I’m a Norwegian national who arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday this week. This is my first time in Asia ever and the flight was the longest I’ve ever been on by a great margin. When I arrived I was utterly exhausted. A combination of jetlag, exhaustion, limited food intake and culture shock caused me to have a panic attack that left me anxious and debilitated the first two days. The anxiety did eventually subside, but right when I recovered from the anxiety and shock of coming to a very foreign country where I feel lost and overwhelmed, I developed symptoms indicative of a respiratory infection. I think it’s the flu, or it could potentially be covid. Luckily I’m here with my colleagues so that they can help me out, but I’m really not sure what to do at this point. I feel like my symptoms warrant medical attention, but I’m apprehensive about engaging with the health care system here because I fear the language barrier, and I’m so depleted of energy at the moment that a language barrier is the last thing I want to deal with. For the record, I speak essentially no Japanese.
My symptoms are: headache, muscle aches, fatigue, sore throat, cough, chest pain, strained breathing. I feel extremely drained and even a short walk makes me exhausted. I started getting symptoms roughly 18 hours ago.
Has anyone here been in a similar situation? What are your experiences with the health care system here as a non-Japanese-speaking foreigner? If this gets serious and I call the emergency hotline, can I expect there to be English speakers who can assist me?
Btw, I’m staying at a hotel in the Shinjuku area.
Any input would be greatly appreciated. It really sucks to be this sick so far away from home.
I’ve contacted my insurance company and I’m in a dialog with them, but they are a bit slow to respond.
by MaxSvett