Before you start

Residence registration and a residence card
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 whether your country is exempt from the practical test
A specific list of countries and territories can convert without a driving test — most of western Europe, Australia, Korea, Taiwan and others. If yours is not on it, expect a practical examination on a closed course with standards that surprise experienced drivers.
OnlineWho: You
2
Get the official translation from JAF
The Japan Automobile Federation issues the accepted translation, and it must come from JAF or your embassy — a private translation is not accepted.
In personWho: You
3
Prove the three-month residence requirement
You must show you were in the issuing country for at least three months after the licence was issued. Old passport stamps are the usual evidence, so do not dispose of expired passports.
In personWho: You
4
Buy a bicycle and register it properly
Bicycle registration — bōhan tōroku — is effectively compulsory and costs very little. Police stop cyclists to check registration routinely, particularly at night, and an unregistered second-hand bicycle is genuinely awkward to explain. Buy from a shop that registers it for you.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
5
Understand that bicycle parking is enforced and bikes get impounded
Kyoto removes illegally parked bicycles aggressively, and recovering one means a trip to a distant depot and a fee. Use the paid parking areas near stations and shopping streets — they cost very little and the alternative is losing an afternoon.
In personWho: You
6
Know that registering a car requires proving a parking space
The shakoshōmeisho is a police certificate confirming you have a designated off-street space. There is no street parking option, and central Kyoto has very little space to rent. This, more than anything, is why car ownership here is low.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence
JAF or embassy translation
Passport, including expired ones showing the three-month residence
Residence card and jūminhyō
Bicycle registration certificate, if you buy one

Things most newcomers don’t know

The bicycle is the real vehicle here, and its rules are enforced.

Kyoto is flat, gridded and compact, and cycling is how most residents actually move around. What newcomers underestimate is that Japanese bicycle law is real law: registration is checked by police, riding with an umbrella or headphones is penalised, and lights at night are mandatory. Illegally parked bicycles are impounded rather than ignored. Buying from a shop that registers the bike, and using the cheap paid parking, avoids all of it.

Source: Kyoto Prefectural Police

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

You must prove you were physically present in the country that issued your licence for at least three months after issue. Someone who obtained a licence shortly before emigrating cannot convert, regardless of experience. Old passports with entry and exit stamps are the standard evidence, which is a strong argument for never throwing an expired passport away.

Source: National Police Agency

Kyoto's grid makes it unusually navigable, and the address system reflects that.

The city was laid out on a Chinese-derived grid in the eighth century and the plan survives. Addresses are given as an intersection plus a direction — agaru north, sagaru south, higashi-iru east, nishi-iru west — which is unlike anywhere else in Japan and, once learned, is far more intuitive than the standard block-number system. It also means you can navigate the whole central city without a map.

Source: Kyoto City

Avoid the tourist bus routes entirely if you can.

Kyoto's most famous sites are served by a handful of bus routes that become genuinely impassable in season, with residents unable to board at intermediate stops. The city introduced express tourist routes partly to relieve this. As a resident, the subway, the private railways and a bicycle will get you almost everywhere the buses go, faster and without the queue.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying a second-hand bicycle without transferring the registration.
Parking a bicycle informally and having it impounded to a distant depot.
Discarding old passports and losing the evidence for the three-month residence requirement.
Assuming your country is exempt from the practical test without checking.
Buying a car before securing a parking space certificate in a city with almost no space.

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