The Kanagawa Driver's License Center at Futamatagawa, in Yokohama's Asahi ward, is where most of the prefecture's on-road tests happen — and where many foreign residents sit the practical exam when converting a licence that Japan won't exchange directly. The centre doesn't publish routes and the examiner chooses on the day, but SteerClear's practice routes from Futamatagawa show which roads the test area is built from.
What the Futamatagawa practice routes have in common
SteerClear has 10 practice routes that start and finish at the centre. A typical one covers about 8.4 km in 28 minutes — a short, dense drive. Just over half the distance is at 30 km/h and a third at 40 km/h: this is a slow, precise test of procedure on narrow suburban roads, not a test of speed.
Roads that come up most
- 厚木街道 — on 10 of 10 routes
- Old Atsugi Kaido — on 9 of 10 routes
- Suido Michi — on 5 of 10 routes
- 試験場通り — on 3 of 10 routes
- 訓練校通り — on 3 of 10 routes
- 旧厚木街道 (Old Atsugi Kaido) — on 2 of 10 routes
What each road asks of you
Atsugi Kaido (厚木街道) is on every route — the main road past the centre, with buses, signals and right turns across oncoming traffic that must be timed to a real gap. Old Atsugi Kaido is narrower and older, with parked cars, cyclists and blind side streets. Suido Michi (水道道) runs straight and long through residential blocks: this is where the 30 km/h discipline is tested, because the road invites 40. Shikenjo-dori (試験場通り) is the road into the centre itself — the first and last minutes of your test.
The Japanese test manners that decide it
Examiners here score procedure as much as driving. The habits that pass: a full stop, wheels not turning, at every stop sign (一時停止) and before every railway crossing; a visible turn of the head for mirror and shoulder checks before moving off, changing lane or turning; hugging the left kerb before a left turn so no bike can pass on the inside; and slow, deliberate speed on the 30 km/h streets. Candidates converting a licence from a country with faster, looser habits fail on these, not on car control.
How the test runs at Futamatagawa
If you are converting a foreign licence, you will already have passed the eyesight and written checks; the skills test is booked separately and is where most applicants fail at least once — see our post on Japan’s foreign licence conversion pass rates. The examiner sits beside you, gives directions in Japanese, and marks a deduction sheet: you start with 100 points and must finish with 70 or more, and certain errors — failing to stop at a stop sign, mounting a kerb, a dangerous act — end the test on the spot. Instructions are simple and repetitive: 右に曲がって (turn right), 左に曲がって (turn left), まっすぐ (straight on), 停止してください (please stop). Learn them cold.
The faults that cost most here
For applicants from countries with faster, looser driving habits the deductions cluster on four things: an incomplete stop at 一時停止 signs, no visible head turn for the mirror and shoulder checks, not hugging the left kerb before a left turn, and speed on the 30 km/h streets. None is difficult; all are habits, and the only way to acquire them in time is to drive the roads above with someone calling out every missed check.
A practice plan for the final two weeks
- Drive Atsugi Kaido in both directions and practise the right turns across traffic.
- Do a Suido Michi session holding exactly 30 km/h.
- Rehearse the stop-sign procedure until the full stop and the head turn are automatic.
- Practise the left-turn kerb-hug on Old Atsugi Kaido with cyclists about.
- Finish with a scored mock drive at test speed.
Practise the Futamatagawa roads
Our Kanagawa Driver's License Center page lists the roads that come up most and the speed-limit mix, and SteerClear scores every practice drive live. Taking a driving exam abroad in a language you are still learning? Our guide to driving exam routes covers what to expect, and what the Japanese practical test involves is here.