Let me start off by saying Japans healthcare system is a big 10/10.
My wife had a bad allergic reaction, terrible cramps, vomit, diarrhea, and shaking, from soba today in Kamakura. I walked her to a nearby pharmacy to see if they could help and they sent us to a doctor across the street. He and his assistant checked her out and gave her a steroid shot… after 15min he told me that he suggest we call an ambulance. I know they’re free but naturally that moment terrified us. I could tell my wife needed more help so they arrived shortly and were super helpful the whole ride, it was interesting using translation apps the entire ride to talk to them and answer questions. Then we get to the ER and the doctors and nurses were extremely nice and helpful. They gave my wife IV and did bloodwork to confirm the soba (buckwheat) allergy.
They had a translator who was with us most of the time and even explained how everything was going to work. He basically held our hand each step of the way. The total bill for ALL of this was $230 USD, I couldn’t believe how cheap it was.
To the pharmacy workers, the doctor/nurse, the Kamakura amubulance, and to the doctors/nurse/translator at shonan Kamakura general hospital, and Japans overall health care system I can’t thank you enough!!
They turned our terrifying afternoon into a night of laughing about the whole situation. I wish the US had 1/4 the quality I experience here in Japan.
My lesson to anyone reading this would be to not hesitate to call an ambulance in Japan.
24 comments
> I know they’re free but naturally that moment terrified us.
As someone living in the EU I still, to this day, can not comprehend this mentality. How expensive must it be to call an ambulance to be terrified by something that’s supposed to save you… So unreal.
Sorry this situation happened to you OP and happy your wife’s doing OK ! Take care
How unfortunate to discover a buckwheat allergy in Japan, this is my worst nightmare!
I remember your comment/question in the big thread! I’m so glad everything is okay and you took an ambulance.
I’ve actually had to go to the hospital by ambulance to the hospital several times in Japan (yay!) and have always had a good experience (well, you know…).
I passed out recently at my gym (common occurrence for me unfortunately). Gym staff was super helpful and attentive, hit my head but was overall fine and ready to go on with my day. They kept saying we are calling an ambulance and I had to scream at them not to for fear of costs. Lol. US healthcare blows even with awesome insurance. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been rebilled for shit I’ve already paid. Need a phd in medical billing to survive
230$?? over here that would be like thousands 😮
Had a near identical allergy situation with my wife in Tokyo. I got travel insurance so I wasn’t too worried but just a little concerned I’d go over my credit limit once we got to $10,000+ from an ambulance ride & ER. We got excellent caring, translations, found the allergy problem. I was so shocked to get $230 bill instead. It really does put our system to shame in the US.
US healthcare is such a joke
I just realized it’s probably a good idea to test some possible allergens before you go on a trip to a foreign country. Obviously not possible for all foods but now I’m imagining all the new stuff I tried while I was in Japan where I had no idea what was in it.
Glad it worked out well for you.
$230? How? Did you guys have insurance?
Japan is goated
God I miss the healthcare in Japan! Glad your wife is ok.
Glad to hear things worked out for you. Beyond the unusual stories of visitors not receiving appropriate service, I can’t fathom anything less than stellar from Japan.
Good to hear as someone with a seafood allergy visiting Japan in a few months!
The USA medical system is the most expensive with the lowest heath out comes in the world.
Government funded medical care is the cheapest way. It is market pressure at its maximum.
We were in Sapporo in 2019 when my mom felt pain in her chest and tightness in her shoulder. I googled what medical office was nearby. We walked in to a doctor’s office and they saw us after a short wait. The doctor wrote my mom a referral letter to the ER. The doctor was suspecting angina (not heart attack). So we took a taxi to the hospital and got situated. The service was impeccable with no crazy or messy waiting room. My mom was called in, did an x-ray, echocardiogram, ekg, labs, and I believe a CT to be sure. It turned out to be a simple heart burn lol. Anyways, while I was waiting for my mom. The nurse placed my son (7 at the time) and I in the waiting room with beverages and snacks. They even played a cartoon and brought coloring books for my son. I don’t want to say I enjoyed the wait but their service was awesome. They seem very caring. Unfortunately, they speak a little English but good enough to get by. We paid at the lobby and they called a taxi for us. The total was 693 USD for all these scans and lab work. In the US, this would’ve been a 5-7k visit.
Should rename the title to, “my experience of healthcare not in the USA”. This is normal for a lot of us. Glad you got to experience it.
I broke my ankle/leg while traveling on business in Tokyo 4 years ago. Couldn’t walk,of course. Taxi took me to hotel. Hotel got me an ambulance. X-rays, cast, crutches, professional translator on iPad screen, mild pain reliever. About $470 total. I was so relieved.
Got back to US , surgery required, more than $20k!
I am a physician in the US. Our healthcare system is collapsing. Reading stories like this give me hope… but healthcare in the US is wildly profitable for some people (insurance companies and their shareholders) so they will continue sucking the middle class poor and dry.
Cannot wait to get out. A few more years and I can… Japan sounds like a nice place to be.
Wow, glad she is ok and sounds like if you’re going to have a medical emergency, Japan is a good place to do it. That was a good idea to ask at the pharmacy since obviously they’d know where to get help too. That is good to know for future reference.
My dad had a stroke and took and ambulance to the hospital here in NY and stayed there for 10 days. Our total bill came out to 100k. You can go to the social service/finance dept and theyll give you an application to vastly reduce your bill. It is however a lot of work and a lot of phone calls. Imagine someone who just had a stroke trying to do that once they got home.
Luckily i was around and able to resolve that for them. It took about 7-8 months of calling, sending in paper work proving my parents income and they sent us a reduced bill. Also event hough we went and stayed at one hospital you get bills from like 5 different companies, which is confusing and frustrsting as you have to send in a that paperwork to each company that work in that one hospital my dad stayed at. In the end we paid about 5-6 thousand cash as my dad wasnt old enough for medicare at the time and couldnt afford a 700 dollar a month health insurance plan. He made too much to get approved the cheap insurance but not enough to actually afford a plan that covered basic things. So frustrating!!!!!
This is why I can’t afford to move back to the U.S. it’s even cheaper when you have national insurance.
How nervous were they giving you the bill and bracing you for how expensive it was going to be? lol
North America could take a lot of notes from this system, hell even some European countries systems. But nope, it won’t. Why? Money rules over all, that’s why.
My daughter recently had a similar experience last month in Japan. While on a bike trip, she fell, injuring her knee which required stitches for closure. The total ER bill was $250 US. In the US, the bill would have easily been 10x that much.