JET Program Vlog #8b - Driving - pt 2 - getting a license

Hello All! In this installment I discuss public transport as an alternative to driving, and some of the steps you have to take to get a Japanese driver's license.
Also, I recommend getting an International Driver's license before you come to Japan, which allows you to drive for a year after you arrive.

Thanks for watching!
-Jason

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• Vlog
• Japan
• ALT
• Taisha
• Shimane
• Japanese
• JET
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• Program
• driving

[juggy444]

Hi im 18 and i live in Kanagawa prefecture im going to enroll into a japanese drivers license school. well i never had a drivers license and i never had a experience to drive a car and i only know a little about traffic signs and driving manners.

well im kinda worried about the kanjis and im kinda excited.

could you give me some good advice

[myargonauts]

@juggy444 My guess is that Japanese driving schools are very thorough and you will learn all you need to know to pass the tests and get your license. I wouldn't worry too much about the kanji on signs - many signs are bilingual or easy to understand in context. It doesn't hurt tho to study the few signs you'll see all the time to know what they mean with a glance. Is the course going to be offered in English?

[saiyansgirl]

Why do americans have to take the driving test and not other countries?

Not that I'm complaining :D

[myargonauts]

i've heard many reasons - US has higher accident rate, we drive on the other side of the road, etc - but I'm not sure exactly

[Aramis9088]

Um...can you like bring a car from the US to Japan. Or do you have to get one there? And how can you, without someone helping you? Can you buy one in the US or at least the day you arrive in Japan?

[myargonauts]

I'm sure if you planned on living here for more than a year, you could import a car, but my guess is that it would be incredibly expensive.

I would think you could rent a car right away, but my guess is you'd need your "gaijin card" to buy a car, and that takes a few weeks to get after you get here.

[SchoolhouseTechno]

I love how frequently you make videos...most people in Japan seem to blog like once a month...

[Aramis9088]

Kay, thanks a lot!

[Nirusu87]

@saiyansgirl

Vice versa, Japanese people need to undergo a written and practical test whenever they move to America.

European countries have a treaty with Japan, I believe it's called The Geneva agreement/treaty?

And I guess the difference in the way you learn how to drive here in Europe, is of rather high standard. (at least in Holland they are)

[juggy444]

@myargonauts nope im taking the japanese course

there is no english course in my school

[Dovelike]

The first employee I dealt was obnoxious, fortunately the second employee was very kind and I got through the process with my limited Japanese. I was so relieved when I got the d.l.

[Dovelike]

Yes good advice. If you can ask a person who speaks Japanese to come along with you, even if you can speak Japanese reasonably well enough. Dealing with the Japanese bureaucracy can be tough time for Japanese let alone foreigners. I went by myself when I got my d.l. and had a hard time.( I didn't know much Japanese at the time).

[RelVleDy]

Yikes, seems like more trouble than it's worth simply for a teaching job with no air conditioning, $6/gallon gas, hard driving tests, and no fast food. Granted, it's an opportunity to take in the culture, but I don't understand how you could bear living there for so long.

[SpinningBirdKick1]

No JETs get placed in Tokyo? That sucks. Tokyo is a pretty big city too.

Also, Japanese streets seemed very intimidating to me, and I'm a good driver here in California. My brother's wife's mother and sister are really good. Honking the horn (and not b/c you're mad at someone), crazy streets that dont seem to be laid out in a grid system, and this edicate that you have to park with the front end out, all seemed intimidating.

[justinchaostm]

part 1 and 2 were very helpful. thank you.