This section of this website is dedicated to helping foreigners/Gaijin to overcome their difficulties in getting a Japanese Driver’s License or converting their US, UK or overseas license to a Japanese one.
From the onset, I want to state that I am not a driving school but I have mastered certain aspects of the Japanese system because I had to get my license afresh in Japan after my UK license had expired. I could have otherwise just converted to a Japanese one without a test. The net result was that I had to do the entire license process anew like I am a novice driver. I did this without using a driving school.
I have been driving for several decades in the UK and abroad, and thought that going to a driving school would be a waste of time and money, but I was mistaken, because the technical requirements in Japan is extremely challenging and frustrating, but once I started the process, I decided to go through with it, and succeeded. When I finished and finally got my Japanese license, I realized that the process, although appearing hard owning to stress etc. was actually easy if one understood and applied all the rules, including the finer points.
The upshot is that I mastered the driving techniques in Japan for tests at the test centre [ karimen and conversion of license for overseas license etc.], and the the test on the road [for the full drivers license without going to a driving school].
If you want to convert your overseas driver’s license or want to get your drivers license afresh in Japan, please get in touch. I can help you pass.
Requirements
The following conditions apply:
- You must be able to drive and be confident with your driving skills. [ This approach assumes that you are a competent driver that passed your license overseas, and you are able to drive].
- The more relaxed you are the greater the chance of passing. You must not panic during the tests. Remember the respect but ignore the presence of the proctor/inspector.
- Many of the requirements are simple, but they must be done and done in a way that the proctor/inspector can see that they are being done.
- You must have an idea of the requirements, viz : the checks, the safety requirements, the general rules of the road, and how to hug the curves during your turns [ crucial in passing in Japan]. I will teach you these so that you can execute them and pass. There are also many finer aspects, that you must master and apply, for example, you must go into a curve slowly [ slow in] and come out fast [ fast out], but what are the dos and don’ts whilst you are actually in the curve. Not knowing this and doing the wrong thing costs 5 points and considering that number of curves in a typical course, you will be done for.
Please note that I am not a driving school or certified driving instructor. I have mastered driving for test purposes in Japan and helped numerous drivers to either get thier license anew in Japan or convert their license to a Japanese license. I have also helped clients who needed to tests to re-instate their license after suspensions etc.
Costs and Fees
My fees are as follows:
Telephone or online video consultation on skype, whatsapp, Line etc. 3500 yen per hour.
Tutorage at the test centre by walking the course and showing you precisely what to do, including little tricks and tactics: 15 000 yen [ Chiba Makiharihongo – please contact me for other centres as some centres does not allow one to walk the course prior to the test, and the distance for me to travel will also affect pricing.
If you are doing your license anew [ from start to end, viz: the 50 question written test, karimen test at the ground, the 100 question written test, and finally the road test], please contact me for the programme we and costs. I recommend this for people who do not want to spend an arm and a leg by going to a Japanese driving school.
Why You Need Expert Advice and Tutoring To Pass?
The Japanese Driver’s license test is a creature of technical rules and discipline.
It does not matter if you have been driving for decades as a licensed driver in the US, UK or any other country. If you do not meet the technical rules and discipline requirements, you will fail. In fact, your driving experience over the years can be a disadvantage because of the innumerable bad habits you have developed over the years whilst doing practical driving.
Apart from the Japanese being culturally regimental, keep in mind, this is a test riddled with fine rules. In the US or UK etc. your proctor/inspector will be a guy who is a stickler for the driving rules, in Japan, the guy is a stickler for the driving rules plus his refrigerator is also organized alphabetically.
The advantage of your years of driving experience, bad habits and all, is that your driving skills, viz: your ability to manoeuvre a car such as when making turns, parking, and driving in confined spaces and situations such as S Curves and Cranks; would be much better than that of a novice.
The test is a combination of safety compliance, including the following al the road, traffic and driving rules; and a test of your driving ability, viz: your driving skills and ability to manoeuvre the car in most practical situations.
The diagram below shows two paths when you are getting back to the starting point to complete the test for one of the courses at the Chiba Test Centre.
Which path would you follow, blue or yellow?
Case for Blue
The final turn to get back to the starting point is a right turn. Before making any turn, left or right; you must close the gap 30 metres before the actual point of turn to at least half a metre.
Case for Yellow
There isn’t much distance between the last left turn and the final right turn, so in this case, turn into a line that is already at least half a metre instead of going to the 30 m point and closing the gap, in other words, close the gap directly onto the road you are turning into when making the left turn.
You may or may not know the answer to the above, but the point is that both appears to be correct. The blue path is consistent with the rule of closing the gap at the 30 m point before executing the turn, and the yellow appears to be a good exception to the 30 m closing the gap rule.
On test day, you cannot mull this decision. You must know it. If you get it wrong there would be a 10 point deduction, that last 10 points you needed to pass.
You will enter the curve in the above diagram slowly and you will exit fast, but what will you do or not do whlist in the curve. There is a 5 point deduction for doing what is not required or omitting what is required. Considering that there are 4 curves on the first outer ring run, you would have lost 20 points.
Is it Difficult or Easy?
Simple answer- easy, because as much as there are a ton of rules that you must follow, the rules are easy.
The difficulty is in applying them under test conditions, and your ability to drive with confidence [ability to drive/control/manoeuvre a car]. You will find that the latter very much determines the former. If you are a confident driver, you will not make silly mistakes like forgetting your checks or to signal at the right point before turns etc.
Free advice: Don’t panic and do this by ‘ignoring’ the presence of the proctor/inspector. You may think that this don’t panic tip is nonsense, but when you pass, especially if you failed several times, you would understand the value of it. Respect the proctor/inspector by greeting him at the beginning and demonstrating a good body language, but once the test has began, forget about his presence and focus on driving and applying the rules.
