Comments on: Getting a Drivers License in Japan

By: psymeg

psymeg — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 13:50:02 +0000

Ah… on hold at the moment. Too hot to go down to Tokyo. Will wait till the weather cools down a bit.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 06:57:25 +0000

How did it go? I went through the conversion process, but being from the USA, I had to take the actual test course at the driving center. It was a lot harder than actually driving a car and the public official grading me was not such a ray of sunshine either. I failed the first time I took the test but passed on the second try. I hope I never have to do it again though.

By: elliott

elliott — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 12:22:37 +0000

probably the ear dye!

By: symeg

symeg — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 00:17:35 +0000

thanks elliot for the advice! i am green with envy – but that may just be hair dye!

By: elliott

elliott — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 23:02:54 +0000

good luck! for the record, getting a NZ car licence converted is even easier than you mentioned. all you need to do is take a translated copy of your licence (done in 15 minutes at the Japan Automobile Federation for Y5,000) down to your local Licensing Authority along with your passport, Y5,000 (I think?) and two passport photos, fill in an application form, wait for about 30 minutes while they process the application, sit a quick 10-question test (“it is OK to drink a lot of alcohol and take a lot of drugs and drive: true or false?” – you need 8/10 to pass I think), pass an eye test, have your photo taken, wait four hours for the licence to be printed and, hey presto, you can drive in Japan.