Feel like taking a nice summer drive in Japan? Well, if you’ve been residing in Japan longer than a year, you may not have heard that your International Driver’s License is no longer valid, regardless of your visa status.
The recent (over two years ago, actually) rule changes have meant that many foreign residents have had to troop down to their local Testing Center to either change over their license or acquire a Japanese license from the start, depending on nationality. Check out Tsukuba’s Alien Times for information about the changes in the law, nationality issues and links to information on how to change over your driver’s license.
One FrugalJapan members had this useful tip for frugally passing the driving test:
If you want to pass the test in the fewest number of tries, arrange for at least one lesson at a driving school. You should be able to arrange for a one-time “help me pass the test” class for about 5000 yen.
There are often driving schools located near the licensing center and they are the most likely to offer this kind of service. This lesson will not only help you acquire the skills to pass the test, but will also let you say that you have taken driving lessons. This will come in handy if the tester asks you if you have taken any lessons — answering in the affirmative seems to put you in higher standing.
(Taken from the Frugal Japan YahooGroups list, July 2, 2004.)
© 2004 Wendy J. Imura.