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! 
