The Invincible Japanese Driver on Chinese Roads

Hello, you little cuties!
My graduation trip is coming to an end, so I finally have some time to write something for you.

I’ve been to Taiwan and drove around the island. It was quite an adventure, and I’ll share my experience in upcoming posts.

After Taiwan, I returned to southern China with a Japanese friend. My hometown there is a small city, but everyone rides motorcycles — the whole town turns into a lawless area during rush hours 😅

After years, China is still the final stop to test one’s driving skill. That is why Tesla is rolling their final test of FSD in China right now. You have to conquer the road in China before you can call yourself an “international” driver.

Let’s see how he can handle all this and become a true invincible driver😁👍🏻.

(I tried to finish this post in the 12th of March, but I was too busy and sick to get any further😩)

Contents

• Introduction of Japanese Driver
• Chinese Paperwork Preparation
• Chinese Road Challenge

Introduction of Japanese Driver

As everyone knows, most Japanese drivers are “paper drivers,” meaning they only have a driving license that’s basically just a piece of paper scrap. They rarely touch a steering wheel more than once a year😁.

In fact, it would be perfectly safe to revoke every other Japanese person’s driving license without actually affecting anyone’s daily life😁.

The irony is that Japan, despite being such a car-fvcking country, has the most famous car industry and one of the most internationally recognized driving licenses and IDPs😤💢!

Just kidding! Actually, this Japanese friend of mine is a certified (by me) motorcycle gang member. Although he’s still getting used to four wheels, he has excellent road sense and traffic awareness.

As a proof, this photo shows that we were overtaken by invincible cyclists during our motorcycle trip to Kyoto😅.

Because of a strange contract between JP and TW, IDP will not work in each other country. For him to drive in Taiwan, he had got his Japanese driving license translated into Chinese, which is issued by JAF, a JP organization. The fee is around $30😱. However, you can also translate it after you arrived in TW, and the fee is only $3😁.

You cannot believe this piece of garbage paper costs $30! How dare you fvcking JAF!

And finally…

😁👍🏻

By the way, I don’t have to show my garbage Japanese driving license to the car rental company in TW, because my Hong Kong license is directly recognized 🤪.

It took him 2 days to get used to the motorcycles in TW, they are basically lawless for a Japanese driver😅.

Chinese Paperwork Preparation

Neither the IDP nor the Taiwanese translation works in China. If you search for “foreign driving license in China” online, half the results suggest getting a temporary driving license, while the other half strongly advise DO NOT DRIVE AT ALL🤣 due to China’s invincible roads.

Obviously, we are invincible, so there is the only choice. If you search further about how to get a temporary license, you will find many results are originated from a few pieces of information, which suggested that you can get one just at Shanghai/Shenzhen airport. For example, you must see this post:

They tell you to get a certificated translation of your foreign license before filing the application, which seems to be the most troublesome part. Also, we were not going to Shanghai or Shenzhen, for smaller cities like my hometown, there is little information available.

But it is OK, because most information about China services are only available in WeChat platform. I searched for the WeChat account of the local DMV, and I called them on phone to ask if they can issue a temporary license for a foreigner.

To my surprise, they told us to come directly to their office, where they provide translation services for $8 and can issue a temporary license for just $2.

So we went to their office:

They offered translation service:

It wrote: we cooperate with a certificated translation company, you can choose by your own will. (but actually there is only one company😁

While waiting for the translation, we were directed to another room for a road safety lecture. It consisted of 30 minutes of road accident videos, and we weren’t allowed to use our phones. At the end, we watched newbie drivers take a safety pledge, which was quite funny:

We got a stamp for finishing the lecture.

We went back to the office while they are busily registering new driver’s information. It seems that they did not have many foreign drivers there, so the lady officer asked us: “How do you decided your Chinese name?”😁

I said: “It is just his Japanese name with Chinese characters.”😁

Finally, we got the temporary license. It is vaild for 3 months because the Japanese guy is only a short term visitor.

Chinese Road Challenge

It took him a full week 😅 to observe my driving on Chinese streets and get accustomed to the crazy motorbikes before he felt confident enough to take the wheel himself.

Regarding traffic conditions, larger cities typically have stricter law enforcement (I mean, more cameras📸) and better driving manner. Drivers in smaller places tend to honk everywhere and perform more… let’s say, adventurous operations😨.

This is a photo of traffic signs taken in a small town, which is showing the inferior management levels compared to larger cities:

1. No parking: you don’t have to explain this sign by words,,,
2. No honking: It is just up side down, so it means “honking is allowed”😁
3. Speed limit: 30 km/h, it is OK
4. Caution for school: it is OK

Signs in larger cities are more likely to follow international conventions.

Now that my friend has successfully driven in China, he’s ready to drive anywhere in the world. He’s truly become an invincible driver😁👍🏻.

Good luck, my friend!