Howdy everyone! I’m currently dying the death of a thousand cuts that is converting my US license to a Japanese one. I just wrapped up my fourth attempt and am feeling particularly kicked in the dick and was wondering if there was anyone here that was able to successfully pass the practical exam — and if so, how many tries did it take you?
Is there a particular order of operations when checking the exterior, entering, then starting the car that the Hamamatsu proctors are looking for or anything like that?
I’m feeling pretty confident with my correct sequence of mirror checks, changing lanes, cutting off bike lanes, turns, stopping, all that jazz. I was just curious if there was something incredibly important that you might have overlooked during your attempts that I might be overlooking as well.
I’ve been working off of several different tutorials and videos but this one seems to be the most comprehensive and has seemed to be the biggest help in getting rid of some of my bad habits: [https://www.ippatsumenkyo.com/shizuokakenchuubuuntenmenkyocenter/](https://www.ippatsumenkyo.com/shizuokakenchuubuuntenmenkyocenter/)
Thanks in advance!
5 comments
Sometimes it’s just a roll of the dice, different instructors will mark you off for doing it the wrong way even tho the previous one said to do it his way, I got lucky, I got an instructor twice and passed on my third try, my first instructor literally failed everyone, about 10 people and one guy who had his wife drive him 1 hour 30 mins one way to take the test and he was on his 12th attempt
This isn’t necessarily a difficult test: it’s a punishing one.
You have to do everything to the letter the way they expect, and you need 70/100 to pass. Most infractions will outright fail you, those that won’t are worth 10.
For example if you checking order isn’t correct, you’re losing 10 for every wrong check. Two mistakes at one turn doing just the checks wrong? Well, now you only have one strike left.
Kanuma City in Tochigi prefecture is widely known in expat circles for having some of the biggest pieces of shit when it comes to practical test scoring and overall treatment of people who try.
Do not commit any social faux pas. There was a story in some social circles about a guy who pissed off a cop on accident, and ended up failing every time he passed an upwards of ten times, only to be saved when the cop was on vacation and he had a new instructor.
The schools are much more forgiving, but it’s time and money. My large motorcycle test I passed on my second try hungover and sick with no previous riding experience. There might have been some carry-over my own miserable car testing experience but I passed relatively quickly.
Before entering. Check the exterior of the car. On all sides, Look under the car from all sides too (its incase a child or a small animal might be under said car), upon entering the car double check the side mirrors and rearview i’d be better if you move them a little bit just to show that you “adjusted” it for your own preference wear a seatbelt. Start the car then tell the instructor to please wear a seat belt too. If you’re having problems about i know a small “review centre” that caters to foreigners acquiring drivers licenses.
I paid a school for four hours of practice on a course. They walked me through all the maneuvers and expectations in English. I passed the test on the first try.
I paid for an hour or so of coaching at a practice course. Helped a lot to understand what was expected. I was one of three or so who passed that day out of over a dozen applicants.