Before you start

Residence registration and a residence card with the address on the back
Your foreign licence with an official Japanese translation from JAF or the issuing embassy
Proof you were physically present in the issuing country for at least three months after the licence was issued
A jūminhyō residence certificate

Step-by-step

1
Check the exemption list before planning the timeline
A defined list of countries — most of western Europe, Australia, Korea, Taiwan and others — converts without a practical test. If yours is not on it, expect a closed-course examination and more than one attempt. This single fact determines whether the process takes weeks or months.
OnlineWho: You
2
Get the JAF translation
The Japan Automobile Federation issues the accepted Japanese translation, and it must come from JAF or your embassy — a private translation is refused. JAF's Hyōgo branch handles it. Allow a week or two.
In personWho: You
3
Assemble the evidence for the three-month presence rule
You must show you were in the issuing country for at least three months after the licence was issued. Entry and exit stamps in old passports are the accepted proof, which is a strong argument for keeping expired passports permanently.
In personWho: You
4
Travel to the Hyōgo licence centre in Akashi
Hyōgo's main driving licence centre is in Akashi, west of Kobe on the JR line, not in the city itself. Application, eyesight check and the knowledge test happen there on weekday mornings. Since 1 October 2025 the procedure has been tightened nationally: a copy of your jūminhyō is required, so short-stay visitors can no longer convert, and the knowledge check went from ten questions to fifty with a 90% pass mark. Build the travel time into your plan and expect to return.
In personWho: You
5
Secure a parking space certificate before you buy a car
Registration requires a shakoshōmeisho, a police certificate confirming a designated off-street space within two kilometres of your home. On Kobe's slopes, garages are scarce and expensive in the eastern wards and much easier over the mountain. Confirm the space before the car.
In personWho: You
6
Price the Rokkō crossings if you will live in the northern wards
The tunnels through the range — the Shin-Kobe, Rokkō and Arima routes — are tolled, and the alternative is a long climb around. If you are considering Kita-ku or Arima, multiply the toll by two hundred and fifty working days before deciding the rent is cheap.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence
JAF or embassy translation
Passport, including expired ones showing the three-month presence
Residence card and jūminhyō
Passport photographs

Things most newcomers don’t know

The three-month presence rule blocks more conversions than the driving test does.

You must prove you were physically in the country that issued your licence for at least three months after issue. Somebody who obtained a licence shortly before emigrating simply cannot convert, however experienced they are. Old passport stamps are the accepted evidence, which makes an expired passport a document to keep rather than one to throw away when the new one arrives.

Source: National Police Agency

Hyōgo's licence centre is in Akashi, and Kobe residents have to go there.

Unlike Osaka or Nagoya, where the prefectural centre sits inside the main city, Hyōgo's is a train ride west in Akashi. The counters run weekday mornings, the queue on a Monday is long, and a failed practical test means doing the journey again. Anyone converting from a non-exempt country should plan on three trips rather than one and take annual leave accordingly.

Source: Hyōgo Prefectural Police

Kobe is three kilometres wide, so a car saves you nothing east–west and everything north–south.

The strip between the mountains and the sea is served by three parallel railways running in the same direction, so travelling along the city is faster by train than by road. Crossing the ridge is the opposite: the northern wards, Arima and the Hokushin area depend on tolled tunnels or the Shintetsu line. The useful question is not whether you need a car in Kobe but whether you need to cross the mountain.

Source: community-reported

The practical test assesses Japanese form rather than whether you can drive.

Applicants from non-exempt countries face a closed-course examination marked on exaggerated mirror and shoulder checks, precise lane positioning, a crank course and an S-curve. Competent drivers with decades of clean records fail on the first attempt as a matter of routine, because they are judged on procedure rather than safety. One lesson at a Japanese driving school beforehand is cheaper than three re-test journeys to Akashi.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Discarding an old passport and losing the evidence for the three-month presence rule.
Assuming your country is exempt from the practical test without checking the list.
Planning a single trip to Akashi rather than the two or three the process usually takes.
Taking a cheap flat north of Rokkō without pricing the daily tunnel toll.
Buying a car before obtaining the parking space certificate on a hillside where spaces are scarce.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.