International Driving Permit Arrived Quicker Than I Expected

Here I was, thinking it might take a week or two for the license to come in. As soon as I stepped into the CAA/SAAQ outlet, a kind woman served me immediately and told me I needed to have the pictures taken at a Jean-Coutu (which was next door, thankfully). Without wasting any time, I went next door and got the pictures taken (waited about ten minutes to have them developed). As I type this, I haven’t shaven in a few days, so the photograph definitely makes me look like a shady character. Hopefully the Japanese police won’t stop me.

Once the pictures were taken, I went back to CAA only to be greeted with a huge lineup. Fortunately, the service was fairly quick, and it only resulted in me waiting in line for about ten minutes or so. This time, another woman greeted me, and told me to fill out a short document. “Where are you headed?” she asked me while I was busy filling out the form. “Japan” I responded, with a smile across my face.

While I waited for the woman to finish her side of the paperwork, I asked her how long it would take for me to receive the international license. The woman, laughing, handed me this little booklet and said “this is it”. I was hoping the permit would fit in my wallet.

The total cost of getting the license was 25.00$. The permit was 15$ while taking two pictures at Jean-Coutu was 10$. The website said it would be 20$, so perhaps going in to the CAA to save 5$ is not that bad. Total time taken to obtain the permit from start to finish was about half an hour.

So far, I am the only one out of the group to have the license. Hinjew messaged me a few minutes ago and mentioned that he’s getting a haircut before going for his. The main driver of the trip, Thundergod, hasn’t gotten his yet. I have a feeling he’s going to forget. 🙂