As an update, I’m somewhere between happy and proud to announce that I passed my medium-sized motorcycle test on Sunday, meaning I can now ride manual motorbikes up to 400cc engine capacity.

All it took was 18 hours of lessons, which somehow I ended up doing in three weeks. Six hours a week, plus commuting time. It seemed like a good idea at the time to get it out of the way, but coming up to my test I felt like I was living in the waiting area.

To fill in the gaps, I used the Koyama Driving School at Futakotamagawa as they have quite a few English capable instructors, and I wasn’t sure how quickly my brain would do a translation of “You’re going to die if you don’t brake” or similar. As it was, with the exception of the aptitude test, I could’ve probably managed the Japanese course, but hey, I took the easy route for a change.

All that remains is to take my pass certificate to the government automobile office at Samezu, and I can buy a new bike. Oh yes, and I need to save some cash too. Right now, I have my eye on a CB400 Super Four.