Should I self-medicate or try harder looking for a doctor (for HRT) while in rural Japan. (I currently live in Oita)

I am an MtF transgender person pre-HRT who wants to start taking HRT and have a letter of approval from my doctor back at my home country.

I went through my university counselor and we had quite a few sessions but nothing much fruitful turned out from it, and even tried calling a bunch of hospitals and all the gender clinics I have talked to will not accept me unless I already have been a patient at that hospital. All of my options seem to point to the fact that, even if i find a psychologist that is willing to see me, I would have to pay the full price as it is not covered under National Health Insurance. On top of that, the closest clinics that I have found (that rejected me) are in Fukuoka which is a 2\~3 hour bus ride away from where I am from.

Can anyone who has experienced this shine some light on the process of applying for HRT in Japan as a foreigner? I was also wondering about the legality of self-medication in Japan.

Thank you very much.

4 comments
  1. Nobody should self medicate. Especially for something like this. This isn’t something to be 50% on. Either you do it the correct way, or you’ll run the risk of getting screwed up beyond repair. You’re worth the extra effort.

  2. There’s a group on Facebook called Stonewall Japan that has a number of post about HRT. I’d suggest checking it out over there if you haven’t already.

  3. I was trans before coming here and while I don’t have experience on getting on HRT while here, I can confirm that getting estrogen here is possible and legal. If you’re interested I can tell you where via PM.

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