feel free to share your experiences with the license testing police at the menkyo centre which felt like they operate by an undisclosed set of rules, not necessarily all above ground. i don't mean "the 5 point check neck exercise routine is ridiculous", everyone knows that; i'm talking more about "man i'd really rather not give this gaijin his license so easily"
in my case, i recently appeared 5th time for the gaimen kirikae at kintama license centre, and was handed an awfully serviced subaru, a different model than the previous 4 times, with the most unusual clutch biting point. the chinese guy in front of me stalled the car about 4 times before hitting the poles on the crank, at which point i was thinking he was just an awful driver. when it was my turn i realised the reason, and of course i didn't stall once, perfect S, crank (i had to reverse once because the bonnet is longer than i'm used to, but i did it the correct way), but when i got to the last part was what really felt underhanded.
At the hill start, i put in the handbrake before stopping, and when i went to release it, the bloody button just wouldn't go in. genuinely the hardest handbrake release i've had to operate in my life, and i somehow got it to go in after a bit of swearing and releasing the pressure using the foot brake. i got up the hill, but i over-revved, the car rolled back a little too and i was immediately told it was over. after going back to the start position, i asked the prick beside me to release the handbrake after cranking it up to the highest position as i had on the hill start. he straight up refused, got pissed, and started lecturing me to not blame the car. for 5 minutes, but not touching the brake once instead to simply release it and end the argument.
for context, i know the unnatural routines expected during a driving exam here since i got a bike license ippatsu, and have taken two 2 hour lessons aimed at the driving test in particular, being told i would be fine. the last time i gave the test (my 4th try) i drove a near perfect course and was told it was a fail at the end because i wasn't keeping to the side i was turning beforehand (i consciously was).
this last try has left a bitter taste and i wrote down this long account here for those with similar experiences. i thought the kirikae test was supposed to be way looser? wtf
by PrinceofSwans