Job Discussion Forums

[Cactus Rob]

Hi all

My partner and I have just accepted positions with Interac (I know) starting early next year. We expect to be posted around Chiba.
Thinking about transport I started looking around the net for information on what sort of license was required to ride a scooter (less than 50cc) in Japan. Some places tell me an international driver's licence is fine, others that I need a special license in Japan.
Does anyone know for sure? I'd love to avoid any bureacratic hassles by getting a motorbike license in Australia before I leave if thats whats required.

One more thing. I'm not a short guy (a bit over 6 foot). Will I have problems finding a pushbike big enough to not make me look like a grasshopper?

Thanks
Rob

[Gouki]

[Cactus Rob]

Thanks Gouki

The more I learn about Japanese taxes and registrations, the lower my transport expectations get. At first I imagined myself in a second hand Skyline or a Supra. Then I thought maybe a kei car. Doing the maths on the shaken etc led to my interest in scooters. Your remark about the weather has me wondering whether I should just bring some comfortable shoes and an umbrella.

[easyasabc]

[Gouki]

Every where in the world, cars are waste of money and Japan's no different.

You have to pay for parking most of the time and that will cost you anywhere from 18,000 - 100,000 yen per month per parking spot (ie. your home and your work place if they don't have their own private parking).

Cars may be cheap, but keeping it is very expensive.

Kei cars are the way to go if you want to pay less for parking, petrol ($1.42 AU per litre), and tax such as Shakken.

[Smooth Operator]

I ride a 400cc bike here. Another option for you, but starting from 400cc you have to pay shakken (about 60,000 every two years). Those scooters are OK, but they are not the strongest and the brakes aren't great...

[easyasabc]

[Gouki]

[shmooj]

[SEndrigo]

[buffy]

don't forget the annual road tax as well as the bi-annual shaken.
Got to pay the road tax this week....66,500 for me.
Still the inaka roads and fun mountain passes make it worth it.....

[JimDunlop2]

I haven't seen so much misinformation in one thread for a long time! (Sorry... )

Scooters: No special license required other than a standard automobile license. International licenses? They're fine.. I know plenty of people riding around scooters and 50cc bikes with just that. BTW, when I got my scooter, nowhere along the line of getting insurance, license plate, etc did I EVER have to even produce any sort of license... Go figure. There IS such a thing as a scooter license, but I understand that's really only for those underage rich kids whose parents can afford the ghastly expense of letting their kids get the license and then buying them new scooters or motorbikes.

Motorbikes: Anything over 50cc requires a motorcycle license. There are several "grades" of motorbike license depending on how many cc you want to ride: I think there's one for 50-250, another for 400, and another that goes all the way up to 1300 or something like that...

Cars: International license = OK.... Cost=high. I'm sorry but whoever said that it isn't that expensive to have a car in Japan is either a) making a LOT more money than me b) has no idea c) has a strange definition of cheap. Now, Kei cars (yellow plate vehicles) are cheapER than your standard white plate cars, but either wat you're looking at some significant coin.....

I currently own a Nissan Vanette van -- it was a gift from a friend... I.e. free. But to keep it on the road and operational costs me approx. 20,000 yen a month. This is: road tax, insurance, shakken, gas, regular maint. costs, incidentals, parking -- calculated as an average monthly figure.... So you have to understand, that in a year, even if you got a FREE vehicle (if you go to a used car lot to buy one -- add that to your cost) you will pay approx. 240,000 yen (almost an Eikaiwa month's salary).

Not to discourage you, but if you'll just be making short trips, the scooters will be fine. No shakken, or special license, and the insurance is cheap.

Oh yeah, as far as size goes. Good luck, grasshopper. They're all pretty much the same size here. But I'm 6'0 myself, and find my scooter reasonably comfortable... No worries.

P.S. Don't waste time & money on a motorbike license in AUS. It's not a car license; it will be completely useless in Japan. All the ozzies here that I know ride motorbikes, and they ALL had to do the Japanese motorbike driving test..... (Cars are a different story).

P.P.S. Cost of a 50cc scooter: Anywhere from 30,000 up to 180,000. You can pick up a reasonable one for 40-60,000. Always add about 10,000 for insurance. My wife's Honda Tact cost 30, my Honda Dio was free (abandonned & broken... Contacted the owner -- he gave it to me -- I fixed it -- runs nicely)... Cost of a 50cc motorbike: cheapest I've seen: about 85,000.

[SEndrigo]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the detailed reply!

If you get a scooter that is over 50cc, does it then require a shakken or road tax, etc?

From what I understand, if you need to go downtown from the suburbs, a 50cc scooter is not good enough....is this right?

[JimDunlop2]

I believe you only start to pay those after 400cc BUT that's one thing I cannot tell you from personal experience so I don't know -- I will ask my AUS friends and get back to you.

As far as riding a 50cc scooter form the suburbs to downtown.... Ummm... How "suburb" do you mean?? Do you mean from Hachioji to Shinjuku (for example)? Also, what do you mean by "good enough"? DO you mean speed? comfort? mechanical capability of the bike? human endurance?

Umm... Let me answer that question like this: most 50cc vehicles here have a top speed of 60km/h. On most local roads the top speed limit will be 40-50km/h. (Although everyone speeds). Also, anything smaller than 50cc is not allowed on toll roads & expressways/highways...

One advantage you have on a scooter OR motorbike is that you can whiteline and you will most likely catch up to the traffic that passes you at the next traffic light (they don't seem to believe in synchronizing lights in this darn country). So even if you ARE travelling a fair bit slower on a scooter than in a car, I can almost guarantee you won't be far behind the traffic -- especially around rush hour.... (Which in some parts of Tokyo starts at 7-8am and ends at about 10pm).

Having said these things, if I lived in Tokyo, I probably would have little need for anything over 50cc -- but that is purely your choice of preference.... What you CAN do with a small scooter or bike (meaning 50cc or less) is only limited by your own definition of what's reasonable. I took a day trip with my wife (we both took our scooters) from Kofu to Minobu (2.5h car trip 3h by scooter -- one way).... Whereas my friend drove across two prefectures from Kofu (Yamanashi) all the way to the Sea of Japan in Niigata... He left early in the morning (about 7) and arrived at the coast about 4pm.

Cheers!

[SEndrigo]