What's it like to convert your license in Japan?

May marked the end of a long and trying period of my life. Trials and tribulations abounded in the form of paperwork, waiting, more paperwork, more waiting, a grumpy Japanese man, and a ten-minute drive that, supposedly, can tell a grumpy Japanese man everything he needs to know about my character.

He concluded i was upstanding - his judgement directly led to a piece of plastic and the end of my personal bildungsroman arc (i will admit this description is debatable. Trials? Plenty. Growth and maturation into a better person? I'm not so sure. But let's focus on the trials here.)

The piece of plastic is, as you can guess, a Japanese driver's license.

As usual, the disclaimers - this is my experience, your mileage may vary, take this as a single datapoint, and so on. And so on.

What you need to know, if you stay (and want to drive) in Japan

Here's the summary:

• If you've lived in Japan for over a year, you are legally required to convert your license in order to drive (with 1 caveat - if you're physically outside of Japan for 3 consecutive months, this condition resets)
• Having a Japanese license opens up (cheaper) car renting options significantly

The extended cut of this section though, starts with a plan to avoid any administrative processes that weren't absolutely necessary.

When i first moved, i didn't plan on converting my license. I planned on using an international driver's license, renewable every year for an extra year's validity, instead. Renewing it takes literally 10 minutes and $20 while i'm in Singapore, while a conversion test would decidedly take more time and money than that.

This worked fine until August last year, when an extremely particular car rental employee took out a binder the width of three bibles and combed through it while checking my passport. It was then that i discovered residents can only use an international driver's license if 1) its within your first year in the country, or 2) you've been outside Japan for 3 consecutive months. They will check every single stamp in your passport to validate the 2nd condition, whether you have 2 stamps or 200.

An anecdote - prior to this interaction, not one car rental agency we used enforced this. Since then, every single car rental agency we rented a car from has enforced this. Coincidence? I'm not so sure.

Anyhow, that August interaction was the origin of my quest to obtain a Japanese license.

The silver lining to putting myself through the process, i told myself, is that a Japanese license unlocks the use of car sharing services, which are much cheaper than car rental agencies. How much cheaper, you ask? Timez car sharing lists their cheapest 24h charge at JPY6,600 with the option to return the car at any time since it's self-service. A car rental from an agency would be about JPY10,000 for 12h, since it can only be returned during business hours.

So with a deep, deep sigh, I set about booking an appointment to convert my driver's license.

A written history: the ordeal of converting a license in Japan

This entire section is about lived experience. If you want to cliff notes version of takeaways, feel free to skip to the end.

1, Winter

Drivers licenses are issued by the Tokyo Metropolian Police Department. Thus begins my first mistake - landing on their website and assuming that the Japanese and English websites contained different information.

Why the assumption? Because one, the websites look completely different

And two, despite all available information everywhere saying i needed to physically turn up at the driving school to register, my brain short-circuited when i saw this

This reads, 運転免許WEB予約 (unten menkyo WEB yoyaku), "book your driving license test online."

In my excitement to rationalise the possibility of not having to physically turn up at the driving school at 8am to wait for a slot, i conveniently overlooked the fact that this said "book your driving license test" and not "book your driving license conversion test".

Even if i hadn't known the words for "driver's license conversion test", 外面切り替え (gaimen kirikae), were... well, completely different words altogether, if i'd taken 10 seconds to think it through properly, i'd have realised this was the wrong option. But you know, sometimes your brain goes on autopilot and makes quick associations (Kahneman, anyone?), fueled by foolish hope that you'd somehow caught something everyone else had missed.

Spoiler alert, it did not.

Here's the ordeal - I turned up at the driving centre in December, 2 months after booking, stood in line extremely confused, and pressed buttons on a screen with such convoluted wording that there are signs above the machine to explain the options to Japanese people who are native to the language (things like, "if you're apply for a driver's license, press the 3rd button"). Not only were there signs entirely in Japanese for Japanese people, there were also multiple people at the machines asking what you were applying for and telling you which button to press. I wondered why not just change the words on the machine to just say what the buttons will do and save everyone time and frustration, but i remembered i wrote a whole section on dealing with process in Japan and decided its not my place to question bureaucracy.

I get all the way to the end, swept up in the flow, just doing what they tell me to do ("fill up this form", "stick your picture here", "divulge your mother's maiden name and your childhood address" - ok that one didn't actually happen but would you be surprised if it did?)...

... And then as the man at the counter is telling me that'll cost 3000 yen, i snap out of it.

Wait a minute. Maybe this isn't the driver's license conversion queue.

And i ask the man, is this where i convert my license?

And the man is upset. Extremely grumpy. Unhappy that someone has thrown a wrench in the assembly line of test takers and ventured to ask him a question. This'll set his lunch break back 15 seconds. He's upset because this wasn't in his scope of duties. He's upset because he doesn't know what i'm saying. He tells me, in a very upset way, to go ask someone else, like the staff at the back of the queue.

I don't know how to be sarcastic back to him in Japanese, so i take his verbal beating and leave to ask the staff at the back of the queue.

This other man, assertive in his role as Lord Authority of Samezu Driver's License Centre, tells me brusquely i'm in the wrong place, and that i need to go to the 3rd floor. As he says this, he takes the form i'd filled up while hyponotised in the process earlier and starts tearing it up aggressively.

I was a mixture of shocked and confused, because that certainly seemed like something you'd only do if you wanted to assert yourself over someone else, but it also seemed... awfully small. His way of seizing control over the customer, who he is otherwise honour-bound to service. Despite all his aggression, he answered all my questions and pointed me to the 3rd floor, after all.

So i go upstairs, where i talk to another worn and weathered man. The local climate of Samezu Driver's License Centre must have a way of wearing down employee's souls.

But this is where i finally get actual useful information (which has since become outdated, but posterity is a powerful thing so i'll repeat it anyway)

Here's the stuff you probably already know, if you're planning to convert your license:

• To register for a driver's license conversion test, you need your passport, Japan residence card, local license, proof of 3 month's stay in the country that issued your license, and copy of your translated license (you can apply for this - online! - here. It costs JPY4000 but its entirely digital up until the point you need to physically print out the translated license. Bless a digitally-enabled organisation in Japan.)
• If you're one of the unlucky ones who needs to take a practical test, you'll need to take a theory test, pass it, then book a practical test immediately, for a later date
• The centre has a limited number of slots per day (which, for whatever reason, they don't disclose). To take the theory test, you need to turn up early enough to queue, and cross your fingers and hope they're still accepting applications by the time you get to the front.

And here's new information that the man offered me:

• Your license card needs to be in good condition. My driver's license is old. So old that the laminate is peeling off. Apparently this means that they can't guarantee its authentic, so i have to reissue my license. I found it ridiculous that a peeling laminate is what determines authenticity or not, but i was in no position to argue.
• They're very, very particular about what they accept for proof of stay. Passport stamps are the preferred evidence. Unfortunately Singapore's immigration lanes are fully digitised, meaning there are no passport stamps. I changed my passport several years ago so its a clean slate. No passport stamps, no proof of stay. Alternatives i could possibly use were my university certificate, tax certificates, or employment letters. Troublesome, but not a dealbreaker.
• Peak season is January to April. This is when high school students apply for their license so the driving centre is overwhelmed. He says that some people come at 6am and still don't get a slot. Some people camp overnight. I die a little inside and make a mental note to check back after April.

And so i thank the worn and weathered man, and go on my way, somewhat worn and weathered myself. It's not just employee souls, the local climate wears on visitors too.

2, Spring

In January and February i put all thought of a license conversion out of my head. The weather was cold, my lizard brain convinced me that expending any effort on anything would be a waste of energy. I hibernated.

In March a pleasant surprise unveiled itself to me - i discovered the driving centre had started offering online bookings for the theory test. Discovering this felt like a timely blessing. Waiting in the cold for 5 hours for an uncertain chance of taking the theory test was beyond me, but clicking a link to reserve an appointment definitely within the realm of things i could do.

And so, in the middle of March, i clicked.

2-1, Booking the test

Let's start with the pros of this system.

First, it's online. This link leads directly to the booking page, which combines permutations of 3 conditions for booking:

1. Are you a Japanese resident or not
2. Is your license issued by one of 29 countries that Japan accepts for automatic conversion, or do you need to take a practical test
3. Which driving school are you booking your slot at

My answers to those were yes, practical test, and Samezu, so i had to look at the 2nd row.

And that brings me to the cons.

One, like most websites designed in Japan, the experience is not immediately intuitive. Case in point, this is the wall of text before this booking section

I always wonder why the experience has to be "here's a manual, read the manual, then go perform your task. If you fail its your fault" rather than "perform your task and we'll guide you in the right direction along the way so it becomes near impossible to fail" How much better would this experience be if those 3 questions were asked to users, and the booking section only showed options that met criteria based on the user's actual input?

Two, and this is probably the more salient concern - as you can see by the x's, demand is high (the last row with free slots is Edogawa driving centre, which accepts reservations for automatic conversions only). Coupled with the fact that slots are available only 2 months in advance, this has the potential to be a painful booking experience.

As for me - in my infinite luck, i secured a theory test booking exactly 2 months from my booking, in mid May.

Back to waiting.

2-2, The theory test that almost didn't happen

When i turned up on the day at my designated time slot things started so smoothly it didn't feel real. The man i talked to behind the counter this time was actually nice. I reissued my Singapore license as advised during my first trip, but had to also present my old license during the document check as that was the version i translated previously. The man asked why i reissued my license when my old one was fine. In my head i murdered Mr. Worn and Weathered three times before i explained why. All this man could do was laugh, take all my documents, and pass them on. He said they'd call me back to the counter once they were done.

Because nothing had gone wrong to this point, naturally, when they called me back, something had gone wrong. A different staff told me they couldn't accept my letter of employment, because it didn't prove i was in the country for 3 months.

My letter of employment, stating i'd been employed by a company in Singapore for 4 years, was evidently not proof i was physically in the country.

His explanation? I could have been employed locally but based overseas the whole time.

Ok, i steel myself. I came prepared for this letter-of-the-law bullshit.

I present my university certificate, detailing the breakdown of my classes per year. The one semester i was on student exchange specifically stated i was overseas for a student exchange.

No, he says. It doesn't say here you were in the country. Another 4 years in Singapore, written off.

What about payslips, i ask.

Does it indicate you were in Singapore, he responds.

Well, no. Not explicitly.

Then probably not, he says.

And this is where i get really frustrated. He says tax payments are the next best way to prove i stayed in Singapore. But my counterpoint: i'm based in Japan, have not been in Singapore for longer than a total of 3 months since moving here, and i still pay taxes in Singapore every year. At last check there is nothing on my tax documents that indicate how long i've spent in the country. By his own logic he'd have rejected my tax payments.

I was mentally running through scenarios where i could possibly argue my way through, but as if overcome by a spirit the staff said he'd check again.

I sit back down and wait nervously for maybe 15 minutes.

Then they call me back and say, ok we can accept your employment letter. I hold my breath for 10 seconds or so while he hands me a series of documents, as if exhaling will shatter my timeline and send me to an alternative (or any of the 999,999 alternatives) where they say no.

He sends me to the 1st floor from the 3rd, where i need to take an eye test. After completing that i go back up to the 3rd floor, where i'm directed to a room, slightly down the hallway next to the reception area, where i take the theory test.

For conversions, the theory test is 10 questions, with a score of 7 to pass. From what i hear, a regular theory test is 100, with a score of 90 to pass. The questions are multiple choice and straightforward (literally questions like, "you're turning right at a junction, do you stop and wait for the car opposite to go straight, or do you accelerate through the junction?" i think it'd be more difficult to fail than it is to pass.) I pass with a score of 9 and am sent to another counter to book my practical test. I spend the entire time wondering which of those 10 questions i could have possibly gotten wrong.

Like the theory test, booking the practical is an exercise in luck. Because i was blessed that day, the man sorting my booking told me there was an available slot in 10 days. The next one, he says, is in 3 months. No decision paralysis here, i book the slot in 10 days, collect more documents (a physical card i need to bring on the actual day that will be used to identify me, a printout of the 4 possible test routes, and another printout for foreigners explaining common mistakes test takers make while driving), and leave.

2-3, The practical

Here i break my linear narrative for some observations i had about the practical test.

First, in the same vein as ACAB, i'd venture to say Anyone In A Position Of Authority Where It Can Be Abused Is Bad. Second, if the universe throws you a bone you take it.

I took my test in Samezu driving centre, and the test, in and of itself, was extremely easy. There's no hill, no u-turn, no live traffic, you simply drive in one direction in a course for 5-10 minutes. The s-curves and cranks are wide enough to turn comfortably.

The instructors, however, are hardened men. They also know you are at their mercy. They also know that many people use certain loopholes in Japan's license conversion process to their benefit.

Did you know that you don't need to be a resident, or stay in Japan for a minimum amount of time to be eligible to convert your license? Its a requirement in Singapore.

I mention this for no particular reason at all.

Anyway.

The instructors conduct everything fully in Japanese, and they speak fast. Explanation of the process? Japanese. Administrative processes? Japanese. Instructions during the test? Japanese.

If you don't know Japanese you're going to have a bad time.

During my test as i approached the crank, the instructor specifically said something along the lines of "turn into the crank, but there's a car inside so wait at the entrance". If you didn't understand Japanese and were simply expecting directional instructions, you'd likely have failed because you a) stopped at the wrong place, b) entered the crank when you shouldn't have, or c) missed the crank entirely.

The instructors are also, as i mentioned, hardened men. At the start of the day while explaining the process, one of them asked if anyone had anything urgent before 5pm, the test's official end time. One lady raised her hand. He told her to get out. The only other time i'd seen something like this happen was when i was in sch– oh.

During the test my instructor - a hardened man - was brusque and harsh. He'd tell me to drive faster as i approach a curve because i'm going too slow, then immediately scold me for going too fast through the curve. He'd exaggeratedly jerk forward in his chair every time i touched the brakes, which were - at first, more sensitive than i'd expected. He'd continue doing this even when my braking smoothened out after the first few times. He'd scold me for pulling the handbrake up at the end of my test. I didn't know this before, but apparently you're supposed to gently raise the handbrake and it'd click as it rises. You stop at the 3rd click. He'd tell me to take my things out of the car and put them down on the nearby bench before coming back to talk to him at the end of the test. He'd tell me, in no uncertain terms, that my driving was dangerous and i was a hazard to other drivers. He'd give me a slip of paper saying "You pass today's test," leaving me extremely confused about whether he thought my driving was actually dangerous or not. The slip of paper was the only thing throughout the whole process that was in English.

The test takers were maybe 80% Chinese, a few Vietnamese, one Bangladeshi, and me. We were split into 3 groups of 10. If you pass you return to the room to await the end of the test. If you fail you leave to book your next test and don't come back. Each person had about 10 minutes to take the test. My group moved extremely fast, and dwindled very quickly. 4 of us passed. All 4 spoke Japanese. Other groups had more passers, who were also also Japanese speakers. Do with that information what you will.

The scoring system for the Japanese driving test is, you start with 100 points and they deduct points for every mistake you make. If you go under 70, or do something that warrants an immediate failure, you fail. I never did find out my score. But when the universe aligns to your benefit, sometimes you just don't ask questions and seize it.

I end the practical test with more opinions about process efficiency. The process is

• Line up at an ATM-looking device, where we key in a 4 digit pin that we'd use later, receive a slip of paper
• With that slip of paper, register with a counter on the 3rd floor, outside the conversion test area
• After registration, go to a second counter to make payment
• Head downstairs to the 1st floor to take our photo for the license
• Return to the first counter on the 3rd floor and submit the slip of paper in exchange for a number
• Wait for them to call your number, where they issue you another ticket, and tell you to go to the 2nd floor

For those keeping track, that's 7 touchpoints, each with time spent waiting and queuing.

Why couldn't the pin, registration, and payment happen together, so that we only need to go to a single counter, once? I have no idea. I can't imagine someone would have paid all that money leading up to this point in the process, only to cheap out at the last minute, after taking and passing the conversion test, and refuse to pay for the license issuing. Although perhaps someone in the driving license centre could, so instead of a 20 minute process we have this 45 minute one instead.

On the 2nd floor i'm reminded that this is still a driving school, and that in addition to conversion test takers, there are also first time drivers license test takers. Schools and schools of them. Each group is processed in a batch, so we wait in a common hall for our batch of numbers of be called, whereupon we collect our license and register it using the 4 digit pin we set at the beginning.

I entered the building at 12:30pm and left at 5pm. The final breakdown of how i spent my time:

• Actually doing something: optimistically, 30mins
• Waiting: 4h

Road freedom

For the ones who skipped to the end, what you need to know is

• Book your theory test online
• Make sure you book the test corresponding to your exact circumstances (with/without resident's certificate, need/no need practical test, etc)
• Make sure you have iron-proof evidence you were in your home country for 3 months
• Knowing Japanese will immediately give you an advantage to passing the test (contrary to what i see many people say online)
• Don't do anything stupid during the test
• Be prepared to W A I T

I set about writing this in June but procrastinated on it for so long that Japan announced a change in license conversion rules, set to take effect after October, during that time. The theory test will now be 50 questions, not 10. Non-residents can no longer take the test. The practical will also become more rigorous. When i read this I breathed a sigh of relief internally because i narrowly escaped having to deal with this.

I've also not made use of my license at all since then. But you know what, i'm sure the feeling i get when i rent my first time-share car will be glorious.