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Medicine and Healthcare Children’s Education Interpretation and Translation for Daily Life English-Speaking Resources

Transportation

Basic information regarding driving licenses; owning and using automobiles, motorbikes, and bicycles; rules of the road; and traffic accidents.
CLAIR　 http://www.clair.or.jp/tagengorev/en/n/index.html 　

Kyoto City Bus and Subway

■Kyoto City Bus and Subway
Downloadable information regarding city buses, riding the subway, cheap tickets, and city bus route maps.
http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/access/transport.html　（English）
http://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/kotsu/　（Japanese）

■JR Odekake Net (JR is the company which runs the shinkansen lines as well as the subway, and they can take you anywhere in Japan)
・Search routes, timetables, and fees by entering a starting and ending station.
http://www.jr-odekake.net/　（Japanese）
-JR ticket types and rail passes
http://www.westjr.co.jp/english/travel-information/　(English, Chinese and Korean at the bottom left)

■The Jorudan
The Jorudan site allows English searches of routes and fares.
http://www.jorudan.co.jp/English/　（English）

■Hankyu lines (going from Kyoto towards Osaka and Kobe)
http://rail.hankyu.co.jp/　（Japanese、English、Chinese、Korean）

■Keihan lines (from Kyoto towards Osaka and Shiga)
http://www.keihan.co.jp/　（Japanese、English）

■Randen train (surface train that runs through Kyoto city)
Downloadable Randen tourist map
http://randen.keifuku.co.jp/railmap/index.html (Japanese, English, Korean, and Chinese)

■Kintetsu lines (from Kyoto towards Nara and Osaka)
http://www.kintetsu.co.jp/　(Japanese、English)

■Eizan Cable Car and Ropeway　
http://www.keifuku.co.jp/cablecar/index.html　（Japanese）

■Kitakinki Tango Railway (trains that run in the north of Kyoto Prefecture)
Take Kitakinki to Ama-no-hashidate, one of Japan’s three most scenic spots
http://www.ktr-tetsudo.jp/

Driving Licenses

For information regarding driving licenses and rules of the road:
CLAIR　http://www.clair.or.jp/tagengorev/en/n/index.html

■In order to drive in Japan, you need one of the following kinds of driver licenses:
1) Japanese driving license

a)Getting a Japanese driving license in Kyoto Prefecture
The practical test must be taken in Japanese, but the written test may be taken in English. If you would like to take the test in English, please inform the person in charge after you arrive.

b)Switching to Japanese driver’s license for people who have licenses issued by their own countries
You must take the practical and written examinations. In addition to preparing other documents, you also must have the license from your home country translated into Japanese (it must be translated by an agency approved by Japanese law). Licenses from some countries can be switched to a Japanese license without a practical or written test.

Foreign-language traffic instruction book
“Rules of the Road,” an instructional book which clearly explains the traffic rules in Japan, has been published by JAF.
http://www.jaf.or.jp/e/road.htm　（JAF）

For inquiries regarding driving licenses:
Kyoto Prefectural Police Headquarters Driving Test Department
Dates and times: Monday to Friday, 8:30-10:00 and 13:00-14:00
TEL       075-631-5181
Location: Kyoto City, Fushimi-ku, hazukashifurukawa-cho 647
Access information: http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/fukei/foreign/menkyo/access/index.html

2) An International Driving License from a country that is a signatory to the Convention on Road Traffic (Geneva 1949)

3) A license issued by one of the following five countries or one region:
・Italy
・Switzerland
・Germany
・France
・Belgium
・Taiwan
However, the license must be officially translated into Japanese (by a translator who can create law-certified translations).
http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/fukei/foreign/s_men1/gaimen/unten.html (Kyoto Prefectural Police）

Organizations that can provide you with an official translation are: foreign government agencies, consulates, and the JAF (Japanese Automobile Federation)

<JAF>
-You can download the instructions and application for number (1-b) in several languages (Japanese, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai)
http://www.jaf.or.jp/inter/translation/index.htm
-You can download the application for number (3) in Japanese, English, French, German, Italian, and Chinese)
http://www.jaf.or.jp/inter/translation/specific.htm
English page
http://www.jaf.or.jp/e/switch.htm

JAF Kyoto Branch
TEL 075-682-6000　 5 Kamitoba Omizo Minami-ku Kyoto City,601-8134
JAF Kyoto Branch Karasuma Street Office
TEL 075-212-1100　418 Horimatsu-machi, Karasuma Marutamachi sagaru, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto City, 602-8021

<List of foreign embassies in Japan (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)>
http://www.mofa.go.jp/about/emb_cons/over/index.html

<The Taiwanese Economic and Cultural Representative Office is also recognized>
http://www.taiwanembassy.org/JP/mp.asp?mp=202

Access to Kansai International Airport

Kansai International Airport　　http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/access/index.html
（Japanese, English, Korean,Chinese, and Traditional Chinese）