My husband and I have been planning to go to Japan for a very long time. We’re supposed to leave in 10 days. Recently my husband has been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter which at times can get to the point where he’s had to go to emergency (still recent, happened a couple of times, and still figuring out right medication/dosage). Cardiologists have told us it’s not dangerous and that it’s still okay to go to Japan. However, we are both anxious and nervous about something happening in Japan and there being a possible language barrier at a hospital. We were planning on going to Tokyo, Hakone (just 1 night), Kyoto, and Osaka. Any information or experiences people can share about health care/hospitals in Japan?
4 comments
Buy adequate Travel Medical Insurance. Get a list of local English-speaking hospitals/specialists that work with your TMI provider.
I would recommend mapping out where you would go in an emergency well ahead of time. I mean in a true emergency you can always just call 119, but know the Japanese medical terms for your husband’s condition. Finding English information about hospitals can be very frustrating, and Japanese people speak wayyy less English than you would think
Bring a health summary from your family doctor with you.
One of the most frustrating and time consuming things when dealing with patients that don’t speak your language is speaking through a translator that usually doesn’t have a healthcare background. It’s easier running a written summary through Google translate. A lot of medical literature is written in English so there’s a chance the doctor is better in understanding written English than spoken.
Also, bring your medications in their original packaging. One of the few things even more frustrating than the above are patients who show me a stack of loose pills and expect me to figure out what they’re taking.
In all those cities you can find international hospitals so I recommend listing them beforehand so that you have an address to go to. Depending on your embassy they can usually also provide a list of x-language speaking doctors and specialists in the major cities. Have a good trip!