All for Naught...

First thing in the morning..., a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

I've been thinking I'd get a Japanese driver's licence since prior to my arrival here. I reviewed the instructions on how to do it and found that the information on the Canadian web sites was out of date. It no longer is possible to exchange an international driver's permit for a Japanese driver's licence. One has to get a translation of their foreign driver's licence made and then go in to write a short test.

I got the translation made up a few weeks ago. That involved a trip to Yamagata which was a bit of an adventure in finding the Yamagata office of the Japan Auto Federation. All said and done I managed to get the translation.

Last week I got all my stuff ready to head out to the Yamagata Koutsu Anzen (Traffic Safety) Centre which is the equivalent of the Motor Vehicle Branch back home. It's located north of Yamagata in a city called Tendo. On Saturday we sussed out I could get there via Yamagata. There's a bus which runs out there three times a day from Yamagata station. Earliest departure time is 7:22 AM. Catching that bus entailed getting up early enough (5:00 AM) to catch the 6:09 AM train from Yonezawa to Yamagata. Hence the photograph.

So I trekked out to the centre. Got there just as it opened. Asked for directions to where to get a driver's licence transfer done. When I got there I was asked if I had an appointment. Oops. That was one thing we had missed when my friends and I had looked at the web page. So all I managed to get done was have my documentation photocopied and make an appointment for this coming Monday. Luckily it didn't take too long so I was able to catch the bus heading back to Yamagata station...the next bus would've been at 12:42 PM.

The fun part about this process...if I pass the test then I still have to make a return trip to collect my driver's licence. They don't send them out in the mail... (x.x)