Get your fracking drivers' license, yo

[word]

If you have somehow managed to make it this far in life without acquiring a driver's license, get it now. You must have been licensed for 90 days in your home country (and actually spent 90 consecutive days in that country while licensed) in order to get a Japanese driver's license. I'm pretty sure this is a requirement for the IDP, as well, although I don't know how they'd check. If there is even a faint possibility that you will stay longer than one year, get your license NOW.

If you've been shortlisted, you literally have days remaining in which to do so.

Even if you put down a non-driving request on your app, do it anyway. There is no guarantee that you won't be placed in Butt-f*ck, Inaka. You might be within walking distance of your school, but that doesn't mean you'll be within walking/biking distance of anything else.

Do it now. You'll regret it if you don't.

So, I thought I'd do this thread again, but I wanted to start a little earlier this year. A thread on Official reminded me. You have more than a few days, but you should do it NOW.

Seriously, NOW.

Get your drivers' license. As I said last year... you'll regret it if you don't.

See this thread.

[Eudox]

word.

[Ini]

does this thread title comply with the latest rules?

[word]

I'm honestly not sure whether Google considers "frack" to be an obscene term or not.

[Merrick]

Reminds me, I should check to see when my license expires, too....

[Merkypie]

Reminds me, I should check to see when my license expires, too....

I got an 8 year license. I don't need to renew until I'm 31. ~Oh yeah~

Though, when I renewed, they still used my picture from when I was 16. That's gonna be awkward in a few more years.

[bananallanah]

Haha yeah I got my full licence (we have two stages of licences before you get the your full licence) when I was 17, I'm in my school uniform, thank god the lady told me to take off my school tie so I'm just in a white blouse....Woulda been awkward trying to get into a club when your ID is obviously you in your high school uniform.

[Big Innes]

I got an 8 year license. I don't need to renew until I'm 31. ~Oh yeah~

Though, when I renewed, they still used my picture from when I was 16. That's gonna be awkward in a few more years.

My licence is valid until 2059, when I turn 70.

[Shea]

I put on my application that I don't have a driver's licence. I actually do (have had it for 7-ish years), but I'm a little worried about the whole driving on the other side of the road thing, and how common is manual cars versus automatic cars. I know how to drive manual, but I'm not hugely great at it and I would definitely suck at it using my left hand.

[Kittens]

Driving on the left side of the road is weird for about a day, and then you get over it. The scary part is driving on tiny roads with deep gutters / dropoffs into rice fields and no guardrails

[bananallanah]

Oh yeah, coming from NZ I wouldn't have that issue :P

[MJN]

Just to add something here, I was told I "might" need a car but is suggested before I came, it turned out the alternative was a 20km bike ride every morning.

Get your licence, regardless what your pred/supervisor says beforehand.

[uthinkimlost?]

The switch on sides isn't rough, except when reversing out of a space into the street; you will find that those habits will die hard.

The streets are insanely narrow in most small towns. There are some two-way streets here that can barely contain a k-kar. I guarantee you most of you will be unprepared for that, and there's no good way to help get you ready.

Map sites and maps in general will lie to you about the quality of road. Two roads can be the same colour on the map but one will be a three lane and the other will be a one lane winding mountain road with gaijin traps on one side and a sheer drop off on the other.

tl;dr: Get your license, but arrive knowing you probably aren't prepared.

[zero]

Yeah...my predecessor had a car but I didn't have the money to buy it from her straight away. She said the placement didn't really need a car anyway because the BoE pay for taxis to and from the schools more than 5 minutes away. Turned out she meant she didn't need a car because she didn't go anywhere other then school...I definitely needed a car to go see people and do things that are fun. Luckily I got one on credit from a local dealer and paid it off over 9 months...and it was a better car than hers anyway. Don't listen to everything your predecessor says...they could turn out to be a loser but no one tells you in time!

[Eudox]

because the BoE pay for taxis to and from the schools more than 5 minutes away

[zero]

Yep...was good. Now they pay for my petrol for schools over 5 minutes away. They pay far too much for petrol. I hardly ever have to pay for my own petrol.

[happyBuddha]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll be doing that ASAP.

Zero, who's your BOE?

[zero]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll be doing that ASAP.

Zero, who's your BOE?

Errrr I'm not telling you that...then you'll know where I am...and that's a secret!

[happyBuddha]

Errrr I'm not telling you that...then you'll know where I am...and that's a secret!

Oh well, I'll just pray that my petrol gets reimbursed too!

[Shea]

• Automatic transmission is significantly more common here. You wouldn't even be allowed to drive manual unless you got a manual transmission license, which is a different test to the regular one.
• Driving on the left is easy. After going back to the States for a few week, I found that I legitimately prefer driving on the left.
• Seriously, you'll be fine.

Thank you! I was worried and it said on the application that if you don't want to drive to check 'no'. This makes me feel a lot better about driving in Japan