GETTING A JAPANESE DRIVER'S LICENSE
For foreigners living in Japan, getting a driver's license is not an easy task. As is the case when dealing with branches of the government in Japan, expect the license bureau to be rude and slow. If you experience anything else, consider yourself lucky.
Until about five years ago, US citizens with a valid US driver's license good apply for and receive a full-fledged Japanese license without taking driving test. This is no longer the case. However, if you have a US license, you will be able to take a simplified version of the driving test that Japanese people have to take in order to get their licenses.
Here is a step by step outline of what you will need in order to get your Japanese driving license via the simplified "foreigner" test.
1) Valid US passport
2) Alien Registration card (valid of course)
3) US Driver's License with translation.
This is a really stellar thing. You have to go to the Japan Automobile Federation in order to have your US license "translated." It will cost you at least 3,000 yen and takes about and hour. Obviously the government and JAF have a nice little deal set up.
4) Certificate of Residence (Jyumin-hyo)
You have to get this from the city office in the community you live in. It is another waste of time since it basically duplicates what is already on your Alien Registration card, but it is another bit of income for the government. Cost is about 200 yen in most cases and it can be processed while you wait -- usually 15-30 minutes.
5) Two pictures of yourself
Get these taken at the license bureau. There are usually shops near the station trying to pedal you the same thing, but they will often sell you twice the number you need, or trick you in other ways. The cost is reasonable at the bureau (since they rip you off in every other way) so do it there.
6) Application Forms
You will fill these out once you get to the license bureau. Basically you just fill in your name, address, and other basic information. You affix one picture to each of the two forms.
7) Application/Testing Fee
This is usually somewhere around 2000 to 3000 yen. This is just another way for the government to rip you off, but you still have to pay it. If you don't pass the test, you will not get a refund, and you must repay this fee each subsequent time that you take the test.
THE PROCEDURE
So you have all the stuff listed above. Good work. It probably cost you at least a day of your time. Now get ready to spent another complete day at the testing center. Here is how it works.
About the license center...
First of all, you need to locate the center nearest you and ask them to tell you when to show up for your test. Since you are taking the foreigner test you must ask about "Kaigai menkyo no kaki-kae" -- foreign license test.
The center will have an enclosed driving course that you will take the driving test on.
Walk the course first...
Most centers will let you walk the course that you must later drive at some ungodly early hour before the day's testing begins. I recommend you do this.
Document Submission
This consists of submitting all the documents listed above to an under-employed person sitting behind a counter. If they harass you (likely) ask for their name and report them later. I had an unbelievable experience which I reported to the director of the center who made a formal apology to me later.
Written Test
There will be ten questions (in most cases). They will have an "English" version of the test, but don't expect the questions to make too much sense. However, since the answer is usually obvious, don't expect too much trouble.
Driving Test
If you pass the written test, you will be given a number and sent somewhere to wait for your turn to take the driving test. At some point you will have to tell them whether you want to take the manual transmission or the automatic transmission test. If you take the the manual transmission test and pass you are qualified to drive either type of car. If you only take the automatic test however, a stipulation indicating that you may not drive manual transmission cars will be printed on your license.
Awaiting the results...
If you pass the driving test, in most cases the instructor will tell you that you passed at the end of the test. A good sign that you passed is that they allowed you to drive the complete course. If you screw up too much they will cut your exam short most of the time.
If you fail you can go home, but schedule your next test before doing so. They usually won't tell you, but there is a two week waiting period (minimum) before they will let you do it again.
If you pass, in most cases you must wait until the "official announcement" at the end of the day. They won't tell you when the end of the day is either -- when I asked one of the friendly civil servants working there, she told me that "it is different everyday, so go back and wait." After completing the driving test at about 2pm, I waited until 5:30pm for the official announcement. Then, amid being rudely told to "hurry up" they shuffled me (and all the other people who passed) around the facility to get ANOTHER picture taken especially for the face of the license, and to pay MORE money (1000 yen or so) for the license issuance fee.
At one point, while making my second round-trip up and down the stairs for various reasons with about 8 other people, one of the attendants almost yelling said, "Hurry up or the the next window you have to go to is going to close." Of course at this point we are all thinking, why are we doing this now? We all waited over three hours with nothing to do. Expect incredible inefficiency, and good luck getting your license!!
Bonus Editorial Comment...
I killed my time calculating the percentage of inefficiency at 10 minute intervals. Here is my analysis of the Saitama prefecture Konosu License Center's efficiency:
Testing Time
Paper Testing Duration: 20 minutes Driving Test Duration: 10 minutes Submission of Forms: 5 minutes TOTAL: 35 minutes Waiting Time: 4.9 hours
Therefore the efficiency percentage would be approximately 11%. In other words, the center is approximately 89% inefficient. (Of course this figure is only a measure of efficiency based on time spent waiting versus time spent testing.) Oh well.