Dana Anderson, a fantastic ALT in Fukui, put this PDF together and kindly shared it with us. Though the office locations are different the process is the same for Hyogoites.
Click for the ‘Mad Max, Fukui Edition’ guide to getting your Japanese Driver’s License.
In the whirlwind that was the first few months of living in Japan, I was lucky enough to have two second year JETs to hold my hand. They showed our ragtag crew around the area and together we went to a Hanshin baseball game, a tour of Kobe, and even to Hikone castle. On one…
A friend recently told me that I was “so like Byron.†I tried to puzzle out what she meant: A prolific poet? A notorious bisexual? A major theme in a work by Tom Stoppard? All are applicable to me, but I imagine, given the context of the conversation in which we were engaged, she…
For any travelers out there (of which I suspect there will be many this month), layovers are often a necessary and incredibly cost-effective evil. Below you will find my experiences (or how I imagine my imminent experience will be) with five airports. These airports often serve as gateways to SE Asia, Europe, and…
Day 1 – 14:00 I was expecting a beautiful young woman in a maid costume. But my supervisor turned out to be a middle aged man with furry eyebrows. Major bummer! He didn’t drive a suped-up Civic with pounding bass either. But the passenger door opened at the push of a…
             For many centuries, Hong Kong was under the control of Imperial China. However, following the First Opium War, control of the islands shifted to the United Kingdom but for a brief period in World War II when the Japanese occupied. As a colony of the UK, Hong Kong westernized and became rather democratic. In…
As I head into my final two months of living in Japan, I continue to panic. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do with myself, even immediately after I touch down on American soil (hug my mother, lavish affection on my pets, lug overly-full suitcases, pull a…
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The thing with driving permits / licenses in Japan is that it’s different depending on your nationality.
For example, as a German citizen I was not allowed to drive on an IDL (international driver’s license).
I had to obtain a translation of my German license instead.
A lot of other nationalities are allowed to drive on an IDL in Japan, though.
However, that’s only valid for 12 months of staying in Japan, after that it has to be turned into a Japanese one.
Again, it depends on your nationality.
I didn’t have to take a test or driving lessons.
I just had to bring the translation of my German driver’s license, had an eye check-up and watched a short video done.
Citizens from many other countries have to take driving license and the test and it takes forever … and a lot of money.
Thanks for taking the time to create this PDF! :)