can be pretty scary.

It's a big commitment, but it can grant you the freedom

to explore your surroundings beyond the limits

of public transportation.

I think I'm finally ready to challenge myself

and get my driver's license here in Japan.

Hey, guys, how's it going?

It's Micaela, and today's a really big day for me.

I've been looking forward to this for a really long time.

I've never driven a car in my life, even in Canada.

I came over here when I was 17, so I never had a chance

to get my license in Canada, and after years

of making excuses and being kind of afraid

of the commitment of driving, I think I'm finally ready

to take responsibility, so I'm here

at Fukuoka Prefecture Driving School.

In Canada, to get your driver's license,

it can take up to a year or so, or maybe more,

to go from a beginner learner's permit

to a full driver's license, but in Japan,

if you go to driving school and you take the proper classes,

and you graduate the school and then you go on

to take the test, you can get your driver's license

as quickly as within a month, or a month and a half.

So, I'm gonna take this opportunity to learn how to drive,

and then I can get my license when I go to Canada too.

Seems pretty convenient, right?

All right, it's time to register, let's go.

(upbeat music)

Everybody here looks way younger than me.

Me, too.

Me, too.

So, it's registration day, and I'm just waiting

to be called so I can do my registration.

To register you need to bring your ”Jumin-Hyo" (residence certificate)

which is a piece of paper you can get from city hall

that has your address and your status of residence,

and all that important information on it.

And then, also bring your passport or photo ID.

I think your jumin-card (I meant "zairyu card" here DONT @ me.)

card can be okay as well.

That's where I'm at right now.

I'm really excited to get started, though.

First thing you do, after you register is

get your photo taken and take a eye test.

Okay.

- Driving school is split into two parts,

the path to a learner's permit,

and the path to a full license.

In the first level, I'll need to attend 10 hours of classes

and pass a written test before I can take

my learner's permit exam.

After I pass that, I'll need to take another 16 hours

of classes before I can take the final exam.

Hi.

- Hi.

- There is a lot of studying involved.

Luckily, if you're still studying Japanese,

they do have English and Chinese textbooks,

and you can choose to take the written tests

in English or Chinese as well.

But not all classes are textbook based.

One of the mandatory lessons is a three hour

intensive CPR training course.

So, I just had my emergency CPR class,

you can probably tell because my lipstick is super smudged,

but we used these dolls, these dolls are called Jammy.

Jammy is dying, and he needs our help,

so my lipstick is super smudged because we just did

the CPR lesson, and it's really intense.

They have us doing the 30 chest compressions

and the breathing over and over and over again.

In Fukuoka prefecture apparently it takes an average

of six minutes for an ambulance, six and a half minutes,

for an ambulance to arrive, so it's important

to practice CPR and make sure that you're tough enough,

that you can keep it up for six and a half minutes

until help comes because that can make a huge difference.

I just got the results for my aptitude test,

and I'm pretty sure that they don't do this

in Canada, at least, I don't know if they do this

anywhere else, but I wanted to talk about it

and I wanted to show you for a second

'cause I think it's really cool.

It gives you a ranking based on your concentration skills,

your decision-making skills, your flexibility,

how safe you are with your answers and your thoughts.

If you read it here, it says that my moods change

very quickly, and I can have lots of confidence,

but when I have confidence I usually make mistakes.

I have to be careful not to lose my mental balance

and take care when I'm driving

or else I can cause trouble because I'll be too stuck

in my own head, which is very accurate.

So, the test is really weird.

It asks a bunch of really obscure questions

that have nothing to do with driving,

but when you read the description,

I think it is actually pretty accurate.

Finally, to obtain a learner's permit,

I'll need to log 12 hours of driving

inside the school driving course.

Once I've got my learner's permit,

it's another 19 hours of driving on public roads

and expressways until I can take my test

to get my full license.

No.

- Yes.

- All right, so I'm done, I had fun,

did a few rounds around the block,

and the teacher helped control the accel and the brake

the whole time, so I don't really know how much work I did.

I don't know how successful I was, but

you know what, for my first time it wasn't that bad.

The teacher's super nice.

He explains things really clearly, really slowly.

Today we're gonna try something a little more difficult.

We're going to enter one

of the driving courses they have here.

We'll see how it goes.

And so, for the next few weeks,

I'll be going to driving school.

I was really nervous about how it was going to go,

but thankfully each teacher is patient

and explains everything in really easy-to-understand terms.

Every day driving gets a little bit easier,

and if I study hard enough, I'm actually hoping

that I'll get my full license within one month.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Getting my driver's license would not only mean

that I'd have more freedom within Japan,

but it means that I'd get one more piece

of government ID, as well.

I'm looking forward to that, too.

So, what's driving like in your country?

How hard is it to get a driver's license?

Let me know in the comments below,

and I'll talk to you again soon.

Bye!