Japanese Driver's License

I need to vent a bit, so here it comes.

At the moment I'm driving a car in Japan using a translation of my Belgian driver's license. Using this translation I'm allowed to drive a car for 1 year. After that I'll have to use a real Japanese license.

So some weeks ago I went to the administration that can change my license. If you have a Belgian license you can just switch it to a Japanese without any exams or tests. You only need to proof that you have been in Belgium for 3 months after obtaining the driver's license.

No problem it seems... I got a nice document from the local authorities in Belgium stating that I had lived in Belgium all my life till departing for Japan (lived in Belgium full-time for approximately 10 years after obtaining my license).

However...

The clerk at the license center in Japan refused to accept this document. I got a new travel passport before going to Japan (got passport somewhere in February). And based on the issue date of the passport and my entrance date in Japan... I haven't been in Belgium for 3 months. Unfortunately I don't have my old passport anymore, so I cannot use that to proof that I really was in Belgium for more than 3 months after obtaining my driver's license and before going to Japan.

No problem I thought, let's just ask my embassy to write a document stating that I really really was in Belgium for more than 3 months.

After a week a received this document and faxed it to the license center. Again they refuse to accept the document. Now they're saying they need a document that states from day to day (for a period of 3 months) that I was in Belgium. Like for example a time registration card from a previous job in Belgium. Hmmm.... Only time card I ever used was a digital one and I don't have printouts for that. >< According to the clerk rental contracts stating a start and end date are not sufficient to proof that I was in Belgium. Same goes for my university diploma, etc ...

At the moment of writing the license center is in contact with my embassy trying to sort things out.

In my opinion this situation is rather ridiculous. I obviously lived in Belgium for a long time... Why not accept it?

I can only hope that this get sorted out. I need my driver's license for my job. According to the clerk I would have to start from zero if I cannot prove I was in Belgium for more than 3 months after obtaining the license. But I really don't have enough time to get a license from zero.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope I'll get a positive answer soon.

Will keep you updated.

Wow, it's the 28th of September already. Time really is flying by. And it's been 3 weeks since my last blog post. Mainly because there's nothing really special to write about. ^^

Been going to work on weekdays and just relaxing at home during the weekends. Saturday is my homemade spaghetti day. ^^

Last Sunday Kazumi and I went to a BBQ in Hirafu (Niseko Cycling Week BBQ). The weather was great. It has become a lot colder since then.

First snow was seen on top of Mount Yotei last week. Not long before this place will become a winter wonder land. My first winter in Hokkaido. I'm looking forward to it. Kazumi on the other hand isn't a big fan of all the snow. Well... I've never experienced the gigantic amounts of snow of Kutchan before, so I'll have to wait and see.

I also started playing FFXI again. So if you're playing on Phoenix server... say hi to Feisei. ^^

Lunatic Asylum

Old skool rave from Lunatic Asylum. This stuff is great.

Lunatic Asylum Live - Nostromo 1993 - Part I
Uploaded by DrMacabre

Lunatic Asylum Live - Nostromo 1993 - Part II
Uploaded by DrMacabre

倶知安

I wanted to show my readers what Kutchan looks like, so I made 2 short video clips while going shopping today. Enjoy~

Going from home to the local supermarket:


Going back home:


As you can see from the video clips Kutchan is a rather small and quiet town. This will change during the winter season though.