In the November 1997 issue, Hershey Wier wrote about acquiring a Japanese Driver's License. Like her, I possess a legal U.S. license.

Unlike her, I haven't actually lived in the U.S. for 15 years. Like her, I possess an international driver's license, which I got on my last trip to the U.S. because I had kept my U.S. license valid. I think I slipped through some government netting here somewhere and thought I'd better take care of business and get my official Japanese license to make things
honest.

As she suggested, I took a one-hour driving class in the mountains for a mere 4,000 yen. Although I'd been driving regularly down steep grades and backing around curves and having to pass parked cars in entire left lanes, that little practice test was so hard! But, it was good to make mistakes there and not at the test sight.

I also found it useful to practice at an arcade and get wiping out and speeding out of my system. It later snowed heavily and I needed to put chains on my car. This practical experience has nothing to do with the actual test.

The driver's licenses must be translated into Japanese by your local Japan Automotive Federation. This costs 4,000 yen. While waiting, they have a simulation machine to practice on but the motion sickness is for real! I left my imaginary car in the street and jumped off before I embarrassed everyone.

Then one must go make a reservation for the written test, which is only offered twice a day at 8:30a.m. or at 2:00p.m. This costs about 3,000 yen (the first driving test is included I believe). These tests are available in many languages such as English, Urdu, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese,etc. There are only 10 questions that require 1 1/2minutes to complete.

It took me 2 1/2 hours to get there, after drop ping my kids off at a friend's home in another city. You may not take the driving test the same day as the written test.

The driving test is twice a day, at 8:00a.m. and at 1:30 p.m. Each time the test is taken, a fee of 1,000 yen must be paid for processing. Every test after the first requires a fee of 2,000 yen for car usage. I arrived early the first day and was the first to go. Don't do this. The first person must wait to ride in the back of the last person's car. "The first person never passes," I was told. It's true. I met the most interesting people while I was waiting who had divorced and returned to Japan, had studied abroad, foreign nationals working in Japan, Yakuza-looking people, (I wondered if a major scar on my face would help me pass).

I took the test again and passed the second time. Many were there five times! Much money is lost in the process, not to mention time if you are traveling across an entire prefecture to get there! If you have to get a license, look into getting it in a prefecture that is not home to one of the major cities like Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, etc. I was told that Yamagata and Ehime are good places to get it. For all the money I spent, it might have been nice to go skiing in Yamagata and get my new license. Best of luck to future license adventurers.