Hello!
I am just about to move to Japan to study at Kyoto U. I have had a UK driving license for years but do not think I will get a car. I will not be living in a uni dorm and am renting my own apartment the other side of Kyoto. The metro from where my apartment is is okay but still cycling would be faster. The fastest by far is by motorbike, according to people I know there already and my own Apple Maps estimates. I would appreciate the freedom of my own vehicle as well and I love the feeling of driving.
I do not yet have a motorbike license in the UK, but I could take the two parts over the next couple of months before I leave for Japan and enter the October intake. I will leave the UK in August, visit some family in SE Asia and arrive in Japan in September. If I take my test in the uk I would take my motorbike licence’s last test in June.
My question is, is this too late? To convert the license you need to have held a UK one for at least 3 months before you leave the UK. I have held the Driving one for years, but would only have had the motorbike one for less than this timeframe. Would this also invalidate my driving license, as it would ‘reset’ to say that I had only had my driving license for 3 months too – thereby meaning that I cannot even exchange to get the normal driving license in Japan (without the motorbike part).
After all this, would it just be better to take the test in Japan. I mean, convert my UK driving license and then take the Japan motorbike test? This seems like it might be the easiest route at this late date…
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Any advice is much appreciated ! Thank you so much in advance !
by Prestigious-Crow-431