How to escape the Hell of Licence Conversion.

If you are reading this you are probably in the 10th layer of hell called Converting your Licence in Japan.
Well i was there too,but i'm here to tell you,it is possible to climb that horrible ladder and get that god forsaken licence. With some determination,patience of steel and some luck,you can do it.

This is for a European licence where only conversion is needed,no extra tests,so my apologies if the info is not there for those who need the extra tests.
It took me 4 tries to make it happen and total of 5 months due to time schedule and certain obstacles.
I finally got it converted about 2 months ago so all the info i'm giving you is recent.

Ill try to break it down as easy as possible and hopefully you don't have to waste time like i did because the information i found was not good enough.

First things first. What will you need?

Valid Foreign Driver's License – Plus copies of both sides. Must have lived in the country of issuance for at least 3 months!
Official Japanese Translation – I used JAF. Paid 4k Yen and got it two days later.
Passport – Plus some copies. \*
Certificate of Residence (Jumin-hyo) – Obtain this from your city hall or from any combini if you have a my number card.
Residence Card – Plus copies of both sides.
Photograph: 2.4 cm x 3.0 cm , taken within the last six months (just go to one of the photo booths that are everywhere). 
SPEAK JAPANESE!! – If you don't and think you can do it by yourself, don't even try…you can't. If you cannot communicate please bring someone with you that can help you as it is vital to understand what they are telling you.

\*They will ask you to see the exit stamp in your passport to see you where there for at least 3 months. In my case there was none because most European countries do not stamp you when you exit.

In that case you have to bring proof of stay of 3 months in the country of your licences issuance.
Bills.
Working contracts.
Any official paper that proves you lived there for 3 months should be good.
(They dont need to be translated,they litterally checked mine with google translate)

In my case they asked for 3 types of proof.
I brought : Phone Bill, Water Bill, Internet Bill (plus i over did it and brought more than 3 months worth just to be sure)

Sounds simple right?? Well its not. This is where it gets tricky.

After you have gathered everything like a good citizen and you are skipping your way to the license center remember! :

Do not go to Kadoma without an appointment.
They will turn you away and you will just be wasting time.
If you are lucky enough to get an appointment (there is a certain window you can call them to book,i think every Friday) Then play some lotto numbers as well because luck is with you! All jokes aside,they are really hard to get on the phone and i know of people that have called them close to 500 times with no success,so feel free to try but don't get your hopes up.

There is only one more option for you and that is the Komyo-Ike Licence center.
Its the only place that accepts walk ins and pretty much the place everyone ends up going.

1.Go early! Even though you never know how busy it can be its good to go as early as you can.
They only accept a certain number everyday (people say its 25 per day but it seems like its as many as they feel like that day). They open at 8.30 and start processing at 8.45-9.
But you will see people lining up from 2 am sometimes. It pretty competitive but it is what it is.(Funny enough the time i got mine converted i went there around opening time and it was not busy (maybe it was too hot that day?) .

2.Have your papers prepared and double checked! I cant stress this enough. You don't wanna be there and miss your chance because you forgot a single paper (even empty! yes it happened to me)

1. Be Prepared for mind boggling questions. If they accepted all your papers and you are at the questioning part they will ask you : 1.What kind of lessons did you take and how many hours aprox.?

2. Did you learn how to drive in a course or on the road?
   3.What kind of exercises did you do? (They will also ask you to draw them…Yes,draw them…
   Now here is a tricky part. In my case,my country does not do course test or training.
   We learn everything out in the street.
   If you tell them that,they will check if that's the case of your country.
   If they cannot find that info,they will ask YOU to find PROOF that that's how it is…..crazy right?? But that's exactly what happened to me.. so have that in mind before you go and be prepared.

3. You are getting closer to the end!! Kinda….
   They will give you some more papers to fill up,(what kind of license you are converting,classes etc)and call you again.
   If everything is ok you get stamped and off you go to start paying for stuff.
   If you are converting more than one class,you pay extra. If i'm not mistaken 3500y per class,so have that in mind.

After you have paid you go and do an eye test.
Make sure you understand how to do the eye test. Ask to be sure.

After your eye test has been approved you go back to the main counter and they will give you an appointment time (usually 1 or 2 hours later) and you go upstairs to take your picture.

And that's it…. After the pictures are taken, they come out with the magic little card and start explaining to you basic new driver information.

Congrats…you escaped hell!!

Good luck,safe driving, and if i missed anything or have any questions ill be answering in the comments when i can!
I made this post because i wish i had found one like this when i got into this fight.

Later!!