

While driving away, we covered all 6 final test course at least twice, which was very helpful the day of the final practical test, we gave our courses each, 3 students in the TM car and we went, changing drivers at designated Back to school for 方向 変 換 party and was on all three of us passed.
The svhool prepared my complete application even photos needed for the written test, which was too easy, I took the written test at the police station yesterday and I am now the proud owner of a Japanese license and very happy, I am also.
All that to say, I think the approach of the school is really good and really intensive full They will tell you what you need to do to pass the anal points if they may seem sometimes you need to remember and not to do the instructors were almost pleasant.
The way to school worked for me made with 6 weeks, but your story is much more interesting well.

Hello I would like to get a driver's license for a motorcycle 125cc Unfortunately, I didn any driving license in my country, I can speak Japanese, Italian and English, but I can not write or read a lot of kanji so I I worried a permanent visa.
What will it cost for me to get a driver's license for a 125cc motorcycle in Japan Osaka Is difficoult Do you know a good book in English or Italian to study better in English or Italian, so I can understand 100.
I have the skills to do just worried bike for the written test.
gakuranman thank you for posting this blog I'm ludy Filipino in a few months im going to Japan, and my husband would take me a Japanese driver license it eventhough I'm a driver here for almost 13 years, I know Japan is very Strick regarding driving lesson Ive learned a lot from you on this blog thank you gakuranman Mata do.
I managed my karimen and working on my final permits from now Could you clarify about the class card for the final test have them get to the center of menkyou.
The current cards were on the wall of my particular test center, but they gave me a copy of the course that I had to drive that day, one hour before the test.

Hello, congratulations I do the same process I passed my written test and an actual driving test, I will take my second review and if I'm missing is the driving test route I do not know about the driving course at outside they give me to memorize the route map hope to hear many thanks more power.
Hey thanks for the message Unfortunately, the roads depend on the examination center where you take the practice test, they should have a list of routes and maps that can be used to store the course of your best bet is to contact the test center.
Yes, much depends on the control center to me, we didn t memorize a course examiner gave us instructions on where to go We also test pairs of us have had to drive the first half of course, the park and the other took over.
Congratulations Hi, I'm the same process I passed the written and practical and I got my karimen Now I will take my Homen written test and driving the road, but I have no idea of ​​driving out of you know where I could find the course map road for me to memorize the road Sorry to bother you hope to hear from you thank u very much.
Very interesting, thank you I have lived in Japan since I was about to turn 21 and 27, I came to Japan not to I finally had enough lead and I'll process now.

But I decided to go the route of the driving school Maybe I'm just very lucky, or because it is the inaka but my golf driving school is only 290,000yen I get the English manual, and also practice tests in English, as English is sometimes questionable, which, yes, is frustrating, especially when you check and the Japanese version of the questions is much more clear and precise, but overall acceptable.
They try to finish me before the summer rush, so if all goes according to plan, it should take me 2 months in total to get my license luck.
Was good to read about the experiences of someone else.
Live and taken my driving license in Yamagata Prefecture in August 2011 am in my late 50's, but with gray hair did not help in passing the practical driving test I twice using a manual car, for reasons I did not understand that everyone else has to fail at least once I walked over and took digital photos of each curve, turn, stop sign, crank, S- curve and did a study book what to do at every curve, stop, lane change and what to do on my third attempt I passed, I talked to myself aloud each situation Pull speed up to 40 k ph pump the brake twice and coast around the curve, the signal on the mirrors to check the earth change and so on in my case, I rotates the wiper once said one Sh t aloud but I passed and the supervisor who has failed once before told me I did a good job, even saying Sh t My study books really helped me as I made a copy for the course 1 and 2 courses they use in Yamagata test driving is not a fair assessment of the driving skills, but he is making money f or the prefecture and annoy everyone in the process.

I must say, deal with getting my license Japanese is the second most stupid bureaucracy that I have ever dealt with only trumped by USCIS or the immigration of America, is the champion by a million miles.
Not only will we fail the test for the most ridiculous reasons and not vague, they either don t explain or explain vaguely therefore be useless, but at least in Tochigi you have to take a whole day off work each time, because you have to get ten just to submit your application, and then stay there until at least when the test starts, and then there's a little more to sit until about three years when they announce the results Since the test center is by design as far as possible from all the major cities, you will not be at home or at work until four have you also lose a day complete the first time just to have your documents checked take a test is not the first day, so even if you possessed by the gods themselves or fired a Mindtrick jedi and passed the first test, it is two days off, gift t is almost all spent sitting around the licensing center to do nothing.
Hello I'm from Sweden and I took a Japanese driver's license in Hiroshima ago 6 months I did the whole process to the driving school since I have not been to Japan a long time that I choose to take the written tests in English, I had a very pleasant experience in my driving school and the teachers really nice where it was difficult, but I managed to pass all the tests on the first try, I think j 'paid around 270,000 I heard that you can bike up to 100cc to your normal driving license, but it seems its just up to 50cc can someone confirm Wikipedia says 50cc Im so tired problems of parking space in Japan's more convenient to have a moped or a light motorcycle.
Dude, really useful information, I think I'll bite the bullet and pay for school Don t guess you advice where I can get a good list vocab driving lesson.

Ian is currently going through the exact process that you went through Ian came across this site just after I kalimen Today I missed my first attempt on the coarse outside just after my written test qns 95 90 100 come back tomorrow It's been a month now since I started.
Congratulations Thank you for taking the time to write a detailed message on your experience invaluable resource for people who are considering not to get into a driving school to get a license, as I do, I'm sure many will benefit best regards Kyoto.
Hi all, I am in Singapore living in Gunma, and I enrolled in a driving school in my town in June, I'm almost done with my course Our experiences are very different perhaps I should write when I finally getting my license, but this post really encouraged me I was in an emotional rut since I finished my practical lessons because I do not feel in the final written test in all I'm taking English but thanks to you, I feel I can make it through somehow as I remember all the answers to trick questions, I'm fine, right, I told myself that I managed to pass through the provisional theory test license so I can make, but there are so many numbers and physical issues to remember for the final test to kill me too, I have to pass a pre-test to driving school before I could take the test graduation, which consists of a practical test and theory, and pass those before I can take the actual final theory test reading this post and e e comments make me feel that it is impossible Thank you.
Hi, Great article and congratulations Sorry to bother you with questions, but I think also too expensive driving schools and wont pay the fees principle Just a question if you do bother 1 I tried to find a practice site making courses on time rather than paying for the course and so far, no luck, is there a special Japanese term for this kind of school you talking crazy to the driving school act all smug about the way they don t do not practice based on current best regards, Joe.
Hey, congratulations for comment The place I used was called 自動 車 練習 所 place literally practical car with the name of the city before you can search for this term and your name in the city of Good luck city.

Congrats on your license, I converted my license Canadian car when I got there through short practice test 15 when my first attempt, I think I was helped in that the guys take the test before me was horrible and turned on the right side of the road.
I was driving a 50cc scooter every day, a 91 Suzuki Sepia for 15 years, even wrapping the odometer, and sometimes a woman's family car rental My scooter broke down recently and decided to move to the small motorcycle license kogata I have a brand new 2012 125 cc bike waiting for me in a store half paid for the store let me won t complete the purchase until I present my driver, I failed the first 2 attempts the practical driving test first time during the second time too slow too fast, but nailed the third last fence, the shutokuji koshu scheduled for next week and I will soon be on the road I agree with you on the stacked system of cooperation between driving schools and the metropolitan police collusion seems like when I was 16 and I got my license I went to a driving school, I n e not remember it being so exorbitant that it is here, too, you can not get your license until you complete this koshu shutokuji of a school with limited time availability usual dates ment during hours normal working what a strange system Your story illustrates perfectly, however, the value of friends and a support network you are lucky may have you taken more time than going to school, but look at what support network you unearthed.
man gakuran TNX for this blog im Filipino and I was not allowed too much before entering Japan i am not good in Japanese compared to you, I'm in the middle of my class driving school driving here in Fukuyama, even if it costs a lot I have no choice I do not know how to drive and I had to pay 30,000 excluding RETAKE my written exam, but I just spent the day 50 items for the provisional license on my 2nd test as also the practical conduct and what I'm worrying about my nihongo limited chance that I went on my second test I went to the site as you said, but almost everything was written in kanji I could not read the examination they gave me was they put hiragana on top of the kanji character and it was really hard, I enjoy this blog now I know I have study very hard part is that there is no jap onais the Filipino language or dictionary Filipino I had to check on English and if I do not understand, I have to check in again at nihongo lish to Filipino I did not know it was a bit difficult, but I'm the process that I have to move forward until I get it.
This sounds like a difficult case for you, you're in trouble if it is English or Japanese, I can not imagine trying to overcome this barrier, but I wish you luck with your studies, it is impossible if you persevere with it and keep trying フ ァ イ ト.
Fortunately, I am not a poor people who come from a country not listed above.

BTW probably a small error the original Japanese text includes media containing 23 か 国 1 地域 then translated into the forgotten land there s one area Taiwan I mean really stubborn Chinese minds.

Driving in Japan Skip the test of the Japanese driver, driving, Japan, by the way, Japanese.

Лидс, Южная Дакота, США

• I have spent the Japanese test pilots? Vlog # 22