Japanese Driving Tests

So getting a license in Japan is kind of intense. Many ALTs (assistant language teachers) stay for more than a year, and if that happens, your international driver’s license expires and you have to take the Japanese driving test to get a Japanese license. However, it is not as easy as it is in the states. The Japanese almost pride themselves on how their test is better and more difficult than any other foreign driving test so even if you have been driving for years, you still aren’t good enough until you pass the test. Here there is like a simulation driving course set up, and there are 3 different routes on the course you might be tested on, so you have to memorize them all. You go to the driving center with a huge amount of paperwork that has to be filled out just so, and then at 11:40am on the dot they will draw straws to see what order the people will be tested in, and then draw straws to see which route you will be tested with. Then there is lunch for an hour, at which time you get a chance to walk the course. During the actual test you use one of their cars and have to say out loud exactly what you are doing and then any number of things can get you an automatic fail. Also, if you test with an automatic, you only have license for an automatic, and the same goes for manual. Plus, the test is actually administered by real police officers who don’t really want to be there. After the test, they will tell you maybe a few things you did wrong, but not all, so if you fail, many times you don’t even know why. The average amount of times to fail before you get your license is probably around 3 or 4, and you have to pay for every time you go. You also have to pay if you want to practice driving on the actual driving course they have set up, as well as have a driver with you who has had their license for more than 3 years. If you come and have only had your license for less than 3 months you have to take the Japanese written exam as well as attend driving school. There are those few who have passed on their first try, but there are also those who have failed up to 12 times. So start trying for a Japanese license a few months early if you want to drive after your international license expires.