I've heard the Japanese license change test is difficult, what can I do to increase my chances of passing?
Six months ago, I, like many of you in Okinawa, was in a position where I needed to change my American drivers license into a Japanese license. I'd searched on the internet and talked to many people, and it looked like this driving test was no joke. Needless to say, I was worried, and being the impatient type, I wanted to get my license changed over ASAP. I went into the test ready to fail, but after I'd completed the course, the tester looked at my and said you pass with a perfect score. Was I born under a lucky star? I'm not sure, but I'd like to tell you what I did to pass the driving test on the first try.
There is a lot of information about passing the driving test on the web already, and I don't want to reinvent the wheel, so I will try to talk about things specific to the driving test in Okinawa and what I did to pass.
In Okinawa you need to have several things together in order to be eligible to change your license over to a Japanese license or 外免切り替え (gaimen kirikae)
• A current Okinawa address
• Proof that you'd had your license for at least three months while living in the country where it was issued (passport).
• A valid foreign license.
Next you need to take a color front and back copy of your license, an application form from here, and 3,000 yen to the local JAF office located in Urasoe City. Here they will give you an official translation of your license into Japanese, it only takes about 15 minutes most of the time. You can also complete this step by mail for an extra 290 yen, if it's not convenient to go down to the JAF office.
Once you get your official translation, the next step is to get a 登録原票記載事項証明書(touroku genpyoukisai jikou shoumei sho) or "Certificate on Registered Matters" at your local city office. It costs 300 yen and usually takes about 20 minutes to get. Don't forget your alien registration card.
Finally, on a Wednesday around 11 am, take the Certificate of Registered Matters, your alien registration card, passport, drivers license, and two recent 2.4 cm by 4 cm photographs showing the top third of your body to the license office in Naha City. English map here . Make sure you're not wearing a hat or anything like that in the photos and that the background is solid (passport style). Here you'll go down to window number nine and apply to take the written test. One older man who works there speaks some English, but the drivers license center requests that you bring a Japanese speaking person with you if you can't hold your own in Japanese.
From here just follow their instructions and complete any necessary steps. At 1 o'clock you'll need to meet in the testing waiting room on the second floor. You'll go in and take a very simple ten question test. If you can drive in your country you should have no problem passing this test. The proctor told us that he'd only seen four people fail in 10 years. Once you get this test out of the way, you'll have to go and register for the driving skill test. This is the one that gives everyone problems. When I took it, there were no reservations for the next week, so I had to wait two weeks before I could take the test. Use this time wisely.
That's enough about the procedural aspects of the test. Let's get on to how to pass!
All Images ©OkinawaForums.com 2007
Passing the test was a suprise for me, but I can't say that I wasn't prepared. Because I didn't want to fail, I decided to go down to the Naminoue Driving School and practice drive for an hour. There's no way to make a reservation for practice driving, but if you go down and apply to drive, you probably won't have to wait more than an hour. Here you'll get a chance to get a real feel for the course, and maybe some tips for passing the test (mostly in Japanese though...).
The driving instructor gave me a few tips and said I'd pass the test without a problem. He was right.
Here's a summery of the tips he gave me.
• Don't drive aggressively. Be fluid and smooth.
• Make sure you stop before the line on the road at all stop lights and signs.
• Make sure you reach 40 km/h in all long straight aways.
• Make sure you reach 30 km/h in all short straight aways (half the width of the course).
• Slow down to under 20 km/h in all turns.
• Check your appropriate blind spot, turn on your blinker, check your mirror, the move over to the left or right side of the lane before you turn. Like this:
• You don't need to be overly expressive with your movements, just do them thoroughly.
• Turn on your turn signal about 30 meters (100ft) before any turns.
• Also, make sure you don't hit a curb.
There are two possible courses you will have to drive. Click here to download the images: Course 1 , Course 2
I spent a lot of time mentally preparing for the test. I think this is what helped me out the most. I visualized the course and doing the look, blinker, mirror, over, turn motions in the appropriate order. It might sound strange, but just try to close your eyes and go through the motions, mentally and physically. Do this until it becomes natural, and you shouldn't have any problems doing it for real on the test. One more thing, if you haven't driven on the left before, the turn signal is on the right side. I accidentally turned on the windshield wipers several times during my practice test, and one guy taking the real test did it too. That's a sure way, not to fail, but to panic yourself on the course.
If you have any questions, please post them here on our forums.
I hope this information has been useful. Here are some more links to other people about the driving test.
Okinawa JET driving information.
Tips for passing the driving test.
Information from the Naha License Center. (Japanese Only)
Map to the Naha Driving Center
All Images ©OkinawaForums.com 2007
