Help me pass! (or at least commiserate)

December 15, 2005 4:41 AM

Has anyone ever taken the 50cc scooter license test in Japan? Perhaps some of you Japan-dwelling (or former Japan-dwelling) MeFites? I'm having a hell of a time passing the thing...

If you're a European, Canadian, Aussie, you wouldn't have had to do this, but for us USians it's a bureaucratic necessity. Apparently mainly to the fact that the US has no federal licensing agency--it's all run by the individual states. Having a mutual agreement between the countries is too much of a headache for the Japanese govt., so I'm required to wade through some red tape and take the test.

But I digress. It's 54 true/false questions, and I have to get 45 correct. I've taken it twice already (at Y1600 a pop), and I got a 37 and a 41, respectively. The thing that pisses me off the most is that the test has questions that I can't find the answers to. I have the English road rules booklet, which ain't all that big, and I've practially memorized the thing. But some questions that are supposed to be "tricky" are just complely unanswerable. Plus the fact that the English translation on some questions is ambiguous at best.

I know it's a longshot, but has anyone had experience with this? I think I just have to get lucky to get a 45. It's just ridiculously annoying that some rookie driver from England or Austrailia or France can just come over, pass a vision test and be on their way, and my 15+ years' experience driving doesn't count for squat here.

/end of rant
*goes off to punch a wall

posted by zardoz to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

Umm, just as a part of your digression - Canada doesn't have a federal licensing agency either. Driver's licenses are done individually by province in Canada, too.

As for how to pass, I'm afraid I don't have any answers. The fact that the book you are supposed to study doesn't give you the answers to all the questions is a bit insane.
posted by antifuse at 5:05 AM on December 15, 2005

Not to belittle the difficulty of blindly guessing all the right answers, but is that all you need to do to drive a scooter? Don't you need to get a proper Japanese license or otherwise convert your USian license?
posted by donkeymon at 5:26 AM on December 15, 2005

Wouldn't it be easier to ask an English-speaking Japanese friend to compare the Japanese road rules booklet and compare it to the English booklet you have? Because it is almost certain that the original booklet has all answer you need.
posted by nkyad at 5:36 AM on December 15, 2005

Should be "to read the Japanese road rules booklet". And, naturally, any person who can understand both languages would do, but a Japanese friend would probably do a better job spotting the omissions and the pitfalls.
posted by nkyad at 5:38 AM on December 15, 2005

I feel your pain. In Bermuda everyone who drives a 50 - 100cc scooter has to take a written exam. And the questions are vague and confusing. I had to take the test three times. Once you pass, you then get to hit the obstacle course which is hillarious to watch when someone is a first time scooter rider.
posted by jasondigitized at 6:30 AM on December 15, 2005

The Driver's License test is just as hard, if not harder. There are special driving schools all through Japan to help people prepare for these tests and the tests are why they are so common. It's a big racket, but you might want to look into sitting in on a motor scooter class or getting instruction. Also, if you don't speak Japanese that fluently you might be able to find someone with good enough English to help you find the missing answers.
posted by Alison at 7:15 AM on December 15, 2005

donkeymon: Your American drivers license is worthless in Japan. An International Drivers License (from AAA) *is* useful.

Huh? What's this about Europeans not needing to take the tests? I lived in Yokohama from 1988 to 1994 and had no problems passing the motorcycle test at all. The foreigners were also required to take it. Didn't matter if they were Australian, Canadian, European - if they didn't take the tests, no license, and then no scooter.

So, I have no idea where you're getting that information from unless things have changed since I lived there.

The translation really *is* flaky, at best. I just read the questions and picked the answers that sucked the least. A girl I was in school with failed it 11 times before passing with the bare minimum score. They had a couple different tests, too, so you can memorize some but not all of the questions.

Unlike here in California where I think it's law that services be provided in fluent Spanish, Japan is much different. I always found the English test to be more of an afterthought. It's not as if there's nobody around that doesn't speak both languages fluently.

Once you pass the written test, you might get to do the fun drivers test, where they practically assault you on the course. I had to ride through spraying water and successfully dodge cardboard boxes that were thrown onto the course.
posted by drstein at 10:26 AM on December 15, 2005

drstein, it's the 50cc test I'm talking about, not the motorcycle test. Folks from the US, Brazil, China, South Africa, and a dozen other smaller countries must take this test (or the repspective car, motorcycle, whatever test), whereas many, many other countries can just get a translation of their license, take an eye test, and be off--on their 50cc scooter.

There's no driving test, I just have to take the written one. But it's a bitch!

/end of 2nd rant
posted by zardoz at 2:17 PM on December 15, 2005

I'm not sure I recommend this, especially since you've already tried the test twice (they know you now)...but when I lived in Japan, I purchased a 50cc scooter and just drove. I never even knew there WAS a test for it. (I got a scooter because I didn't want to deal with the car license thing.)

My Japanese "mom" worked for the city, and she was the one who helped me purchase the scooter and my helmet (which was a full helmet, so that might have helped hide my gaijin-ness on the road).

I also lived in a fairly rural setting, but everyone who was anyone in town knew I rode - I was a JET. It never seemed to make a difference...and I had an international license.
posted by ArsncHeart at 7:55 PM on December 15, 2005

I am also talking about the 50cc test. With the same license, you can ride a 50cc scooter or a 50cc motorcycle. I believe the limit is 90cc.

Things must have changed since I lived there. When I was there (1988-1994) you couldn't just get your license translated.. you had to take the test. Also, I had to go through a driving skill test.

But, I got my license in 1990. 15 years later, it wouldn't surprise me that things are different.

Personally I thought the driving skill test was pretty cool. :-)
posted by drstein at 7:39 PM on December 18, 2005