Driving License Renewal First time

8 comments

1. Honestly, I doubt it.
   I always have my iPad with me, ostensibly for help understanding words I don’t understand (in case anyone asks) and anyway they dim the room. I usually just read something on dark mode. If you have long hair, one surreptitious ear bud means you could listen to music/podcasts.
   I did a long one once with severe morning sickness, and I told them about my situation and they said I could pop out to the toilet any time.
   You can’t get out of it, but you can make it bearable.
   I did pay attention for the first few, by the way. But they barely change the videos so now I just entertain myself.

2. Are you sure it’s 2 hours? I just renewed my license this summer, and the two videos together lasted about 15 minutes. The license center of the police station, 15 minutes away by bicycle, opens at 9 AM, and I was home with my new license before 10 AM. This was in west-central Tokyo.

3. Come back when you feel better? I believe you have an entire month to schedule your licence renewal and video session.

4. Green to blue right? I could do mine in my city and they said if you can’t make that you can do it at the prefectural driving center a few weeks later.

   If you’re looking to avoid it / do it online, no, you can’t do that.

5. So, the driving center if it is a big one, can make accommodations. I renewed my license while 7 months pregnant and was allowed to sit in another room and watch via video link. I was allowed to go to the bathroom as I pleased. Someone came in and checked on me once.

   But, likely what you need to do is call, say you are ill and cannot come before the end of the 1 month window, ask to come when you are feeling better. You will need a doctors note for this or a +ve dated COVID test, which you will bring when you renew at a later date.

   Also you can’t drive while your license is expired.

6. You have over a month to renew, they will tell you to come back when you are better.

   We all know it’s a hassle to have to sit and pretend to listen do that stupid 2 hour course, without phone, without sleeping, without doing something else.

   Call them but almost no chance you can avoid it since online they cannot check that you’re paying attention and not checking your phone or shit.

7. What is going on with your capitalization and punctuation my dude…

   Just.. reschedule it? Call them and ask for a different date? Go there and bear with it for two hours?

   No you cannot do it online. You either do it at your local large police station (usually only one day a week or month depending on the place), or at a driving center.

8. 1) Just call and move the date. I’ve done it for less good reasons (company asked me to travel the week I had arranged it)

   2) Go there and sleep through it. So long as you aren’t making any disruption, you don’t have to be an active learner in the room. My first time doing it my Japanese was no where good enough for “Old ass cop from other part of prefecture”-high speed Japanese.