Car rental in Japan: how to get a translation of your driver’s license?
Since Japan is not like other countries, I made sure to check the conditions required to drive a car during our road trip.
Good thing I did! While in the vast majority of countries, an international driver’s permit is sufficient, that’s not the case in Japan!
To have the right to drive in Japan, you’ll need your national driver’s license, accompanied by a translation certified by the JAF (Japan Automobile Federation).
The translation request can only be made from within Japan and requires a stated processing time of about two weeks.
I tried to cheat by connecting to the website with a Japanese VPN , but nothing doing… it’s impossible to complete the process remotely.
And since our rental was starting just a few days after our arrival, it was impossible for me to do it myself early in the trip. Even though I don’t like it, I had to resign myself to going through an intermediary.
I used the services of Driving Japan.
Driving Japan handles the paperwork for you and offers three options to get the translation:
- Print the translation yourself at a 7-Eleven (more details below)
- Delivery to your hotel in Japan
- Delivery to your home in France
I chose the first option, which is the most economical. It’s also the safest: no risk of loss due to postal shipping.
I found a 5€ discount code (VIVREAT19), and the service cost me €69.90. That’s roughly three times more expensive than if you could do it yourself.
Driving Japan’s service is excellent; I needed a clarification and got my answer via a WhatsApp exchange in minutes.
To my great surprise, the translation was ready the day after I purchased it : I received the code by email to print my translation at a 7-Eleven.
7-Elevens are small modern convenience stores ( konbini) that are particularly handy. They’re open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. You can buy food, drinks, hygiene products, etc. You’ll also find an ATM, restrooms, and a printer/photocopier. You can even have your Amazon orders delivered there. These konbini make life easier; I’d love to have them in France 😀
Once Driving Japan sends you the print code, you can go to any 7-Eleven in Japan. In big cities, you’ll find one on every corner.
Here’s what a printer/photocopier in a 7-Eleven looks like.
To save you 5 minutes of fumbling, I’ve photographed the different steps up to printing the translation.
1/ First, click on “English” to get more understandable characters
2/ Click on “Print”
3/ Click on “Netprint”
4/ Enter your print code
5/ Validate and pay with coins (300 JPY if I remember correctly)
And there you have it, you can drive in Japan!
