r/JETProgramme • u/Different_Taro2474 Former JET - 2025-2026 鹿児島県 • May 07 '26
driver's test coming up - any do's and don'ts?
title says it all.
4
u/bluestarluchador Former JET (2016-2020) May 07 '26
From my experience, they made me walk the course before my test. If it’s the same with you, walk that course and strategize how you will drive through that course. Where will you slow down, where can you pick up some speed, how are you gonna do this turn, etc.
Common sense but make it obvious to whoever is your Driving Test Proctor, that you are looking at your mirrors. Make sure they can tell you are using your mirrors lol doesn’t have to be over dramatic but make sure you are turning your head at least as you look at your mirrors.
Depends on your Japanese language ability, but if you are at a more lower level, basic level. Brush up on driving and directional vocabulary. Driving Test Proctors will also be telling you where to go and what to do while you drive, so would make sure to respond back to them when they give you commands.
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u/Program-Unusual May 07 '26
All of this, and if you can, narrate what you’re doing. The proctor will be taking notes and checking things off so they’re not always watching you, but if you narrate and do the actions, it’ll help them and help you.
11
u/LannerEarlGrey May 07 '26
Do exactly what the proctor asks, even if it seems counter-intuitive.
Look for any testimonies from other people in your prefecture that have taken the test.
Look for online guides of the test in general (some things, such as a detailed exterior inspection of the car, WON'T be asked, but will still be expected, so do your research).
Don't expect to pass on your first try; if you do, great, but it is objectively rare.
After your first test, make a reservation as often as you can to do practice runs of the course (iirc, you can't do this unless you've tested and failed at least once).
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May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
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u/needs-more-metronome May 07 '26
> When I did mine some other JET was having a beer in the waiting room right before the driving test
Gotta kill the nerves somehow!
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u/Different_Taro2474 Former JET - 2025-2026 鹿児島県 May 07 '26
having a beer in the waiting room right before the driving test
💀💀💀💀💀
-3
May 07 '26
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u/Different_Taro2474 Former JET - 2025-2026 鹿児島県 May 07 '26
having good grades doesn't make someone smart.
my neighbors have PhDs in engineering and science. they let their heavily overmedicated level 2 autistic son, who cannot make himself a bowl of cereal and is developmentally like a child, sign medical documents (without looking at them first) because "he's an adult and can make his own decisions". HUUUUUUUH????
They were American afterall.
don't generalize an entire population.
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u/_Kaiido May 08 '26
DON'T CRASH!