Tldr: Make your reservation for the license conversion written/practical exams ASAP. In person or over the phone. However you can. Do it now.
This is a detailed summary of my initial experience with the driver's license conversion process at the Kanagawa Prefectural License Center in Fumatagawa. I know there's a lot of information out there. But I wanted to make a post about my experience to help others fill in some procedural details that I was not able to find online/reddit. Also, if you are experienced in this, any and all advice is always welcome. I'll make a follow up post for my actual exams.
Me:
California, USA driver's license for standard vehicles. My license was issued in 2021. My IDP expired a couple months ago. After calling the center many many many times to no avail, I decided to go in person to make a reservation for my driver's license conversion application and exams. I hoped to get an appointment date within this year.
My reservation experience:
I arrived at the center at today (Friday) at 7:40 AM. There were two lines outside the center. The line on the left was for renewals, change of information, procedure for other administrative work. The line on the right was for those taking the driver's license exam. It was much shorter. I didn't know which line to get in, but I chose the one on the right because it was for driver's license exams. It was about 30 or so people long when I joined. It tripled in length by around 7:55 AM.
They opened the doors at 8:00 AM and started to let the line for license examinees in first. We were funneled up the escalator to the second floor. A large majority of people in line were Japanese nationals taking their tests. Only a small handful were there for foreign license conversions.
At first, I was pretty confused as to where I should go. But I quickly saw the office labeled "Exchanging Foreign Driver's License." The office number is 12. I was only third in line when I lined up outside the office. An officer stood at the door of the office. He was asking each person in line what their reservation number was and checking them in. I told him I did not have a reservation today. He took down my name, nationality, and the US state that my license was issued in. Then he told me to wait in the waiting area until 10:00 AM.
From 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM, the officer called around eight (8) reservations for processing. From that, I surmise there are about 8-10 reservations in the morning and the same in the afternoon.
At 10:00 AM sharp, I was called to the office by my name and nationality. Inside the office, an officer took down my information. She did not speak any English. She pointed at a calendar behind her that had a sticky on January 28, 2025 and said it was the earliest appointment available. I took it. She asked if I would like to come in the morning or afternoon. I said the morning.
She said I would need to bring all my U.S. tax documents for the past three years to my appointment. I tried to show her the rest of my documents (translation of license, Juminhyo, CA driver history report, and the Duration of Stay in DL Issuing Country form with my passport). She said she didn't need to review them today and it didn't seem to affect why I had to bring in tax documents too.
She then filled out a form for me with my name and the documents that I was going to bring. She only noted my CA driver's license record and my tax documents on the form. Lastly, she gave me with a sticky with the date and time of my appointment, the documents they wanted me to bring, and a number (10). I was out of the office by 10:03 AM. And that was it.
My personal thoughts:
I feel a bit defeated. I underestimated Japanese bureaucracy. But this was primarily my fault. I procrastinated too much and didn't research the procedure to get a license conversion specifically at the Kanagawa center. I studied for the practical and written exams a lot (youtube, reddit, "Rules of the Road", etc.). But I never realized or bothered to look up how far out reservations were set until I browsed reddit this past week. I had read offhand somewhere you could just show up. I must've misread, because that hasn't been true for decades.
I also feel more appreciative for the DMVs in the U.S. Everyone complains about how bad they are. But at least they pick up the phone and I've never waited two hours for a 3 minute process just to make an appointment 4+ months out. And in CA, everything is online and much easier. It's probably different from a foreigner's perspective though.
Well, four more months of me being useless in caring for my family is going to be tough. I'll be a bit rusty in driving skills come the end of January. I hope it doesn't snow that day. I also pray I pass on the first go. If I fail and have to wait three-five more months, I think my family will leave me. This was a big blunder. I'll post a detailed summary of how the actual tests go next year.
Cheers until Part 2.
by gentlekimchee