Best way to get a driver’s license?

8 comments

1. To convert a foreign license you will need to prove you were living in the country you received it in for 90 days after acquiring it. Make sure you get both sides to stamp your passport and keep bills/etc showing you were in the US.

   That being said unless you’re from Washington, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, or Hawaii (I think that’s right, someone will quickly correct me if I’m wrong) you’ll still need to pass an admittedly easier and shorter written and practical examination.

   The easiest way is to just accept it as a sunk cost and spend the money.

2. No, your plan won’t work due to the 90-day stay-after-acquisition rule, which is precisely created to deter people from doing what you’re planning to do. In the past even the locals would go to SEA countries, buy a license (illegally) for $100, get them in 15 minutes, then go back to Japan and convert them to a Japanese license. *Even with the airplane ticket included* it is still far cheaper than going to a driving course.

   Like bulldogdiver said, easiest way is to suck it up and pay 300,000yen for the course.

   Though I do agree on it being way too expensive.

3. Personally, I did the driving camp for a bit cheaper than regular driving schools. It’s basically the same as a driving school but pressed into two weeks.

4. The cheapest way will be 合宿免許（training camp license）, but it has its own quirks, the biggest of which will be being away from home/work for 14-18 days and staying with 18-20 years old in a bumfuck inaka.

5. If you can actually drive and get a license in the US, that might be the cheapest way. You *do* have to live in the issuing country for at least 90 days to transfer one from the US, but if you already know how to drive you do *not* have to go to driving school to get a driving license in Japan. You can simply go to the driving license center run by the police, sign up for the tests (first written, then one for a practice license, then one for a real license, then a kind of refresher test on safety and the like) and get the license without going to school.

   It might take a few months because there are waiting periods between the tests, and you’ll have to find someone with a valid license to accompany you on your practice drives, but it’s doable if you know how to drive already. (I did it 10 years ago.)

6. Technically speaking, you don’t need to do the whole driving course. If you already know how to drive, you can just take the test (still a fee involved). However, the test course has a lot of very specific things that the instructors will be looking for, not all of which are obvious/intuitive/second nature, such as when to engage the turn signal on the S curve or what exactly they are looking for on the crankshaft. If you decide to try the test without going to a driving school, you can still hire one of the instructors for a few hours to take you through the course and give you pointers without having to do the whole class . I would highly recommend that. And don’t be disappointed if you fail the driving portion of the test a couple times. They can be extremely nitpicky (you signaled 1 meter too early/late, you didn’t turn your head enough when checking mirrors/blindspots, you took too long checking mirrors, you didn’t take long enough checking mirrors, etc ) or you might just have the asshole xenophobic test examiner on a bad day.

   It’s been quite a few years (15ish?) since I had to take the test. My advice could be outdated.

7. Technically, the cheapest way is just going to a licensing center and taking the test there. Practically, though, unless you the officers there will be particularly fond of you, I’d suggest to just suck it up and go to a driving school. Make sure it’s one that has the accreditation to take all of your practical tests. Unless you majorly screw something up, you can be done and dusted inside two weeks.

8. Thanks for the info everyone, very helpful!!