Hey everyone,
Just wanted to share where I am in the process of converting my foreign driver’s license here in Kyoto Prefecture, and also ask for advice or any extra info that might help me (and maybe others too). The more details, the better!
Steps I’ve taken so far:
- Booked an appointment over the phone – DONE
- Went to the license center and got my documents checked. I was missing one document, so they asked me to reschedule.
- They did say the documents I already submitted are fine, so next time they’ll only be checking the missing one, as far as I understand.
- Rescheduled and going again on April 21st – DONE
Now, here’s what I’ve gathered online and what I’m unsure about. Would really appreciate your input:
- Hearing and Eye Test – I’ve seen that this is required. Will this be on the same day (April 21st)?
- Some interview?? – I’ve seen this posted by someone but I really have no idea, like they would ask about driving in my home country, and when I did driving training and stuff? I really don't know much about this.
- Written Test – Also seen this mentioned. Same question – will this be done on the same day? If not, how do they schedule it?
- Driving Test – I’ve read that this comes after, but again, is it done on the same day or separately?
- Some people recommended checking out the driving test track beforehand. Silly question maybe, but how will I know which track they’ll use? Will they give me a map/layout on the day of the test?
- I also read that there’s a paid practice area nearby where you can drive on a similar course.
- Where is this place? How do I find it? Does anyone have the name or location?
I know this might not be the perfect place to ask, but the Kyoto driving center isn’t exactly the easiest to get answers from, so I’d really appreciate any and all details you can share from your experience, especially if you’ve done this in Kyoto!
Thanks in advance!
by Supido-YT
3 comments
I did mine in nearby Shiga pref. Not Kyoto but maybe it will help.
Hearing and eye test didn’t require a special reservation, they did it in the same day as one of my other appointments.
Interview – yes exactly. It was very detailed questions that are hard if not impossible to answer. Just do your best. I found info from the driving school I thought I went to and printed it out for reference.
I don’t remember how they scheduled the written test but it was a separate day from the driving test.
I think they gave me a copy of the course when I scheduled the driving test so I had at least a month to memorize that course.
Yes there’s a practice area here:
https://www.kyoto-renshujo.jp/
They were so helpful. I went here to practice for my license in Shiga a few times.
I got mine last year.
Day your documents are approved = eye test and written test. Finishes around 1 pm and you book the driving test (6-8 weeks away).
You can only practise on the driving course (8800 yen) every second weekend and only once you’ve taken a practise session already (7000). These get booked very quickly and open a month in advance. They’re usually booked the day they open for the next month, so don’t get caught without booking like I did. The instructors are very very good. I recommend a practise for sure.
If you fail your driving test, the day finishes at before 11 am. If you pass you’ll be there until at least 3 pm to do pictures etc.
Good luck!
You can do your last required steps on the same day IF you go early enough. It takes the whole day. Get there as early as you possibly can and line up properly to get the first step started as soon as possible. I managed to do it all in one day after arriving a little before opening but I was running from station to station at the end of the day and barely just made it.
The practical driving test is separate though and you make the booking when you go in to do all that other stuff. If you had done your documents properly the first time you could have gotten that all done in one go and then do the driving test on the next scheduled day, so two separate days total. Of course, if you fail the driving test you’ll need to go back again and try again.
To address your points:
1. Yes, this will be the next time you go.
2. Don’t know what the interview is, I didn’t need to do that.
3. Yes, same day. It’s just 10 questions and you will likely be one of the only people taking it. It’s separate from the other written tests that the Japanese drivers take. Watch out for double negatives which make the question trickier than they should be. Most of them can be answered correctly by using common sense, as they won’t appear on any practice tests.
4. This is on a separate day because it’s the first thing in the morning, so by the time you finish your other stuff in 1-3 it will be too late. You will schedule it sometime in the morning when doing your other steps. You will get a very rough outline of the course and the route you need to take on a paper. But it’s almost impossible to do it properly just from that map alone. It’s very not to scale so things will seems really far or close on the map but can be the opposite in real life. The driving instruction school is right next to the license center, basically on the same grounds but in a separate smaller building. If you are facing the entrance of the center it would be to the right and you need to walk past a parking lot of cars to get to a semi separate area. They have their own practice course where you can learn individual maneuvers if you are a beginner, but they also have the ability to book you for mock tests on the ACTUAL test course which is behind the license center and much larger. This is, of course, much more expensive than all the other courses they offer but it is HIGHLY HIGHLY recommended you do at least one mock test, as close as possible to the date of your test. Because they use the real course the availability is very limited and only on every other weekends or something like that. Without it, you will definitely get lost because like I said the map is very not to scale or it’s just easy to miss where you need to turn as there are not so many clear markers. On the real test you are allowed to miss steps on the route but the proctor will tell you to go back and that sets you up for more potential mistakes. The proctor does NOT guide you on where to go on the course during the test. He only says simple instructions like, start the car, go now, the test is ended, pull to the side, etc. Without the mock test, the only other way to get a feel for the course is to go before the school opens at the designated time where you can WALK the course. This means you have to arrive there stupid early which is difficult if you don’t live nearby because of limited public transport. And the course is large on foot so you need the full hour or so that they give you to be able to see all the points you need to make a note of. The mock test is well worth the money. If you know how to drive you’ll just need to do it once to get a feel for the course and where to go. The instructor will also basically tell you how to pass it, and point out all your errors. Japanese driving is probably way different than back in your home country, so you need to learn those little things even if they don’t really make sense to you.
I can share more if you want. Sorry all my info is packed up together, I am getting ready to go to work. Good luck!