I failed my test only once back when I was 16. At the center I went to, the wait was ENORMOUS, I was nervous as hell, and the instructor was a complete bitch. But here's the messed up part: While I'm taking the test,
some schmuck comes in off the street into the test course to make a u-turn. The bitch gets out of my car and BLASTS THIS GUY, telling him to get the fuck off the course, gets back in the car, and tells me I failed.
So instead of going back there, my dad took me out to another driver's center in "east bumblefuck, Georgia" where there was literally no wait and the instructors were all quite friendly. I was doing great until I screwed up on parallel parking, but then the lady got out of the car, put the cone back up, said "I didn't see anything, did you?" and passed me!
So if you can go out to a driver's center in a smaller town or out in the sticks, it's worth it. I know some other people that did the exact same thing and they passed too, although this was over nine years ago, so I don't know if things have changed.
For yuks, here's a long story I posted in another forum about the driving test stuff I went through here in Japan:
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I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You might be wondering, "what did I pass?" The Japanese driver's test. It took me three hours of practice at the driving school and four tries to do it, but I finally got my license today! The entire process, from the initial paperwork to today took about FOUR MONTHS.
Let me break it down how much it cost based on each time I went. I'll use dollars.
June:
-Got my American license translated. About $30 or so. Made a reservation at the driving center.
July:
-Went to the driving center and filled out paperwork. Can't remember how much it cost, but likely around $30 or so. Then I had to make ANOTHER reservation to take the actual test.
August:
-8/19: International driver's license expires.
September:
9/1- Just got back from the States the previous day. Was driving on the opposite side of the road for a week straight. Now I have to readjust for a TEST?! Of course I failed, but even then it was for a dumbass reason. I went too far over the white line at the stop sign. Cost me about $40 I think, maybe more. Made a reservation at the driving school, which happens to be right next to the center.
Later that week: Did one hour of lessons at the school. Cost about $45. The instructor says I need more practice and to come back.
The next week: Did two hours of lessons the following monday. My girlfriend couldn't take me there, so I had to pay for a cab. Lessons cost $90, the cabfare about $40.
Later that week: Did the test again, failed for the dumbest possible mistake: I turned into the wrong lane. Another JET there passes on his first attempt. I am weeping inside. Costs me $30.
9/22: My girlfriend can't take me today, so I have to go alone. This time I manage to complete the entire course. I feel good about it. But guess what? FAIL FAIL FAIL. Apparently some of the driving manuevers I was told to do at the school WEREN'T FUCKING NEEDED. WHAT. THE. FUCK. Costs $40 for the cab and $30 for the test fees. The next available time open is for today, 10/2. I get to have a week without having to stress over this shit.
October:
10/2: This time I feel more prepared, more confident. I don't know if I'm going to pass, but I know how I'm going to try it this time. Test costs $30. Let me break down how this test went; here are some of the procedures. You see, in Japan, the driving test isn't so much about ability so much as it is about appearance and memorizing little procedures and things to do on the test that nobody ever does on the road.
To start, the car is parked at a curb in front of a numbered pole. I walk up to the car, and the instructor gets in and tells me "Let's go." BUT WAIT. Just getting in is BAD. First, I say to him "Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu" and bow. Then you want to walk around the vehicle, looking UNDER IT to check for any objects or small animals. Then on the driver's side, you want to look both ways before opening the door, in case of incoming cars. I open the door, get in, and close it. I look at the instructor and say "Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu" AGAIN and bow. Then I adjust the seat forward, put on my seatbelt, and adjust the mirror.
Now it's time for the practice "lap," which is more like a tiny loop near the start. I put my foot on the break, start the engine, SIGNAL RIGHT, shift into drive, then put down the e-brake. Still can't go yet, though. First you want to do a 360 turn with your head, looking fucking EVERYWHERE. Then you can go. Just make sure to check over your left shoulder for bikes, or you fail. I do the loop and go back, putting it park. The guy shows me a map of the course, that I have to have memorized. (Did I forget to mention that the course must be memorized at the center immediately before the test [get there early!] and that it changes every week?) Luckily, this week's map is actually a bit easier than the last time I took the test; there's a whole section they basically left out. Here I go.
Everything seems to be going fine; I'm making turns beautifully: everytime you turn right, you look right, then left. Every time you turn left, you look right, left, then over your left shoulder to check for BIKES.
Anytime I need to change lanes, I signal, count "ichi...ni...san," look over my shoulder, and move over. The guy isn't touching his clipboard, which is either a really good sign or a really, really, REALLY BAD SIGN.
Now, in Japan, even on two lane roads, you're supposed to shift over to the right of the street before you turn right. I have fucking NEVER seen anyone do this for the past year I've been driving here, but you have to do it on the test. You also want to stay towards the left of the road, closer to the curb. Don't drive in the middle of the lane or to the right. That will fail you.
I go through both "obstacle course curves" (s-shaped and a double L shaped curves) with no problem, but I notice the guy writing something now. I think I've just failed for some reason, but I keep it up since he still hasn't said anything.
Next I get to the same spot that had a hand in flunking me the past three times. It's where the stopsign and the four lane road (that looks like two lanes, hence why I failed like an idiot the second time) are. Right after you turn here, you have to accelerate to 50km. (Last time, I screwed up and didn't get to go to 50km because the guy told me to move over into the leftmost lane first, and unfortunately for me, another guy doing the test was right there, and of course it doesn't matter to the instructor.) So I go to 50km; it's raining a bit by now, and I put on the wipers. I see the guy write something. Uh-oh. Get to the curve and slow down, going slowly through the blinking yellow signal. Again he's writing something. Signal left, turn off the course into the starting pit, carefully driving about 30m away from the curb. He tells me to stop at sign #2, then quickly says "sign #1." Now, I noticed before that people failing seem to stop at #2 and 3, so maybe I somehow passed, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I signal AGAIN and stop, then put it in park. He tells me to wait inside, but I make sure to check under the car again since the test actually isn't over. I check again, bow to the instructor, thanking him, and then go wait inside. I tell my girlfriend I've failed; I don't know why, but I get the feeling I failed again. This time I don't feel so let down.
The wait for the instructor's return feels like HOURS. There's a few more gaijin there that have to take the test too. They're from Brazil, so I have no idea what they're all talking about. The instructor finally comes in and tells ONE of the Brazillians he passed, apparently perfectly. Doesn't say a word to anyone else. More waiting.
Finally the guy at the foreigner's window calls me over. "O.K." he says.
Wait. Wait. WAIT. "O.K.!?! I passed?!?!" Shocked "Hai, "O.K." he repeats. HOLY CRAP!!! I can't believe it! And on top of that, several other people there passed too! They seemed to be really generous today, as every other time I went, either one person passed or EVERYONE failed.
I have to pay another $25 for some fees. Apparently I also donated $10 to the workers who wave little kids across the street. Oh well, they gave me a little wallet for that. Whatever.
Then more waiting (about an hour), and I FINALLY HAVE MY LICENSE!!! I CAN DRIVE AGAIN!!!
So if I did the math correctly, it cost me over $400 (somewhere between 40,000-50,000 yen) to get my American license converted into a Japanese driver's license. I got lucky that they let me retake the test so quickly, too. It can sometimes be a month wait or longer inbetween failed tests. Oh, and mind you all of this is for foreigners with a valid driver's license from their own country. Of course most Europeans, Australians, and Canadians don't have to bother with any of this.
I've read stories of some foreigners having to take this test as much as EIGHT times before passing, too.
