The first order of business is to get your paperwork together. You will need:
- Your country's original license - the license must show a date of issue of at least three months prior to arrival in Japan, and an official translation (2 copies) from JAL, which I believe is the only company here in Japan that will translate your home country's license. THIS LINK is your one-stop-shop to getting your license translated.
- Passport
- One photo of yourself taken within the last six months (3cm × 2.4cm). Your best bet is to have your picture taken at a sit-n-snap picture booth, which are located practically everywhere in Japan but don't confuse them with the puri-kura picture booths. The sit-n-snap booths can usually found outside of a department store or your local shopping center.
In regards to your home country's license, the Japanese government wants to see that you received your original license in your home country and were present in that country for at least three contiguous months after acquiring the license. For most of you, this shouldn't be a problem because the dates on your license and the entry/exit stamps in your passport will leave the necessary paper trail. However, if you...
...renewed your home country's license within three months before coming to Japan, make sure you bring an official copy of your driving record to prove you have been driving longer than three months and make sure the official copy is dated. The pain of having to bring an official copy of your driving record is that you will need to find some way to have it translated into Japanese because the Japanese company (JAL) that translates foreign licenses does not offer the service of translating driving records.
...renewed your passport within three months of coming to Japan, make sure you bring your old hole-punched passport to Japan. You will most likely need it to show proof of something during the licensing process. Sometimes the licensing center officials do not ask about old passports, but if they do inquire about the possibility of you having any previous passports, and you acknowledge their existence, then you had better have them with you (plus photocopies), or else the entire process will abruptly come to an immediate halt until you are able to produce them. Best be safe than sorry!
...onto The Appointment (3 of 4)
This page was last modified on Friday, April 09, 2010 11:14:14 AM