こんにちは from German in Japan

[frbbn]

Hello everyone,

my name is Thomas, I got the working holiday visa for Japan for one year.
I'm from Germany, like riding a Yamaha TDM 900 there and am now in contact with John to get a motorcycle (aiming for 250cc to avoid shaken trouble) in the land of the rising sun. First bureaucratic stuff is mastered, I got my drivers license translated. Although it seems the JAF made a mistake as they only marked the class A with limitation of 25kW (got license in 2012), maybe any European / German driver knows about this issue.

Now I have a question already in my first post: I'm living in Kobe city, but these days traveling in Ibaraki prefecture, not sure when I will come back to Kobe. Obviously I have to get my license plate in Kobe District Transport Bureau. Any ideas how to avoid the long and/or expensive way back to Kobe?

Thank you and always safe riding,
Thomas

[clubtoothedgapfoot]

Hi Thomas,
the translation of your german license should not have other restrictions than your german license. Sometimes there is a misunderstanding due to the wording of the german/euro license, though. Maybe another visit to the JAF can clear that? The German Consulate in Osaka does the translation as well... but it's about 4000Yen and takes 1-2 weeks so you need to go there twice (and beware, they're closed on japanese AND german public holidays. guess how I found out..hahaha). Having said that, bigger bikes aren't always better here... Enjoy!
Roland

[frbbn]

Hi Roland,
yeah, big bikes are not always better, with a 250cc bike you avoid at least the shaken and a lot of advantages in narrow cities.
I will visit a JAF office and ask for it, maybe they can explain or correct the translation.
Thomas

[dmizer]

Welcome to the forum. You'll find a lot more activity on the gaijinriders facebook page, along with specific advice regarding German license conversion difficulties.

aiming for 250cc to avoid shaken trouble

Get whatever bike you want. Shaken is valid for 2 years. You'll only be here for one year on a working holiday. Just get a bike with shaken valid through the duration of your stay here.