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Hello.
I am currently living in Japan, from the UK.
Before you come to Japan, go to the post office with £6.50 and a passport photo and get an international driver licence. You pick one up the same day, there is no waiting needed.
The international driver licence is only valid for 1 year, and after that you will be driving illegally.
Any time within that year you can get a Japanese driver licence
The process is quite simple for British people, not so easy for our American friends.
An American has to take the FULL test, which includes the actual driving test, a written test, an eye test and a 40 minute lecture. Expensive. This is the case because America has many states, each with their own (albeit similar) driving laws.
The process for a British licence holder is a lot simpler. UK, and Japan drive on the same side of the road also.
This is what you have to do.
You must take your UK licence, passport, alien registration card (gaijin card) and 3000 yen (£15) to the any (your local) JAF (Japan Automobile Federation) (The Japanese AA, or RAC) and while you wait (about a hour) while they translate your UK licence to Japanese.
You will walk out thinking “What ! 3000 yen, for just one sheet of A4 paper!”
Next you take that paper to the Japanese test centre. Again with your UK licence, passport, alien registration card (gaijin card) and this time 4000 yen (£20) and a passport photo.
The staff will fill all the application form in for you, then you will be ushered in a back room, while an testing official will go over what the front desk staff just wrote.
Most of the time, the testing official will just like to practice his English with you for ten or so minutes. Smile, say “yes” and “no” at the correct moments, and laugh when he does.
He will give you a day and a time to come back a week later. Then that is finished. You can do no more on that day.
A week later, you go back.
You will have to pass an eye test, which a collection a small circles, with a notch missing from the top, bottom, left, or right. You will see what I mean when you do it. Just point with a finger, and the tester will understand.
Then you get given your licence.
You where given a day and a TIME the week before, because next you and a group of 40 other newly passed Japanese teenagers have to attend a 40 minute lecture (in Japanese) which is mostly talking about drink driving, and motorway advice.
You already HAVE your licence (in your hand), but you must sit through this lecture. You will NOT understand the Japanese, and there is no translation.
At the end you are dismissed, with NO test about the lecture, and the process is finished.
You have a full Japanese licence.
Later I found out, the lecture by law you have to attend. The fact you don’t understand it, is not important. You ATTENDED the lecture, which is the law, and the only important thing.
The full process takes a minimum of 7 days, and cost 7000 yen, or 55 pounds. Minimal Japanese is needed. A tourist phase book is okay.
On a couple of sub-topics. No shaken (the Japanese MOT) is needed on bikes less than 250cc. The shaken is only every 2 years. Pricy. You will not see much change for £300 pounds.
Insurance in Japan is very cheap compared to England. A 1000cc bike is about 150 pounds, and a car is about 220 pounds (in Yen about 40,000).
Bike helmets. Helmets sold in Japan are designed Japanese facial features. The Asian forehead shape is a bit flatter than the European forehead shape, which tends to slope a little bit.
Over a long duration of wearing a Japanese helmet you can find yourself feeling a little head sore.
Best to post a helmet from the UK.
I do hope that helps.
Hayden.
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