License To... Drive Safely?

I’ve been driving in Japan pretty much since I arrived here using an international driver’s license. However, with my birthday coming up soon, my Canadian driver’s license is set to expire. Without a valid Canadian driver’s license, I can’t use my international drivers license, which meant I had to get my Japanese driver’s license. It’s been a lot of licenses to juggle lately. 

About a month before my birthday, I decided I should start the process of getting my Japanese driver’s license. I figured this was plenty of time to get everything in order, and was proud of myself for getting a headstart. Of course, like all things, it tends to be more complicated in practice than in theory. 

Converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese driver’s license really depends on the issuing country. In my case, Canadian licenses can be converted without needing to take the knowledge or practical test. It seems Japan has a rather strict licensing practice, and so it only allows licenses issued by other countries that it deems to have stringent enough requirements to convert without any extra tests, which luckily for me, includes Canada.

Due to a change made in November of last year, you can’t convert a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one on the same day. This meant I had to take the day off work to physically make an appointment for another day. I had to go alone to try and make this appointment, so I did my best to make sure I had all my documents, and google translate, ready to go. 

I originally planned to take the train to the licensing center in Mito, Ibaraki’s capital city, but then realized that would take somewhere around 3 hours each way, so I decided to drive. I had yet to drive on the highways here in Japan, so I was a little nervous about the trip. The trip wasn’t going to be cheap either, highways are tolled here in Japan, and it would be about 20$ each way. None of it was convenient, but it had to be done. I have to drive for work, so not having a driver’s license would be a bit of a problem. 

So, on the last Friday of the school spring break, I drove to Mito. I don’t have an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) card, so I have to get a little ticket before I get on the highway. I was a little nervous doing it for the first time, and when a voice started coming from my car as I approached the booths, I nearly peed my pants. I imagine it’s reminding me that I don’t have an ETC card, but it’s all in Japanese so I couldn’t really tell you. 

Around my small town, the highway is still one lane each way, with the occasional passing lane for those in a rush. The speed limit seems to be about 70km/h, and some people stick pretty closely to that, others not so much. Eventually, I took an exit that led me to an area with 3 lanes each way, with a speed limit of 110km/h. 

Here I got to see just what my little kei car could do. It definitely doesn’t accelerate very fast, and anything beyond about 120km/h starts to feel a bit shaky. So for the most part I stayed in the middle lane, sometimes going into the right lane if I needed to pass someone. After about an hour and 15 minutes, I made it to the licensing center. 

Simple right?

I quickly found the line of foreigners waiting to make an appointment, and was glad I came early. The window for making appointments was between 3 and 4:30 only. I had shown up pretty close to 3, and there were probably 10 people already waiting. I filled out a little info card, and waited my turn.

Finally, I made it to the front. I handed the person the various documents as they were requested, and seemed to be managing alright. With a little help from google translate, things went pretty smoothly, and it was time to book a date. They originally offered me April 29th, which wasn’t ideal. This was during Golden Week, when my family was coming to visit. 

I asked if we could do it the next week, this would be after my birthday, but I figured that would be okay. I could just suck it up and take the train rather than drive, since my license would be invalid. Turns out the process needs to be done before my license expires. Maybe the person took pity on me, or I just got lucky, but they gave me a date two weeks later. Perfect. 

For the actual appointment, I would need to bring an interpreter since there was an interview and a document review, something I couldn’t manage with my limited Japanese. Thankfully, the JET office here in Mito has people who are able to assist with that process. I began to coordinate with someone from the office, explaining my driving education history, and making sure my documents were all in order. 

Taking my second day off work, I headed back to the licensing center in Mito. I met with my interpreter and began the process of reviewing my documents, but it didn’t take long before I hit a snag. Instead of bringing the original copy of my residence certificate, I had brought a copy. This document is given by city hall, proving you live in that town, an admittedly important document. What was the difference between the original and the copy you may ask? The original was in color, and the copy was in black and white. 

I immediately deflated. My biggest fear was that I wouldn’t be able to get this done smoothly, and it had come true, and in less than 5 minutes into the process. I had brought this exact same set of documents when I made the appointment, and the person hadn’t said anything about not bringing a copy. I was angry, frustrated, and overwhelmed. I tried my best not to let it show, but I just wanted to go home. 

We would have to come back another day, but we would do everything we could while we were there. After a long wait, we were finally directed to another window and began the interview and document review process. Once again, I hit another snag. You need to provide proof that you have lived in the country that issued your driver’s license for at least 3 months after the issuing date. Makes sense I suppose, they need to make sure you likely drove in the place that gave you your license. 

I provided the residential history on file with ICBC, my insurance provider in Canada. Perhaps a bit shaky, but this is what I sent when coordinating all my documents, and they seemed to indicate that it would be enough. The interviewer did not agree. The night before, I had been worried about this, so I pulled up another document, my T4. Your T4 is a tax document provided by a Canadian employer that also lists your address. I couldn’t fathom that this wouldn’t be enough to prove I lived in Canada, at least during last year. The interviewer, once again, disagreed. 

I was at my wits end. Typically, they use passport stamps as proof of being in the country for that time period. Do you know what they no longer do at customs? Stamp your passport when you return to the country you live in! After a lot of back and forth, eventually they said that a passport stamp from when I went to the Bahamas in 2017 would work as sufficient proof. How that was more credible than a federal tax document from an employer I’ll never understand. 

This also came with a catch. I guess because of this limited proof, I would be saddled with placing a beginner driver sticker on my car. On the one hand, I didn’t care. Driving in Japan is still kind of new to me, and I don't always know what I’m doing. On the other hand, it just feels like a weird slap on the wrist. 

At least the yellow/green beginners mark doesn’t look that bad

I’ve been driving for the past 5 months with an international driver’s license, and now after giving you an army of documents, trying to get my Japanese license, you punish me by giving me this dumb sticker? One which they don’t even provide I might add. The interpreter warned me other driver’s may treat me differently on the road, like being less likely to let me in while merging due to this sticker. 

I eventually got another appointment to return with the original copy of my residence certificate, the only thing I was missing, and was finally able to leave. The whole process took around 3 hours, which was almost all waiting. By the time I got back to my car I felt burnt out. I knew this process wouldn’t be fun, it was bureaucracy afterall, but it felt worse than I feared.

After taking my third day off, I returned to the licensing center, and within about an hour I had my Japanese driver’s license. I didn’t feel any sense of victory or achievement, just relief. It was finally over with. 

3 vacation days, 7 hours of driving, 120$ in highway tolls, around 50$ of fees at the center, and probably a full tank of gas. That’s what it cost me to get my license, and I had it easier compared to people from other countries who would have to take the knowledge and practical tests. Frankly, it sucked. 

While some of the things around the process were fun, getting to drive on the highways for the first time, my newfound love of Japanese rest stops, and celebrating at Hitachi Seaside Park, the process itself was awful. I had to pull information from all over the internet and my contacts at the prefectural office. Things that I had tried to double check were somehow still wrong. Even when I thought I was prepared there was always something to trip me up. 

The people were nice and well meaning, they were just doing their jobs of course, but it certainly doesn’t feel great on the other side of the equation. Regardless, I have my license. I may be saddled with a beginners mark that I have to purchase (or I might “forget”), but at least it’s valid until the end of my contract next year. 

So, I have a license to keep doing what I’ve already been doing for the last 5 months. Driving my car following the rules as best I can. For me, nothing has changed, and the process cost me time, money, and energy. I’ll be glad to put this all behind me, and hopefully this isn’t one of the experiences I think of when I remember my time here in Japan.