Finally got a Japanese driver's license

Last week, after nine months of hassle, I finally got my Japanese driver's license.

Getting a driver's license in Japan is very expensive. If you opt for a full boarding option, it not only takes two weeks but also costs up to 300,000 yen.

However, for those who hold a foreign driver's license, it's possible to exchange their foreign license for a Japanese one. This method is called "gaimi ketsuri," and the fee is 2,550 yen, which is a significant saving compared to 300,000 yen. I had already driven at least 20,000 kilometers back in my home country, and I’ve held my license for over ten years, so I planned to use this method to get my license.

The foreign license exchange requires passing a traffic rules test with ten questions, provided in multiple languages. This part is quite simple; hardly anyone fails. After that, you need to take a driving test, where you drive according to a route in a designated area. Once you pass, you can get your Japanese driver's license.

The routes vary by location; in Nagano, the route looks like this:

However, if you hold a driver's license from the following countries/regions, you can skip any exams and be issued a license directly. If your license is not from one of the listed countries, then you’ll have to take the exam.

Iceland, Ireland, the United States (only Ohio, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Washington, Virginia), the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Austria, the Netherlands, Canada, South Korea, Greece, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Hungary, Finland, France, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Monaco, Luxembourg, Taiwan.

Despite having some driving experience, many come from countries with left-hand driving and are not familiar with the details emphasized in Japan. Therefore, very few people pass on their first attempt. If you don't pass in Nagano, you’ll have to wait at least a month for the next opportunity.

Moreover, a prefecture often has only one place for foreign license exchanges, so if you live far away and fail several times, it can be quite exhausting.

I started preparing for this as soon as I arrived in Japan.

On April 19, I made my first appointment. At that time, my Japanese was insufficient to handle the call, so I had to get a translator to help me. As for why there was no one who spoke English in the department handling foreigner's affairs, I can only say that this is very common in Japan. I then scheduled my exam date for May 13.

Later, I thought I should let my wife take the exam as well, so I modified the appointment for both of us to take the test together, moving the date to May 21.

On May 21, we went to Nagano, submitted our documents, and asked about how the driving test was conducted. After the document review, we proceeded to check our vision and take the traffic rules test. We passed all these steps smoothly.

Then, we were taken upstairs, where they introduced us to the driving course below, gave us a route map, and told us we would start our driving test in twenty minutes.

As you can imagine, this was my first time driving a right-hand drive car, much less a manual transmission, so it was no surprise that I didn’t pass. I didn’t remember the route, which required reminders from the examiner, thus increasing my reaction time. Many times I failed to confirm in time, and in Japan, they place great importance on the multiple confirmations required when turning or changing lanes. My wife had never driven in her home country, so it was also expected that she would fail.

Afterwards, the examiner called each of us over to explain why we failed. Then we scheduled our next test, the earliest being July 11.

On July 11, when I arrived at the driver's license center, I realized I had forgotten my passport. This time it wouldn't work; I’d have to come back on August 27.

On the way back, I even took the wrong train. I ended up at a small station halfway up a mountain, enjoying the scenery, wondering why I hadn't seen it before. Then I suddenly realized: I was on the wrong train! We hurriedly got off.

Upon checking, the unexpected little station turned out to be quite famous, called Iisate Station. It was once awarded as a natural nightscape heritage site.

On August 27, I went for my second exam. This time, I failed because I didn’t come to a complete stop at the stop sign.

On September 12, I was supposed to call to make an appointment for the October test, but I forgot. When I called again on September 16, I was informed that the October tests were fully booked, and I should call back on October 15 to schedule for November!

On October 15, I was able to schedule for the driving test on November 5. However, this time, inexplicably, despite having practiced well at the driving school three days earlier, I drove onto the shoulder and didn’t confirm adequately at an intersection. I failed the third attempt to exchange my license.

So when I scheduled for the next test on November 19, I decided not to switch to a manual transmission (MT). I hadn’t driven a manual much, which forced me to expend extra energy dealing with the clutch and gear shift while driving.

I also calculated that I had already spent over half a year and tens of thousands of yen for the license, and since the exams were all on weekdays, taking the train took time, causing me to miss classes.

If I initially obtained an automatic transmission (AT) license, switching later to MT would probably cost me over 50,000 yen. If I really needed to drive a manual in the future, I could switch later, but I truly couldn’t afford this any longer.

So on December 6, I requested to switch to an AT (since it had been over six months since my first application, I had to go through the process of document review and traffic rules test again). This was truly the right decision. Driving an automatic was much more relaxed, and the entire test went so smoothly that in the end, the examiner couldn’t find any faults.

After passing the exam, it was time for taking a photo and receiving my driver’s license. At the same time, I received it with a British citizen and a German citizen, who didn’t need any exams and just spent the afternoon playing on their phones to get their licenses. There was also a person from Myanmar taking the exam with me; this was his fourth attempt, but he was going for manual transmission (MT). Unsurprisingly, he failed again.

From my observations over these four tests, the overall pass rate is very low. They usually handle about six people a day, averaging fewer than one person passing each time. Meanwhile, those with licenses from developed countries can directly swap theirs without ever having touched a right-hand drive vehicle. It’s hard not to marvel at how some passports (or rather, licenses) are just so advantageous.

After getting my car driver's license, the next step is to obtain a motorcycle license.

A motorcycle license can be obtained through a one-shot test, meaning you go straight to the exam. However, the pass rate is very low, around 10%. Still, I had ridden a 500cc motorcycle for two years back in my home country, so the exam components were manageable; the issue is that Japan emphasizes specific safety driving details, and foreigners who have developed habits might easily fail on these aspects.

The motorcycle testing ground in Nagano is only in Matsumoto, which takes over two hours to get to, costing about 8,000 yen for round-trip train fare. It seems like yet another incredibly time-consuming and expensive endeavor.