In a couple of days I will be flying to Japan to do the Shikoku Henro pilgrimage trail. The planning is to do the main part walking with occassional parts by bus or train to gain some time and have an extra rest day. Kobo Daishi, the monk who was the founder of this trail, walked the whole way in his time, but it isn’t a requirement to walk all of it. It’s more important to take time of self-reflection.
Japan is a mountanous region so for a SOTA-activator this is paradise. I had to get my guest-license and think about which gear to bring because the route goes past a few SOTA-summits.
The Netherlands has no reciprocal agreement with Japan so I had to apply for the guest license. At the end of November 2024 I put in my first attempt. Information about the application can be found on the JARL website via the link Application procedures for foreign amateur radio licensees to establish a station in Japan.
When HAREC was introduced, the Dutch A & C-license automatically became a HAREC F-license (full license). However the paperwork I sent mentions TR61-01. The HAREC license is TR61-02. So I had to request a certificate from our RDI to prove I have a HAREC-F license. The form can be found at Aanvraagformulier certificaat amateurexamen radiozendamateurs and the price is €91,35 (as of March 2025). When this was sent to the JARL representative, the application went forward.
First the radio had to be approved. I wanted to bring my Elecraft KX2, but the radio has 60m and doesn’t adhere to the Japanese bandplan which has some gaps. I asked in the Elecraft discussion-group on groups.io what to do, and was told I had to send it to the factory to get the firmware flashed and certified for Japan, and upon returning send it again to reflash it to Europe. I didn’t want to run the risk the KX2 might get lost in transition, so thought about buying an Elecraft KH1. This is a really lovely radio, however in my opinion, after import-taxes, the price vs capabilities aren’t justifiable for me. Second-hand they are impossible to get.
Another option I thought of was the QRP-Labs QMX+. It ticks all the boxes, However reading all the problems folks had, I decided that this was too risky for me to have the radio quit functioning where I have no means to repair it.
So I had a look for other options and found an Elecraft KX1 for sale in Germany for a fair price and bought it. This will do the trick. It is light, has 4 bands which are probably the most used, and my favourites as well, for SOTA, 80-40-30-20m, And it has the magnificent Elecraft-tuner which can tune even a paperclip for 80 meters (just kidding on that, but you get the idea).
So the paperwork was filled in about the radio I intended to bring, and the JARD could process the radio’s approval.
After the radio was certified, the JARL representative procedeed with the application for the actual license. Since I am going on a holiday, I will get a short-term guest license. The application was timed to be ready close to the time I am travelling to Japan, in case there are delays. Today I received the e-mail that my application was granted and that I have the call JL1EFV.
All in all it took me about 3.5 months to receive my guest-license. It is category 1AM, which means I can use a it mobile with up to 50W up till 70cm (lower power levels for the bands above 70cm).
I will try and throw in some SOTA-summits and participate in the A1Club events (my member number is #4150) and hope to be able to make it to their yearly party in Tokyo. Since the KX1 is CW only, that means I will only operate on CW with the KX1, 20m wire and a bamatech BMT3 key. And I also visit the JARL to pick-up the actual paperwork when in Tokyo.
Next week I will run a final test of all the gear before packing it. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Well, CU ON THE BANDS.
73, Martin, JL1EFV