Chicken Heart

I obtained my Japanese driver's license this week. Big deal, right?
Actually here it is. The process of getting a license as a foreigner is
long and painful with many hoops to jump through. It actually takes a
minimum of two full days of your time - that's if everything goes
perfectly.

The first day (about two weeks ago) was spent taking the written test.
Well actually it was spent in line and waiting for 99% of the day. The
other 1% was actually taking the test. As part of the day one process
you have to show proof of a prior license and answer lots of questions -
did you ever have a ticket, where did you learn to drive, etc. Another
part of the process is that the check how many days you were in your
home country after your license was issued. You have to show 365 days.
This is a problem for many of us frequent travelers. In my case my NY
license was issues last year when we moved to Corning. We only lived
there one year, and I spent a good part of that traveling. The guy went
through my passport stamp by stamp and then pulled out his calculator,
After 15 minutes he sucked air through his teeth and proclaimed that I
only had 260 days. That means beginner's license! If you have a BL here
it means you put a special sticker on your car and you also have less
points on your license - they use a points system here where you lose
points for violations. I tried to explain that I had a license since
1989 but he wasn't listening. He had his rules. Luckily between day 1
and day 2 I was able to get a copy of my NC license so all is well. I
then took the written test and passed it.

Day two is the worst day - the driving test. This is the day that
everyone dreads. There is a lot of hype and folklore around the driving
test, including a lot of stuff on the internet. They hype is that
"nobody passes on their first time", "they purposely fail foreigners",
...... The driving test is really nuts - it 5% how well you can drive
and 95% jumping through hoops. There is a specific sequence of events
for getting in the car, there is a specific part of the lane you should
drive in, there is a specific sequence of mirror checking you need to do
before making a turn, etc. Mess any of those up and you fail. Luckily I
had the benefit of having many friends taking the test before me, so I
was well prepared. I knew what to expect but was still nervous. There
were 12 people with me taking the test that day, and only 3 of us were
there for the first time. The rest had failed before. The guy in front
of me was on his fourth try.

Again day 2 was 95% waiting and only 5% taking the test. Before you take
the test there are many things that you need to do. One is watching an
instructional video. Even thought it is in Japanese you need to pay
attention. I was told they are watching you to see if you pay attention.
If you are not, they don't think you are taking it seriously. You also
need to walk the course before the test. I did it three times. I was
also told they watch to see if you are walking it, another sign of if
you are taking this seriously. See - many hoops to jump through. I also
wore a tie for the big event - this was another tip from a friend of
mine.

Much of the folklore also deals with the actual examiners. They are
cold, calculating, and don't like forefingers. I got in my car for the
test (after doing all he required pre-flight checks) and the guy looked
at me and said something in Japanese. He said it again while pointing as
his chest and staring at me. I thought for sure I had done something
wrong and I would be coming back for another day. I told him "sumimasen,
wakarimasen" (excuse me, I don't understand). This time in English he
pointed at his chest and said "Chicken Heart?". He was asking me the
equivalent of if I was a scaredy cat, I guess. I laughed and told him
"no, Lion heart". He laughed and we got on with the test. He was
purposely cracking a joke to make me relax.

The test went great, I only got dinged for not being careful enough when
I exited the car. Of the 12 of us there that day, 5 passed. The
interpreter that was with me said that is the highest she has ever seen
it. They must have had an end of month quota to meet. I am now
officially licenses to drive.

Shiraishi Island Getaway

We just returned from a great little 3 day weekend getaway in Shiraishi Island. Its a great little island on the inland Sea of Japan. The island itself only has about 700 residents and is accessible only by ferry. We stayed in an International Villa which is a great little house that is reserved exclusively for use by foreigners. It was built by the local government to attract more tourism (and money) to the island. I found a great Washington Post article from 2005 that does a great job describing the island and the Villa.

We traveled with two other couples, one of them had been to the Villa before. There are two other rooms at the place - the first night there was a couple from Germany and a guy who was traveling from Denmark. The neat thing about the Villa is that you all have your own room, but the bathrooms, kitchen, and living area are all common. This means you see a lot of the other House guests (not like a hotel). The second night the Germans had left and a couple from Pennsylvania arrived. On both nights we had a huge feast and shared it with all the house guests. Its a great way to travel.

The island is in a very rural area, it was nice to get out of the city. Below is a picture of the ferry that gave us the ~ 20 minute ride from the mainland to the island.

The next couple photos are of the beach/sea below where we stayed. It was a nice location. We spent our time mainly on the beach or in the mountains hiking. We also spent a lot of time in the Villa eating, drinking, and playing lots of games.

The island had some great hiking. We got chance to give our new "Sean Backpack" a workout. The kid LOVED it. Tracy also did a great job on a pretty strenuous hike.

Here is a great group photo.