heads up for anyone trying to get a license in japan

ok, so just so everyone knows: i am trying to get my japanese driver's license.

this is possibly the most frustrating thing i have ever attempted.

would you like to know why? too bad, i'm telling you anyway. as you may be aware, i've been living in japan since late last march. my PA driver's license was due to expire in october. in PA, you can't renew your driver's license more than 5 months before it's due. no, i don't know why. it's an annoying, kinda silly rule. SOOOOO, since i was living in japan and wasn't about to go back to the states just to get a card made, i renewed my license online. hurray! できた。 however, when i began the excruciatingly long, unnecessarily complicated process for switching my international license for a japanese one, i found out something delightful-

japan doesn't believe me.

all the pieces of paper i have saying that my new expiration date is in 2014 do me no good, because i don't have a current piece of plastic. which, i might add, i can't get unless i go back to PA to get a photo taken. i'm waiting for a form to be sent to me so i can get a photoless license made, but knowing the sterling DMV turnaround time who knows when the hell that'll get here. after that, i've been assured, i can allow up to 21 days before they make it and send it to me. that's with 1 week mail time in between PA and japan.

then i can start all over again. first i have to send in all my paperwork (again) to be translated. then i wait. then i take my papers to gifu city (2.5 hours away), where they will only accept them between 3 and 4 pm, monday to friday. then i can make an appointment, if they can't think of anything else to complain about. then i can wait until they have time for me to take my test (written and driving), then drive back to gifu city to take it. this is usually scheduled at 8:30 in the morning. again, only monday-friday. if i don't pass, and most people don't on their first try, i have to wait until the NEXT MONTH before i can re-take it.

my international driver's license expires in late march. school starts up again in early april. i have to drive to work, which will be impossible since there is literally no way for me to get my license before then. perhaps i could cheat and drive without a license for a month, IF it was my car- but it's not. it belongs to my company. and they will take it back if i don't have a license. this means, due to the distance of the schools i will be teaching at next semester, that i will be getting up at approximately 4 or 5 am in order to be at work by 8:30.
hip hip hooray.

some days i feel as though i'm fueled by pure rage.