I have previously written about my wife's visit to the license center in Mito because she wanted to get a Japanese driving license.
After that, we didn't talk about the license, so I thought she had given up.
The other day, my wife found on Facebook a company that helps foreigners get temporary licenses? The other day, my wife showed me a page she found on Facebook. On the page, there was a description of a service that included 10 hours of practical training as well as remote instruction in the subject area.
The price was 135,000 yen, excluding consumption tax. The photo shows people who obtained a provisional license through this service.
I checked the Internet, but there was no information on a company offering this service, and it seems to be run by an individual. I visited a building in Funabashi where they have an office, but it was a rental conference room, so they may be renting a conference room from time to time for their activities.
It is quite difficult for foreigners to obtain an automobile license in Japan. The biggest problem is language. It is possible to take the exam in a foreign language. In Ibaraki Prefecture, the test can be taken in English, Chinese, and Portuguese.
However, the practical test will be difficult if you do not understand Japanese at all.
The easiest way is to get a driver's license in your home country and then come to Japan to rewrite it. However, since the Philippines is not one of the target countries, you will need to take both the practical and the written exam at the Driver's License Center.
However, if you have driven in your home country, you have the basic driving skills, so it should not be too difficult.
My wife has no driving experience, even in the Philippines. So I really think it would be better for her to learn from scratch at a driving school, but unfortunately there are no driving schools nearby where she can take lessons in English.
Since there are so many foreigners in Japan, it would be nice if there were at least some driving schools in Ibaraki that offer lessons in English, and with the number of young people in Japan decreasing rapidly, I think English-language support is necessary for the country's survival in the future.
In this situation, I thought about what I could do to help my wife learn to drive at least somewhat.
First, I needed a place and opportunity to actually drive a car so that my wife could acquire at least some driving skills.
Fortunately, I found a place in Tsukuba City that had a driving course and a car for rent.
So I immediately made a reservation and went out on August 6.
The fee for the use of the car and the course is 3,850 yen per hour, which is a fair price.
However, it is inconvenient to go there by car from my house, so I decided to rent a car by becoming a member of Times Car, a car-sharing service.
I will now spend about 12 hours at the "Tsukuba Driving School" to practice so that my wife can drive well enough to pass the skills test.
However, it was a long time ago when I went to driving school. I hardly remember how I was taught.
I searched YouTube and found a video of a driving school instructor, so I will watch it with my wife and learn from it.
