I went to renew my Japanese driving license and was rewarded with a gold license!
What’s a gold license?
A gold license is given out to people who don’t have any points on their current driving license. From what I’ve heard, this is an achievement usually limited to “paper” drivers - those who have a license but never actually drive! The card itself looks the same as a standard blue license except the color of the stripe through the middle is… yeah, you guessed it… gold.
The biggest difference is that I don’t have to renew it for five years as opposed to the standard three. I’m also eligible for a SD (Safe Driver) card which gets me discounts at various hotels, hot springs, car rental places and gold courses (!) around Japan.
For once I was able to hold my head high as I walked around the driving center, knowing that by Japanese standards, I was one of the best in the building! 
I better wrap this up by touching wood, and lots of it. It’s almost a given that after writing about my lifelong, unblemished driving record, I go out and get pulled over tomorrow! 
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Congratulations you driving otaku you!
Oooooohh Aaaaaaahhh lol Gratz Nick! I didn’t know they existed. I’d have an Australian one if they had them but for the speeding points I got because of hubby driving my car and I paid the ticket for him before going through to have them change the driver - I didn’t know!
Congratulations Nick, I am proud of you. Just make sure you continue to take care especilaay with that precious little cargo you now carry ariund with you.
Good job Nick! Sadly, I think that I will never drive a car in Japan. I love to go fast too much and I cannot adjust to driving on the other side of the road!
I want to have a Gold License and I’m sure the cops made a mistake pulling me over all those times for speeding. God all I was doing was showing them my driving skills and can’t help but think they got it wrong!!!!
Congrats! You are safety driver!
It seems that all of my tickets were concentrated in the 1-year period that I started driving regularly in Japan. I got enough of them that I even had a suspension (it’s really interesting to get a suspension; you get to spend all day getting re-educated down at the driving license centre), but haven’t had a problem since then. Most of the tickets were for things that I honestly didn’t know were illegal.
Motorcycle riders can get a “good rider” sticker for their bike by going to a 1-day course that the cops offer… I’ve always planned to do it, but I don’t know what perks come from having that sticker.
hehehe.
I had to read this post when I saw the title to see if the license is actually printed gold. Just a stripe, eh? oh well, it is still great. I bet you are having fun showing that baby off.
Congratulations, Nick, on your coveted (by me) gold licence. Did you have to go through the silly seminar with the man from the ministry and the patronising video? Or was it all red carpets and ermine windcheaters?
All the gold in the world won’t get me out of that silly seminar, and the video was a let down - far fewer accidents this year.