If you live in a major city in Japan, you do not need much to get around in a car or scooter. The public transportation system is convenient and will generally get you where you need to go.
There are times in the city when a scooter is convenient, such as when lugging a week’s worth of groceries home on the subway, but if you live in a small town simple scooter can make a huge difference in your quality of life and the good news is; getting a 50cc, or smaller, the scooter-only license is relatively painless.
If getting licensed to drive a car is your aim, this is not the article for you, but you can find more information on that subject at Japan Drivers License. If you are already licensed to drive a “regular car,” the standard driving license in Japan, you are already licensed to ride a scooter of the size discussed in this article; 50cc or less. Congratulations, you can now move about the country on your scooter.
If that is not the case, you must get licensed to ride a scooter. For Japanese law, a scooter is a two-wheeled vehicle with an engine size of less than 50cc. Anything else is a motorcycle, and you need a separate license that is much harder and more expensive to get. The “large scooters” you see cruising the streets are not classified as scooters but as “automatic transmission motorcycles,” You will need a special license to drive one.
Getting a 50cc engine or below scooter, the license requires somewhere between 4,000-12,000 yen and, depending on where you are, about half a day of your time. On the other hand, a motorcycle license will cost 10x that amount while increasing in increments of time and money based on engine size.
Getting Your Scooter License in Japan
To start with, you must take a 50-question written test at the local driver’s licensing center. The test is not especially difficult, but it may or may not be available in English, depending on where you live. If they are in English, understanding what they are asking can still be challenging, as many prefectures use direct or” automatic” translations. The best way to prepare for this exam is to read” Rules of the Road,” available from the Japan Auto Federation. Many of the questions are common sense, but there will also be some questions about basic rules of the road and some specific to proper scooter operation and safety.
After passing the test, the staff will take you to a classroom for a driving safety class. It takes about an hour and is conducted in Japanese. Just nod and smile; they will probably assume you do not understand, but it won’t matter, this is not a graded exercise, and as long as you stay awake, you should be OK.
After the class, the staff will take you to a driving course for your 3-hour Safe Driving Course, where an instructor will introduce you to the basics of the scooter: how to use the kickstand, start it, accelerate, brake, etc. After the class, you will get your license if you have managed not to hurt yourself or others.
Requirements for Riding a 50cc Scooter
Eligibility
- Regular (car) driver’s license holders are also licensed to drive a scooter of 50cc or less
- Be 16 years or older
Required Tests
- Written test
- Generally, there is NO driving test
- 3-hour Safe Driving Course
Required Documents
- Registration Certificate (juminhyo), one original copy
- Application Photo (headshot, 30mm x 24mm).
Fees
- The application fee is 1500 yen, the Lecture is 4500 yen, Issuance fee is 2050 yen (may be different at your specific license center) but will likely be similar.
