My Special Thing – My Hawaii Driver’s License

I have many special things in my life that I can write about. My wife and daughter are special, obviously. My dog was very special to me, but she died last summer, so now she’s just a special memory. I have an ocean kayak, which I have a sentimental attachment to, and I’ve seen some pretty cool things while riding it, including humpback whales, dolphins and sea turtles. The special thing I’m going to write about, though, is my Hawaii driver’s license. It’s just a normal license, and every adult in Hawaii has one, but it’s special to me because of all the trouble I endured to get it.

I’ve been driving since I was 16 years old. My first driver’s license was a Connecticut license, and I got it easily enough, like most 16 year olds I know. I moved to Texas in 1977 and exchanged my Connecticut license for a Texas one. I had a Texas driver’s license when I moved to Nagoya, Japan in 1988.

For many years in Japan, I never drove a car, and so I never needed a driver’s license. Public transportation was very convenient, and except for when I visited the U.S., I never needed to drive. At one point, I didn’t visit the U.S. for a couple of years. It was during this time that my Texas driver’s license expired. I didn’t notice that it had expired until I needed to drive again. That’s when my troubles began.

I first tried to get a new driver’s license in Nagoya. I went to the driver’s license office in Nagoya, which was quite far from where I lived and worked. It took over an hour to get there by public transportation. I waited in line at the window and showed my Texas license to the man there. I explained in Japanese that the license was expired, but I wanted to know if I could use it to get a Japanese one. He said he couldn’t answer my question until I got my license translated by an official license translator. He told me where to go to get my license translated. I was actually kind of happy, because it sounded like I might be able to get a Japanese driver’s license even though my Texas license was expired.

The next week, I got my license translated, which cost about 5000 yen ($50). I went back to the driver’s license office, waited in line, and showed the translation to the man at the window. He said, “You can’t get a Japanese license with this because your license is expired.” I said that I had already told him that, but he had nothing else to say about it. He just said I had to start from the beginning like everyone else in Japan.

I had to wait a week to take the written test. It was in English, but the English writing was very poor, and some of the questions didn’t make sense to me. I failed the written test. When I heard my score, which was just one below passing, I complained to the man at the center. I explained that the sentences were poorly written. He said I was only complaining because I failed the test. For the third time, I went home from the driver’s license office without making any progress at all toward getting a license.

A few weeks later, I took the written test again. Though it was the same test, I managed to pass it somehow. I was happy because I was making progress at last. But I couldn’t take the road test that day. I didn’t mind, because I knew I had to memorize the driving course. Actually, there are 3 driving courses, and I had to memorize all three, since I didn’t know which one they would choose on the day of my test. I took the course maps home and spent a few weeks trying to memorize the A, B and C courses.

Some weeks later, I went back for my driving test. My Japanese friends had given me tips, such as you have to look very carefully left and right before turning. I wasn’t confident, but I thought I might get lucky and pass. I got in the car with the tester and two other applicants. I was second. I didn’t do too badly, but I made two mistakes in the course, so I failed. I was a little disappointed, but I knew I made some errors, so I couldn’t complain.

A few weeks later, I went back for my second driving test. This time I did great! I memorized the course perfectly. Unfortunately, I failed the test. The tester said my turn in the intersection was not at the proper angle. I was extremely upset, because I had no idea what he was talking about. My test score was exactly the same as the first time, even though I only made one minor mistake. I gave up trying to get my license in Nagoya.

The next year, we moved to Tokushima. Tokushima has poor public transportation, so it’s important to have a car. Now I really needed a license. I heard that it wasn’t hard to get a license in Tokushima. I went to the license center and took the written test. I passed on the first try! The English sentences were pretty good this time.

In Tokushima, they don’t make foreigners memorize the course. I don’t know why the rules are different. I thought for sure I would pass the test. I went for my road test, but unfortunately, I was unprepared for the vehicle. When you brake on a hill in Japan, you have to use the emergency brake. I couldn’t find the emergency brake in that car. It was a foot pedal, but I kept looking for a hand brake. I failed the driving test in Tokushima.

I was pretty convinced that I would never get a driver’s license in Japan. I decided my only chance was to get a license in Hawaii, then use it to get a license in Japan. Amazingly, the Hawaii licensing center didn’t require a Hawaii address at that time.

I flew to Hawaii and arrived at 7:00 a.m. in Honolulu. I bought the driving pamphlet, Rules of the Road, at a local convenience store. I took the written test at 9:00 a.m. and passed. I then contacted a local driving school and got an instructor to pick me up in his car and practice driving with me for an hour. I took the road test that afternoon and had my official Hawaii driver’s license within 6 hours of arriving in Hawaii. I went to Triple A and got my international license later that day. A few weeks later, I used my Hawaii driver’s license to get my Japan driver’s license.

Believe it or not, my Japanese driver’s license is now expired! I’ll have to use my Hawaii license to get a new Japan license in Yokohama. Wish me luck!

Kevin Miller