But I assume even then it won't be easy to just pass the tests. You could take advantage of the international drivers permit to use that instead of a learners permit and bypass all limitations on that. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to spend a few hours with an instructor to familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of driving in Japan and the way they take the tests.
It's even worse, while the permit itself is valid for a year (or more, mine is 3 I believe). You technically can only use it for 6 months in any country. But you can use it to "learn" to drive in that country before taking your exam and that way to circumvent any of the usual restrictions on a learners permit.
Micaela ミカエラ At one time at least, this was not true for Americans. We could drive in Japan for 1 year on an international license, but after that we had to the Japanese test to get a Japanese license. At least that's how I remember it. I believe the rationale was that we issue licenses state by state, and Japan was not going to review 50 different standards. Anyway great video, I hoped you passed :-)
Good choice to take the road test in English. It is a driving exam not a language exam so first get a valid licence and then master all the nuances of driving terminology in Japanese later. Your fans are with you.
Yeah! It's just one example! But I figured it would be easy for fellow language learners to understand since it's one of the first words we learn too! They word questions deliberately to try and catch you on that difference.
Pass or fail on your first try you are already a winner, Micaela, just for making the attempt! I'm totally in suspense waiting to hear how you did and have my fongers crossed for you. 👍
First: Hears hoping you passed! Second: The Japanese driving lessons/exam seems way more intensive than in the U.S. Third: Like you, I learned 車 translated to car, not automobile, in my Japanese lessons. So, thanks for pointing that out. Fourth: I failed my first practical driving test. I ended up failing right from the start. The place where I parked my car to start the test was just before a stop sign. When the test started, I figured I was already stopped, I drove past the sign. The stop sign was about 10 - 15 feet ahead. I failed because I didn't drive a few feet than stopped fr the sign. The rest of the test went well and I passed on my second try. Thanks for sharing!
Lee > i have to agree their driving curriculum seems intensive and hard... (maybe is an attempt to control car usage/car population... if i not mistaken, Singapore also use similar system...)...
Best of Luck Micaela! Try not to view it as just a pass/fail type deal. Instead, think of it as purely your efforts towards self-improvement - no different than if you were to try to body build or diet. In all of these endeavors, you might not necessarily get to your goal in one fell swoop. Its "icing on the cake" to achieve your objectives the first shot; but in the case that the 1st time you fail, let that embolden your resolve to overcome the challenge in each successive attempt. You have the courage and determination to do it. Heck, you traveled all the way out to Japan by yourself back in highschool and made it this far - you got this.
Good luck! I did mine from scratch in Japan and was fortunate to pass first time! Took quite a bit of effort to do it so I know the struggle. You'll get the license eventually whether you pass or fail the first time!
One thing I really appreciate what you said is that while you decided to take an exam in English standard rather then Japanese standard although you can speak Japanese language fluently as well as you can read. Yeah it's true that you came to get a driving license and you didn't go there to prove your ability of Japanese language standards. Bravo! You did it well. And I am also planning to take an exams in English standard to get a driving license. Thank you for sharing your video and I learned a lot.
Oh, cliffhanger! It's great to see you getting more confident behind the wheel. And I was taught that kuruma and jidosha were both words for car in Japanese. Thanks for making the distinction. I passed my driving test the first try, but I was super eager to move out of the suburbs. Fingers crossed that you passed on your first try. Thanks for the video and have a great week!
Passed on my first driving and written test. Your driving skill and maneuvering the car seem natural to you around the city. What a cliff hanging ending to this video. Hope you passed your written exam. Looking forward to the next video.
Oh, I hope you passed!!!! I barely did on my written exam, the questions were so random and not applicable to real life driving. The driving test portion was really easy, but I don't think they had a very challenging course....go a few streets, back park, return, LOL. Hugs to you from Connecticut!!!
I feel you on a personal level about messing up my lefts and rights! In my driving test I even went the wrong way because I messed them up! Luckily, my tester was really kind and we just looped back to finish, and I still passed. I think he knew I was a little (a lot) nervous!
I passed my driver's test my first time in America, but I haven't driven since the test and it has been five years! Driving is too scary for me. I'm moving to Japan soon to teach and will be existing with a bike and my legs like I'm meant to be, hahahah! I think in the future I'll try to live in places that have either a good public transport system or I can get myself places.
Good job! Now that I completed my immigration in Canada, I can learn to drive too. I'm so glad that I'm not the only person that has issues with directions. I'm also left handed. 頑張ってください！
congratz on the leaner. I got my driver lic. Here in Canada then upgraded to a international lic. which was easy. When I got to japan I went to the gov building and got my japan lic. within a 20mins anyone from the USA have to go to driven school in order to get a japan lic.
The best of luck to you! I grew up on a small island in Hawaii so my first driving test was a breeze. Now, because of my limited vision, I have to take a behind the wheel test every year or every other year. Even though I know the route for the test like the back of my hand and I know all the testers, I still get nervous because if I can't drive I can't get to work. I take the test again in November. Looking forward to your next vid. Nice hook at the end!
I studied mine for a few days every few hours with a quiz website for my specific state laws (im in arizona US). I failed the first one since i was too cocky, i worked extra hard and passed 100% the permit test that next week. It just takes common sense. But i completely understand thats theres alot of spoken and unspoken rules on the road. Good luck!!
Thankfully I only had to take a written test for my learners permit. I didn’t take one for my drivers license. And I’m SO LUCKY that I didn’t have to reverse park or parallel park during my road test!!! I would have failed cause I barely know how to parallel park and only recently learned how to reverse park.
Hi Micaela! After watching both of these videos, just wanted to let you know how informative they were and Im sure they will help many foreigners understand what is necessary to do when they are thinking of getting their license in another country. Like you, I haven't driven back home in Canada, but due to my job in Taiwan, I'm required to sometimes get from one place to another quickly and ... public transit can make that difficult and slow sometimes! Therefore, I had to get my motorcycle (moped) license. Online, there isn't a clear video of the entire process like you have provided. They do have English tests as well, but the department and staff only speak Chinese and the driving test instructor only speaks Chinese ... and obviously the road signs here are only in Chinese. It's quite stressful the first time!! And omg I totally get your anxiousness being out on the road for the first time ... Im sure you remember what the roads here in Taiwan are like --- help. Hope to hear about your good results soon. Actually I failed the written test the first time because even in English, those questions can be tricky !!! There were a lot of tricky questions with the translation as well. There are different motorcycle licenses and also electric scooters which can mess you up O.o Finally, hope you get the chance to come back to Taiwan soon
I passed on my first try, but it seems like the Japanese drivers exam is way more intense than the ones in the US...I would also be nervous to drive in Japan because some roads are so narrow and so congested in the cities!
Yeah! I feel like driving in Canada would be so much easier than this. Everyone would be more laidback on the road there too. In Japan I'm just too concerned about causing "meiwaku" (trouble, a nuisance) to everyone around me.
From what I found in the past, Japan has one of the most difficult driving tests in the world. With the feeling that if you can get a license in Japan, you should be able to get one anywhere else. Narrow roads are not that big of an issue. Many of the backroads here are narrow as well. Just slow down and make enough room for each other. The only real issue arises when you get nose to nose with someone in a place where you can't pass each other. At that point someone will need to throw it in reverse until they can get out of the way.
Micaela ミカエラ that's very true, here we pretty much treat the speed limit as a suggestion, because pretty much everyone goes at least 10-15mph over the limit (at least in new England) but I feel like the rules would be much more strictly enforced in Japan... Which is probably a good thing 😂😂
You seem to be getting used to driving now and getting to drive on the road will be great for boosting your confidence! I passed my theory exam by ONE mark on our hazard perception section but luckily I got the questions right so I managed to scrape through... honestly thought I would fail!
I'm rooting for you!! I passed my first drivers exam and road test, but the road test was close. I was so scared of driving at 17, I cried all the time! But after 8-ish years of driving I feel confident even driving many kinds of cars and trucks. But.. I hate backing up and parking in difficult spots 😬
Hi Micaela :) Thankfully I passed both theory and practical tests on the first try here in Czech republic and today I finally got my driving licence :D I hope you passed but don't worry if you didn't I'm sure you can do it next time :) Good luck!🤞
Micaela, congrats on your Karimen license!!! I know it's been hard! I don't think you could chose a driving course to Itoshima at this training stage^^ Be patient till you get a license^^
I passed the first time but I can see how learning another country's driving rules can be difficult, especially if certain rules are different to what you're accustomed to. Your mnemonic on left and right wouldn't work for me since I write with my left hand. Luckily I've had experience with driving in countries where the driver's side of the car is the right because otherwise that would be what would really throw me off.
I hope everything went smoothly for you! And, if it didn't, as you say... the test is hard and failing the first in Japan seems pretty common. .... I've always been really good at taking written exams of all types. I'm originally from Georgia in the US. At the time I first got my license, they published a pretty thorough booklet, if you memorized the information in it, you could pass the written portion no problem. However, the road test varied a great deal based on where you went to test. So, my mom and I took a special trip out to a very rural testing center. I distinctly remember the experience because my examiner was a very tall built gentlemen with significant but well healed facial scarring. Honestly, it looked like he was actually shot in the face... All he required that I do is safely back out of the lot, turn out onto the road, drive in a square down the four roads that made a ring around the testing facility, safely park in the lot again, and prove that my blinkers were fully functional once I parked again. Getting my license in California was much more complicated even though there is reciprocity between states to some extent.
if a foreigner living in Tokyo or Yokohama area, there is a driving school called Koyama driving school, there, you can study with English text book to learn, and most of the teachers speak English. And in Tokyo you can take the final exam at Police in 10 different languages other than Japanese, just FYI
Ahh the suspense!! In Canada we have two written tests, one for the signs and one for rules. I passed my signs the first time but failed my rules test by one point. :( If you do fail the first time it's ok, it happens to a lot of people. I was really upset but I just studied harder and passed it the next time. :) You can do it Micaela!!!
Driving is one of those things that you have to actually experience, to learn. You can grasp the street signs and terminology, sitting at a desk- but the actual process of driving is only learned behind the wheel. So, the gist of driving instruction is to prepare you to drive without experience, and do well enough to survive until you learn. That said, it doesn't make it any easier for the beginner...just try not to hit anybody, or freak out, and it'll come to you, with practice. Sort of like the Hippocratic oath-"First, do no harm...". Hugs, and good luck!
☺Arigato.. I've just started learning Japanese liked the japanese talk with the subtitles 👍👍👍👍👍I'll put you in subscribe and I'am learning Japanese file anata sugoi.
I've been driving in the United States for 40yrs now. I took Drivers Ed in high school 40 years ago at the age of 16 during the spring of my sophomore year as an after school class. One hour twice a week for 2 months with the last two weeks of in car driving with a instructor and 3 other students. After finishing the class I took the test and passed both the written and driving parts on the first try. The main reason for taking Drivers Ed back then was so your parents could get cheaper car insurance for you. The rules have changed since then and I have only had to retake the tests when I upgraded to a Chauffeurs License when I started doing delivery for a local company. They have updated the license laws recently and people between 16-18yrs have restrictions. (Not sure of the details- plus they are different from state to state)
Ciaela....I've been watching your videos for years and I can honestly say... You Passed.... It's in your voice that I can hear the excitement😜😝😛😂😂😂😂😂💖💕#LoveCanada
Girl, I think you just rock. This will give you so much freedom and confidence. I am already so proud of ya. I had so many issues w/ my left and right. As a child in dance, I was always convinced that the other dancers were exiting or entering on the "wrong" side. So I always stood out as the only kid going the opposite direction lol. Feel your pain.
Omg I did dance for years (jazz ballet and hip hop) and I always had the same problems. I quit because I just couldn’t keep up (and my sister was way better at it anyway.)
Micaela ミカエラ Oh girl, too much in common. Too bad we are so many miles apart ... (WA. State, somewhat close to lower B.C. Canada) We could have coffee/tea and gab probably for hours. My sister was literally a beauty pageant contestant for years, talk about a hard struggle to top when you stopped growing @ 4' 11" lmbo ... Oh my! Good luck on your test! Can't wait for the next video. Katie
A beauty pageant contestant!? Yikes yikes hahaha so much pressure! My sister was always more social and outgoing and therefore she had way more friends than me. She was also the sporty type, so when my parents enrolled us both in dance, she really excelled. (I did better at school and studying though. I guess it balances out.) We both did soccer too, but I quit after a year, and she still plays to this day. And yeah, she got her license when she was 16 so I just got her to drive me around everywhere. She hated that haha.
Micaela ミカエラ Haha! Hey she was lucky to have company on the drives. You can tell her she'd have been lost without your directions lol. Yes, my sister and I were and are still opposite. I was a tom boy, she was girly/elegant. I was all country and riding horses, she was a Cali. City girl and all business. I love her though. And yeah! Totally balances. It is always is so crazy to me how kids can grow up raised by the same people and be so different LOL.
Don't know if it's different in Japan, but the driving written exam in the US is super easy if you even put an ounce of effort into it. Had no issue passing it in 10th grade. And at least for me, the actual physical driving test was also pretty easy (as long as you don't fall for first stop sign trap which is really oddly placed). I also got really lucky and I hadn't even fully gotten my car perfectly into the parallel parking spot yet and my proctor said I was good!
I passed my test first time with no minors (perfect test). I have been driving for 6 years now in England, but would still be nervous about driving in Japan. Both countries drive on the left side of the road, but road signs and rule vary greatly. It seems like a mix of English and US driving/roads. Also I think the amount of tolled roads would get really expensive. If I move to the inaka then I would definitely consider getting a Japanese license.
I just moved here last week and even though I have a license in America driving here is so difficult with all the tiny roads that 2 cars can't pass through and just keeping the opposite side of the road straight in my head 😭 Not looking forward to having to take this next year, it's amazing how quickly you took the test I think!! When I bought my car it was 2 feet away facing the highway and I had to turn out onto it and drive for my first time... :--) overwhelming
I'm the same with my lefts and rights too! I do the L hand thing as well haha! Idk what it is, I know it instinctively but when someone asks me I really have to think about it.
i'm impressed at the number of different drive-by shots you had. Did you have to set those up yourself or did you have a whole crew working to shoot with you!?
I didn’t have a whole crew! Just one other person assisting!!! They had a map of the practice route so they could follow outside the car, and then the second time around they hopped in the back :) Since the school was co-operating with the shoot (and I had full permission) my lesson didn’t count as a real lesson and I had to re-take it again properly the next day without cameras in order to get credit for it... but it was nice to have an extra few hours of driving practice before my test! 💪🏻💪🏻
This is great! Thank you. Ive just recently enrolled to a driving school and next week will be my first lecture, thank you! Off topic, who was filming during your lesson? Would like to film my experience. Wonder if they will allow it.
5:37 There's an easier way to check the reversing lights in most cars. Turn the key to the 2nd position, shift into reverse, get out and look at the lights. Checking the brake lights is a pain though... I passed my car test first time but failed my car and trailer (B+E test) and passed the second time :P
I failed my theory 3 times. Because the we do it at a central agency called the CBR. It's done all electronically, you get a number-pad and questions appear on the main screen for the entire group. And on the end it only tells you if you got to many wrong or not (have 6 or higher mistakes is fail). Not which questions...so you gotta read though everything again. Practical only failed the first time (was a bit to nervous).
Good luck Micaela. John Daub has just gone through the trials you are going through and fail the driving part 3 times, so it seems like a normal thing for people to fail this. Definitely quite a process to get your license, but I am sure you will do wells. Comfort in driving comes in time. Some nice drives out in the country will help to calm your nerves, then you can slowly deal with the busy stuff downtown. Driving defensively and watching for people pulling out will eventually become second nature and covering the brake when nearing intersections or potential traffic conflict will get easier. Also if this is your first go at driving anywhere Japan, Canada or otherwise, then this is a whole new world of experience. It will get easier.
Thank you for the encouragement! I certainly hope it gets easier! At this point I still can’t even imagine going on the road without someone in the passenger seat telling me what to do...
Driving on the main roads a bit will help. Hopefully the instructor will let you do some “free form driving” so you can get used to making some of the decisions of how and where to go. So much to take in initially, but you will adapt. If it is any consolation, I plan do do some driving while there hopefully in November with an International license. And while I have driven for Greyhound and have been driving since the early 90s (man I am getting old) it is going to take some getting used to driving on the “wrong”/other side of the road. I found a “Rules of the road” from the Japan Auto. Federation on Amazon.jp and will read through that. Some good information for visitor driving requirements on the JAF (Japan CAA/AAA) website. This may be a good resource for those wanting to visit and temp fate 😝😺
I don’t handle failure well either. That’s why I take a new job’s training so seriously. I even took driving school seriously even though people say it’s not a major deal. I always want to do well the first time. Thankfully I did.
Hi! Can you share how many papers you used to review for karimen and honmen? I am used to speak in japanese but there are lots of tricky questions and I don’t want to struggle myself reading and memorizing a whole book.
Looking at your notes was a bit discouraging. lol. Being in the US, the metric system is still somewhat alien to me, not to mention that they ask about "medium" sized vehicles and such. The least thing I'm personally worried about is the actual driving, ironically. lol.
I have a hard time with my lefts and rights too! When taking my drivers test here, as the test instructor walked to the front of my car to make sure the lights were in working order, he asked me to turn in the left turn signal. I did right. I'm forever grateful he hadn't gotten to the front yet and hadn't realized my mistake. I still managed to pass! Didn't turn the wrong direction! Did that a few times with the driving instructor in practice though. For the learners permit here it's a written test. That I had to take twice. I was devastated the first time! I hope you made it through! It's so stressful!
I am shocked at how common automatic transmission vehicles that can be driven on an equivalent of an Irish class B licence are in Japan. That is because getting a licence in almost any other Eurasian country or territory means passing a test in a manual vehicle to obtain full driving privileges. Yet in the greater Asia-Pacific region, automatic transmission vehicles are also, if not large trucks, relatively common in Australia and New Zealand, too.
Patrycja Warszawska My drivers Ed. teacher told the story of a student who kept snapping her fingers before every turn. Finally she explained that she could only snap with her left hand so that's how she remembered left and right.
Passed on first drive, bus US test so easy. I can relate about the perfection thing and crying. I get Sooooo frustrated with myself when I mess up. I'm my worst critic.
A good (maybe? I don't know it helps me) way to remember 左折 and 右折 is to think of the word 左右 (I know the pronunciation for 右 will be different but it's similar enough). In the word 左右, 左 is appropriately on the left and is also pronounced さ, while 右 is on the right and while yes it is read as ゆう I think it's still close enough to make the connection to relate it to 右折. It may still take a moment to remember which is right and left but hopefully it will lessen that amount of time. I hope that helps a little bit. I guess at this point it might not be necessary since you're taking the test in English but I thought I'd comment anyway. Good luck with the rest of your driving tests and what not!!!! :D
I passed on my first try. It was driving test and it lasted for 59 minutes, the legal max is 60 minutes in Poland. Most of my friends failed it 2-4 times. Well you can never be fully prepared for something like this just after a few weeks of driving. I already know u passed so good luck on the roads! Irbisae
Got my theory exam after 3 times, bit didn't do much with learning and taking this exam wasn't really expensive, the practical exam is more expensive here in the Netherlands and luckily passed this one in one go :) Now I can just get an international driving licence to drive in Asia for 1 year, but to bad I can only get it when I'm in my home country...
Do you have to take this if you already have drivers license in another country?
Nope. If you already have a driver's license, just get a certified translation and re-take the tests. No need to go to school or log any hours.
But I assume even then it won't be easy to just pass the tests. You could take advantage of the international drivers permit to use that instead of a learners permit and bypass all limitations on that. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to spend a few hours with an instructor to familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of driving in Japan and the way they take the tests.
Hans Roes the problem with that is that an international driver's license is only valid for one year.
It's even worse, while the permit itself is valid for a year (or more, mine is 3 I believe). You technically can only use it for 6 months in any country. But you can use it to "learn" to drive in that country before taking your exam and that way to circumvent any of the usual restrictions on a learners permit.
Micaela ミカエラ At one time at least, this was not true for Americans. We could drive in Japan for 1 year on an international license, but after that we had to the Japanese test to get a Japanese license. At least that's how I remember it. I believe the rationale was that we issue licenses state by state, and Japan was not going to review 50 different standards. Anyway great video, I hoped you passed :-)
Good choice to take the road test in English. It is a driving exam not a language exam so first get a valid licence and then master all the nuances of driving terminology in Japanese later. Your fans are with you.
教習所が撮影に協力的だったのがよかった。ミカエラさんも教官の方もお疲れ様です。
Fascinating to hear about the language difference between 'vehicle' and 'automobile'!
Yeah! It's just one example! But I figured it would be easy for fellow language learners to understand since it's one of the first words we learn too! They word questions deliberately to try and catch you on that difference.
ミカエラさんのドライブ動画楽しみに待ってますね😊
右折 and 左折 is like if we drove around saying port and starboard like we're on a ship lol
Pass or fail on your first try you are already a winner, Micaela, just for making the attempt! I'm totally in suspense waiting to hear how you did and have my fongers crossed for you. 👍
Thanks Robert! You're always so kind and I always always always appreciate it!
頑張って！Go for it！！
The quality of this video! I can only imagine the effort it took to put this together. Thanks Micaela!
Cliffhangeeeer!!!
頑張ってるね。受かると良いね！
I wish my driving instructor was that cute
bluAsterisk I ended up with my dad and older sister.
she's adorably cutee
Right!? I REALLY want to take a driver's test now. :D
仮免許取得おめでとうございます！
本免許に向けて頑張ってください、応援しています！！
First: Hears hoping you passed!
Second: The Japanese driving lessons/exam seems way more intensive than in the U.S.
Third: Like you, I learned 車 translated to car, not automobile, in my Japanese lessons. So, thanks for pointing that out.
Fourth: I failed my first practical driving test. I ended up failing right from the start. The place where I parked my car to start the test was just before a stop sign. When the test started, I figured I was already stopped, I drove past the sign. The stop sign was about 10 - 15 feet ahead. I failed because I didn't drive a few feet than stopped fr the sign. The rest of the test went well and I passed on my second try.
Thanks for sharing!
Lee > i have to agree their driving curriculum seems intensive and hard...
(maybe is an attempt to control car usage/car population... if i not mistaken, Singapore also use similar system...)...
糸島へのドライブ動画楽しみにしてますよ
Wishing you safe driving👍👍👍
At the beginning of the video it looks like you are the driving instructor filming her lesson and sensei is the nervous new student 😀.
Best of Luck Micaela! Try not to view it as just a pass/fail type deal. Instead, think of it as purely your efforts towards self-improvement - no different than if you were to try to body build or diet. In all of these endeavors, you might not necessarily get to your goal in one fell swoop. Its "icing on the cake" to achieve your objectives the first shot; but in the case that the 1st time you fail, let that embolden your resolve to overcome the challenge in each successive attempt. You have the courage and determination to do it. Heck, you traveled all the way out to Japan by yourself back in highschool and made it this far - you got this.
Good luck! I did mine from scratch in Japan and was fortunate to pass first time! Took quite a bit of effort to do it so I know the struggle. You'll get the license eventually whether you pass or fail the first time!
Gabatte! Wish u the best luck and soak it all in
One thing I really appreciate what you said is that while you decided to take an exam in English standard rather then Japanese standard although you can speak Japanese language fluently as well as you can read. Yeah it's true that you came to get a driving license and you didn't go there to prove your ability of Japanese language standards. Bravo! You did it well. And I am also planning to take an exams in English standard to get a driving license. Thank you for sharing your video and I learned a lot.
Oh, cliffhanger! It's great to see you getting more confident behind the wheel. And I was taught that kuruma and jidosha were both words for car in Japanese. Thanks for making the distinction. I passed my driving test the first try, but I was super eager to move out of the suburbs. Fingers crossed that you passed on your first try. Thanks for the video and have a great week!
Passed on my first driving and written test. Your driving skill and maneuvering the car seem natural to you around the city. What a cliff hanging ending to this video. Hope you passed your written exam. Looking forward to the next video.
It’s been a while to watch your videos since two years ago!
ミカエラさん！テストお疲れ様でした😊 日本育ちの自分からしても、免許の試験問題は難しい言い回しにしてるなぁと思いました！何年も前から、ミカエラさんの事を応援してるミカエラ サポーターとして、これからも応援してます🙌
Oh, I hope you passed!!!! I barely did on my written exam, the questions were so random and not applicable to real life driving. The driving test portion was really easy, but I don't think they had a very challenging course....go a few streets, back park, return, LOL. Hugs to you from Connecticut!!!
待ってたよミカエラ〜！！
よく頑張ったね！！
That's some top notch camera work
I feel you on a personal level about messing up my lefts and rights! In my driving test I even went the wrong way because I messed them up! Luckily, my tester was really kind and we just looped back to finish, and I still passed. I think he knew I was a little (a lot) nervous!
I passed my driver's test my first time in America, but I haven't driven since the test and it has been five years! Driving is too scary for me. I'm moving to Japan soon to teach and will be existing with a bike and my legs like I'm meant to be, hahahah! I think in the future I'll try to live in places that have either a good public transport system or I can get myself places.
ミカエラさん、私は海外運転免許証から日本の運転免許証へ書き換えました。ほんと、日本人でも筆記テストはムッチャ難しかったですが一回で合格。実地試験は4回受けました。頑張って下さい。
Hello Micaela🤗💕finally update😍. But I just check your Instagram to be updated🤗🤗💕😍 congratulation 🌷
Good job! Now that I completed my immigration in Canada, I can learn to drive too. I'm so glad that I'm not the only person that has issues with directions. I'm also left handed. 頑張ってください！
Good luck in Canada!!!!
ずっと応援してます。
congratz on the leaner. I got my driver lic. Here in Canada then upgraded to a international lic. which was easy. When I got to japan I went to the gov building and got my japan lic. within a 20mins anyone from the USA have to go to driven school in order to get a japan lic.
The best of luck to you! I grew up on a small island in Hawaii so my first driving test was a breeze. Now, because of my limited vision, I have to take a behind the wheel test every year or every other year. Even though I know the route for the test like the back of my hand and I know all the testers, I still get nervous because if I can't drive I can't get to work. I take the test again in November. Looking forward to your next vid. Nice hook at the end!
Ooh, I liked the wording explanation part. Hope you'll do more videos about wording differences in Japanese.
仮免試験おめでとう御座います🎉✨😊本試験もそろそろかな？頑張ってください✨💫
I studied mine for a few days every few hours with a quiz website for my specific state laws (im in arizona US). I failed the first one since i was too cocky, i worked extra hard and passed 100% the permit test that next week. It just takes common sense. But i completely understand thats theres alot of spoken and unspoken rules on the road. Good luck!!
Thankfully I only had to take a written test for my learners permit. I didn’t take one for my drivers license. And I’m SO LUCKY that I didn’t have to reverse park or parallel park during my road test!!! I would have failed cause I barely know how to parallel park and only recently learned how to reverse park.
How are you with reverse and parallel park? I’m sure they will test you on that in Japan lol
Hi Micaela!
After watching both of these videos, just wanted to let you know how informative they were and Im sure they will help many foreigners understand what is necessary to do when they are thinking of getting their license in another country.
Like you, I haven't driven back home in Canada, but due to my job in Taiwan, I'm required to sometimes get from one place to another quickly and ... public transit can make that difficult and slow sometimes! Therefore, I had to get my motorcycle (moped) license. Online, there isn't a clear video of the entire process like you have provided. They do have English tests as well, but the department and staff only speak Chinese and the driving test instructor only speaks Chinese ... and obviously the road signs here are only in Chinese. It's quite stressful the first time!! And omg I totally get your anxiousness being out on the road for the first time ... Im sure you remember what the roads here in Taiwan are like --- help.
Hope to hear about your good results soon. Actually I failed the written test the first time because even in English, those questions can be tricky !!!
There were a lot of tricky questions with the translation as well. There are different motorcycle licenses and also electric scooters which can mess you up O.o
Finally, hope you get the chance to come back to Taiwan soon
I passed on my first try, but it seems like the Japanese drivers exam is way more intense than the ones in the US...I would also be nervous to drive in Japan because some roads are so narrow and so congested in the cities!
Yeah! I feel like driving in Canada would be so much easier than this. Everyone would be more laidback on the road there too. In Japan I'm just too concerned about causing "meiwaku" (trouble, a nuisance) to everyone around me.
From what I found in the past, Japan has one of the most difficult driving tests in the world. With the feeling that if you can get a license in Japan, you should be able to get one anywhere else. Narrow roads are not that big of an issue. Many of the backroads here are narrow as well. Just slow down and make enough room for each other. The only real issue arises when you get nose to nose with someone in a place where you can't pass each other. At that point someone will need to throw it in reverse until they can get out of the way.
Micaela ミカエラ that's very true, here we pretty much treat the speed limit as a suggestion, because pretty much everyone goes at least 10-15mph over the limit (at least in new England) but I feel like the rules would be much more strictly enforced in Japan... Which is probably a good thing 😂😂
And parking spots, at least in cities, are much narrower too.
You seem to be getting used to driving now and getting to drive on the road will be great for boosting your confidence! I passed my theory exam by ONE mark on our hazard perception section but luckily I got the questions right so I managed to scrape through... honestly thought I would fail!
I'm rooting for you!! I passed my first drivers exam and road test, but the road test was close. I was so scared of driving at 17, I cried all the time! But after 8-ish years of driving I feel confident even driving many kinds of cars and trucks. But.. I hate backing up and parking in difficult spots 😬
i like your beautiful smile of yamaguchi Sensei ☺️😉❤️❤️❤️
試験の結果が気になります。説明きいて納得しましたが、ミカエラさんくらい日本語が上手い人でも英語のテストを選ぶんですね。免許とれてドライブ出来るといいですね。
I was like spongebob when I first started driving. I was deff scared and would also second guess “left” and “right” lol. You got this!
You gotta love those Subarus.
Hi Micaela :) Thankfully I passed both theory and practical tests on the first try here in Czech republic and today I finally got my driving licence :D I hope you passed but don't worry if you didn't I'm sure you can do it next time :) Good luck!🤞
Thanks for this info😊
Your sensei is kinda' cute! Uhhm. . . not as cute as yourself of course but she looks more like a TV idol than a driving instructor.
車 = car in my head, too. Thanks for the lesson!!
Micaela, congrats on your Karimen license!!! I know it's been hard! I don't think you could chose a driving course to Itoshima at this training stage^^ Be patient till you get a license^^
I passed the first time but I can see how learning another country's driving rules can be difficult, especially if certain rules are different to what you're accustomed to. Your mnemonic on left and right wouldn't work for me since I write with my left hand. Luckily I've had experience with driving in countries where the driver's side of the car is the right because otherwise that would be what would really throw me off.
I hope everything went smoothly for you! And, if it didn't, as you say... the test is hard and failing the first in Japan seems pretty common. .... I've always been really good at taking written exams of all types. I'm originally from Georgia in the US. At the time I first got my license, they published a pretty thorough booklet, if you memorized the information in it, you could pass the written portion no problem. However, the road test varied a great deal based on where you went to test. So, my mom and I took a special trip out to a very rural testing center. I distinctly remember the experience because my examiner was a very tall built gentlemen with significant but well healed facial scarring. Honestly, it looked like he was actually shot in the face... All he required that I do is safely back out of the lot, turn out onto the road, drive in a square down the four roads that made a ring around the testing facility, safely park in the lot again, and prove that my blinkers were fully functional once I parked again. Getting my license in California was much more complicated even though there is reciprocity between states to some extent.
Good luck my friend
I failed my first learners and novice license tests in Canada. A lot of it for me was just nerves. You got this!
おー！仮免まで行ったかー！♡
本免までもう少しだ！頑張って！
You can do it good luck
if a foreigner living in Tokyo or Yokohama area, there is a driving school called Koyama driving school, there, you can study with English text book to learn, and most of the teachers speak English. And in Tokyo you can take the final exam at Police in 10 different languages other than Japanese, just FYI
I'm loving these videos. Very informative :)
Micaela, I thought your hair at the end was really nice !
Thanks! I kind of regretted it that day! But it’s nice to have something different.
Ahh the suspense!! In Canada we have two written tests, one for the signs and one for rules. I passed my signs the first time but failed my rules test by one point. :( If you do fail the first time it's ok, it happens to a lot of people. I was really upset but I just studied harder and passed it the next time. :) You can do it Micaela!!!
Driving is one of those things that you have to actually experience, to learn. You can grasp the street signs and terminology, sitting at a desk- but the actual process of driving is only learned behind the wheel. So, the gist of driving instruction is to prepare you to drive without experience, and do well enough to survive until you learn. That said, it doesn't make it any easier for the beginner...just try not to hit anybody, or freak out, and it'll come to you, with practice. Sort of like the Hippocratic oath-"First, do no harm...". Hugs, and good luck!
☺Arigato.. I've just started learning Japanese liked the japanese talk with the subtitles 👍👍👍👍👍I'll put you in subscribe and I'am learning Japanese file anata sugoi.
I've been driving in the United States for 40yrs now. I took Drivers Ed in high school 40 years ago at the age of 16 during the spring of my sophomore year as an after school class. One hour twice a week for 2 months with the last two weeks of in car driving with a instructor and 3 other students. After finishing the class I took the test and passed both the written and driving parts on the first try. The main reason for taking Drivers Ed back then was so your parents could get cheaper car insurance for you. The rules have changed since then and I have only had to retake the tests when I upgraded to a Chauffeurs License when I started doing delivery for a local company. They have updated the license laws recently and people between 16-18yrs have restrictions. (Not sure of the details- plus they are different from state to state)
I like the teacher and the car - a Subaru, quite an unusual car in my opinion.
I’m taking the driving license of manual car it’s very hard 🥺
I'm so surprised at the level of access they allowed your camera. How unusual to see CPR as part of this training. Not so in the U.S.
Ciaela....I've been watching your videos for years and I can honestly say... You Passed.... It's in your voice that I can hear the excitement😜😝😛😂😂😂😂😂💖💕#LoveCanada
Girl, I think you just rock. This will give you so much freedom and confidence. I am already so proud of ya. I had so many issues w/ my left and right. As a child in dance, I was always convinced that the other dancers were exiting or entering on the "wrong" side. So I always stood out as the only kid going the opposite direction lol. Feel your pain.
Omg I did dance for years (jazz ballet and hip hop) and I always had the same problems. I quit because I just couldn’t keep up (and my sister was way better at it anyway.)
Micaela ミカエラ Oh girl, too much in common. Too bad we are so many miles apart ... (WA. State, somewhat close to lower B.C. Canada) We could have coffee/tea and gab probably for hours. My sister was literally a beauty pageant contestant for years, talk about a hard struggle to top when you stopped growing @ 4' 11" lmbo ... Oh my! Good luck on your test! Can't wait for the next video. Katie
A beauty pageant contestant!? Yikes yikes hahaha so much pressure! My sister was always more social and outgoing and therefore she had way more friends than me. She was also the sporty type, so when my parents enrolled us both in dance, she really excelled. (I did better at school and studying though. I guess it balances out.)
We both did soccer too, but I quit after a year, and she still plays to this day.
And yeah, she got her license when she was 16 so I just got her to drive me around everywhere. She hated that haha.
Micaela ミカエラ Haha! Hey she was lucky to have company on the drives. You can tell her she'd have been lost without your directions lol. Yes, my sister and I were and are still opposite. I was a tom boy, she was girly/elegant. I was all country and riding horses, she was a Cali. City girl and all business. I love her though. And yeah! Totally balances. It is always is so crazy to me how kids can grow up raised by the same people and be so different LOL.
I may have inadvertently given you an idea for a future video lol. 😉 hehe.
Don't know if it's different in Japan, but the driving written exam in the US is super easy if you even put an ounce of effort into it. Had no issue passing it in 10th grade. And at least for me, the actual physical driving test was also pretty easy (as long as you don't fall for first stop sign trap which is really oddly placed). I also got really lucky and I hadn't even fully gotten my car perfectly into the parallel parking spot yet and my proctor said I was good!
I passed my test first time with no minors (perfect test). I have been driving for 6 years now in England, but would still be nervous about driving in Japan. Both countries drive on the left side of the road, but road signs and rule vary greatly. It seems like a mix of English and US driving/roads. Also I think the amount of tolled roads would get really expensive. If I move to the inaka then I would definitely consider getting a Japanese license.
I’ve been living in japan since 2013 and I took it in 2015 because I didn’t know much Japanese then but I passed it helps get to my job and back home
I just moved here last week and even though I have a license in America driving here is so difficult with all the tiny roads that 2 cars can't pass through and just keeping the opposite side of the road straight in my head 😭 Not looking forward to having to take this next year, it's amazing how quickly you took the test I think!! When I bought my car it was 2 feet away facing the highway and I had to turn out onto it and drive for my first time... :--) overwhelming
Dear lord congratulations on not having a heart attack!!!
I'm the same with my lefts and rights too! I do the L hand thing as well haha! Idk what it is, I know it instinctively but when someone asks me I really have to think about it.
i'm impressed at the number of different drive-by shots you had. Did you have to set those up yourself or did you have a whole crew working to shoot with you!?
I didn’t have a whole crew! Just one other person assisting!!! They had a map of the practice route so they could follow outside the car, and then the second time around they hopped in the back :)
Since the school was co-operating with the shoot (and I had full permission) my lesson didn’t count as a real lesson and I had to re-take it again properly the next day without cameras in order to get credit for it... but it was nice to have an extra few hours of driving practice before my test! 💪🏻💪🏻
This is great! Thank you. Ive just recently enrolled to a driving school and next week will be my first lecture, thank you!
Off topic, who was filming during your lesson? Would like to film my experience. Wonder if they will allow it.
5:37 There's an easier way to check the reversing lights in most cars. Turn the key to the 2nd position, shift into reverse, get out and look at the lights. Checking the brake lights is a pain though...
I passed my car test first time but failed my car and trailer (B+E test) and passed the second time :P
運転免許証試験という、難しい日本語の試験、、、
@Micaela your driving instructor looks so cute! :3 I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes on the road if she was teaching me how to drive...
I remember driving in England and that was quite the experience.. I only drove on Canadian soil!
I failed my theory 3 times. Because the we do it at a central agency called the CBR.
It's done all electronically, you get a number-pad and questions appear on the main screen for the entire group.
And on the end it only tells you if you got to many wrong or not (have 6 or higher mistakes is fail). Not which questions...so you gotta read though everything again.
Practical only failed the first time (was a bit to nervous).
Good luck Micaela. John Daub has just gone through the trials you are going through and fail the driving part 3 times, so it seems like a normal thing for people to fail this. Definitely quite a process to get your license, but I am sure you will do wells. Comfort in driving comes in time. Some nice drives out in the country will help to calm your nerves, then you can slowly deal with the busy stuff downtown. Driving defensively and watching for people pulling out will eventually become second nature and covering the brake when nearing intersections or potential traffic conflict will get easier. Also if this is your first go at driving anywhere Japan, Canada or otherwise, then this is a whole new world of experience. It will get easier.
Thank you for the encouragement! I certainly hope it gets easier! At this point I still can’t even imagine going on the road without someone in the passenger seat telling me what to do...
Driving on the main roads a bit will help. Hopefully the instructor will let you do some “free form driving” so you can get used to making some of the decisions of how and where to go. So much to take in initially, but you will adapt. If it is any consolation, I plan do do some driving while there hopefully in November with an International license. And while I have driven for Greyhound and have been driving since the early 90s (man I am getting old) it is going to take some getting used to driving on the “wrong”/other side of the road. I found a “Rules of the road” from the Japan Auto. Federation on Amazon.jp and will read through that. Some good information for visitor driving requirements on the JAF (Japan CAA/AAA) website. This may be a good resource for those wanting to visit and temp fate 😝😺
They are very hard on gaijin so it is to be expected.
自分ももうすぐとるんで参考にします！
頑張って！！！！！！！！
Hello can you give me some hints about how you prepare for the written tests. I am also going to give a test in English
I don’t handle failure well either. That’s why I take a new job’s training so seriously. I even took driving school seriously even though people say it’s not a major deal. I always want to do well the first time. Thankfully I did.
Hi! Can you share how many papers you used to review for karimen and honmen? I am used to speak in japanese but there are lots of tricky questions and I don’t want to struggle myself reading and memorizing a whole book.
おつかれさまです(*^-^*)ドライブは良いですよね🚙
頑張ってください✨
Looking at your notes was a bit discouraging. lol. Being in the US, the metric system is still somewhat alien to me, not to mention that they ask about "medium" sized vehicles and such. The least thing I'm personally worried about is the actual driving, ironically. lol.
I have a hard time with my lefts and rights too! When taking my drivers test here, as the test instructor walked to the front of my car to make sure the lights were in working order, he asked me to turn in the left turn signal. I did right. I'm forever grateful he hadn't gotten to the front yet and hadn't realized my mistake. I still managed to pass! Didn't turn the wrong direction! Did that a few times with the driving instructor in practice though.
For the learners permit here it's a written test. That I had to take twice. I was devastated the first time! I hope you made it through! It's so stressful!
Yay I love your videos
I am shocked at how common automatic transmission vehicles that can be driven on an equivalent of an Irish class B licence are in Japan. That is because getting a licence in almost any other Eurasian country or territory means passing a test in a manual vehicle to obtain full driving privileges. Yet in the greater Asia-Pacific region, automatic transmission vehicles are also, if not large trucks, relatively common in Australia and New Zealand, too.
I also have problems with left and right - welcome to the club my friend ^^ 😂😘
Patrycja Warszawska My drivers Ed. teacher told the story of a student who kept snapping her fingers before every turn. Finally she explained that she could only snap with her left hand so that's how she remembered left and right.
Phil Nolan that’s also a cool way to learn how to distinguish both sides!:)
Patrycja Warszawska Except I can snap with both hands. lol
おおっいよいよ仮免だぁ。yamaguchi先生、ミカエラさんをお願いしますよ!! 試験中に行きたい場所をリクエストした生徒を初めて見ました(^^; 教習車の赤いSubaru Imprezaも可愛い装飾してありますね～
Thinking about you writing your English answers, I wondered if English speaking Japanese can read cursive. Or is it mainly just print?
Passed on first drive, bus US test so easy.
I can relate about the perfection thing and crying. I get Sooooo frustrated with myself when I mess up. I'm my worst critic.
A good (maybe? I don't know it helps me) way to remember 左折 and 右折 is to think of the word 左右 (I know the pronunciation for 右 will be different but it's similar enough). In the word 左右, 左 is appropriately on the left and is also pronounced さ, while 右 is on the right and while yes it is read as ゆう I think it's still close enough to make the connection to relate it to 右折. It may still take a moment to remember which is right and left but hopefully it will lessen that amount of time. I hope that helps a little bit. I guess at this point it might not be necessary since you're taking the test in English but I thought I'd comment anyway. Good luck with the rest of your driving tests and what not!!!! :D
I'm looking for a way to Japan . Could you help me make it there I just want to be there like anywhere . The sooner the better Micaela
I passed on my first try. It was driving test and it lasted for 59 minutes, the legal max is 60 minutes in Poland. Most of my friends failed it 2-4 times. Well you can never be fully prepared for something like this just after a few weeks of driving. I already know u passed so good luck on the roads!
Irbisae
Got my theory exam after 3 times, bit didn't do much with learning and taking this exam wasn't really expensive, the practical exam is more expensive here in the Netherlands and luckily passed this one in one go :) Now I can just get an international driving licence to drive in Asia for 1 year, but to bad I can only get it when I'm in my home country...