Where To Get A Flu Shot In Tokyo

I used to get a flu shot every year, but I've avoided them since moving to Tokyo. I had a great list of reasons:

1. I hate needles. What do you mean, that's not a good enough excuse?

2. National Insurance (which is awesome, by the way) doesn't cover flu shots! How infuriating! I'm scandalized, obviously I should give up now.

3. In Japan most of the flu shots offered seem to require two doses, rather than the single one I'm used to in the US. You're trying to tell me I not only have to get the courage up to get a shot twice, I also have to pay twice? Forget it!

The only problem is that this year I'm BFFs with a baby. And he puts everything in his mouth. Sometimes he even likes to put things in my mouth. I really didn't want him to give me the flu. And if I caught it and infected him, I'd feel even worse. So, it was time to find a solution - and luckily Raku did all the research for me.

Primary Care Tokyo in Shimokitazawa is THE place to get a flu shot. We all went and got them last Saturday and I can't say enough good things about the place.

Dr. Kurosu speaks English, is very kind, and gives nearly painless shots. He also offers the vaccine that only requires one dose, it only costs 3500 yen, and he doesn't charge any sort of new patient visit fees on top of that. I honestly couldn't believe that he did the whole consultation and administered the shots himself instead of having a nurse do it. I can't remember the last time I got a shot from an actual doctor. Oh, and it was incredibly fast. We spent more time filling out the one piece of paperwork than getting the shots, and they let us do that second which meant less time to panic! (I'm looking at you, Hep A vaccine that kept me waiting/panicking for over an hour.)

If you need a flu shot, or an English speaking doctor who accepts national insurance I highly highly recommend this place!

My baby BBF! (Isn't snapchat with babies amazing?!?)

Primary Care Tokyo - on the 3rd floor

It's easy to miss

Primary Care Tokyo
Hours: M-F 9:00-12:30, 2:30-6:00, Sat 9:00-12:30
Phone: 03-5432-7177
Location: 2-1-16 Kitazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo (3rd Floor, Urbanity Building)
Map

Ibuprofen in Japan

It's funny how many things I still have to learn about living in Tokyo. Up until a couple days ago I thought that ibuprofen wasn't available in Japan. But this past weekend when a friend was visiting I mentioned that I had a headache while we were out shopping, and just like that she popped into a drug store and bought me a box of ibuprofen.

It comes under the brand name Eve A, though there was also a generic in the store which I didn't have the presence of mind to take a picture of - I'll try to remedy that soon. Eve A contains a mixture of ibuprofen and caffeine. I find that a lot of Japanese medicines contain caffeine, possibly to perk you up, but also because caffeine speeds up the metabolism, resulting in the medication being absorbed faster. My friend said that Eve A is meant for treating cramps, but that lots of men and women take it for hangovers (particularly appreciating the caffeine) or other aches and pains. A dose is 2 pills, and a box that cost less than 600 yen (under $5) contains 60 pills.

Contains ibuprofen and caffeine

We've known each other since high school

Where to Get Travel Vaccines in Tokyo

Preparing for our upcoming trip to Cambodia and Vietnam, John and I realized that we needed to update our vaccines. We both needed a Typhoid vaccine, and I needed a Hepatitis A vaccine as well. It turned out to be sort of complicated and expensive, and I contacted a lot of clinics in the process, so I thought I'd share the information I gathered in hopes that it will be useful to other people.

For starters, Japanese National Insurance doesn't cover optional vaccines, and travel vaccines fall into that category, so you'll probably be paying out of pocket. Additionally, Japan doesn't produce a Typhoid vaccine and most Japanese people never get this vaccine even when they travel. If you want this vaccine you will have to find a clinic that imports it, and as far as I can tell Tokyo is the only city in Japan where it is available. 

Hepatitis A is also complicated. In the US (and in Europe as far as I can tell) Hepatitis A requires one vaccine for a year of immunity, and then a booster that will increase immunity for 10+ years. In Japan is is a 3 shot series, generally I think you can travel after the second vaccine and conclude the series later. I was unable to find any information on how the Japanese vaccine interacts with US vaccine.

John ended up getting his at Hiroo Garden Clinic and I got mine at IZ Travel Clinic. The good news is that we both thought these were the most painless shots we'd ever received. They must give some really great training here!

These are the prices for the vaccines that I was quoted at different clinics.

Hiroo Garden Clinic
Typhoid: 10,000 yen
Hep A (Japanese): 10,000 yen (x 3)
Consultation Fee: 3,240 yen, Only charged for a true consultation - they will waive this fee if you receive the vaccines on the same day.

IZ Travel in Shinagawa
Combination Hep A (American)  & Typhoid: 23,750 yen
Consultation Fee: 2,950 yen

King Clinic in Shibuya
Hep A (American): 17,1000 yen
Typhoid: 9,500 yen
Consultation Fee: 4,000 yen

Midtown Clinic
Hep A (Japanese): 8,240 yen (x 3)
Typhoid: 10,800 yen
Consultation Fee: 5,400 yen

Tokyo Medical Clinic
Hep A (Japanese): 10, 260 yen (x 3)
Hep A (American): 15,000 yen
Typhoid: 12,420 yen
New patient consultation fee: 12,000 yen

Getting Glasses in Japan

Did you know that it's much less expensive to buy glasses in Japan than it is in the US? Even though I knew glasses were very inexpensive in Korea, I never even wondered about getting any here because I'm such a dedicated contacts wearer. 

But when my sister's glasses broke just before her visit she did a little research and discovered it would be an excellent opportunity for her to get new glasses. (She found this and this to be particularly helpful blog posts.) And it's totally doable without speaking a word of Japanese! While they prices aren't as incredible as Korea they are phenomenal compared to what we are used to paying. After considering Megane Super, Zoff, and Jins my sister decided she liked the styles at Jins best, so off we went.

Jins has many locations, but we went to the one in Harajuku because they have a large selection as well as English speakers on staff. All the frames on display have price tags, and this price includes the cost of an eye exam and regular lenses. You have the option of paying extra to upgrade to tinted lenses, PC lenses, or sunglass lenses. When I saw how much fun Julie was having and how low the prices were I decided to jump on the bandwagon, and got a pair as well. My last pair is probably ten years old, and terribly out of style.

The process is very simple. After you select a the frames you want, give them to the cashier. They will give you a slip of paper telling you your appointment time, and if you are wearing contacts a case for you to put your lenses in. Our appointments were scheduled for 20 minutes later, so we browsed in some nearby shops before returning. The eye test was surprisingly quick. First you look into a machine that tests you for astigmatism and then read an eye chart with a optician. I read from a hirigana eye chart, but if you don't read any Japanese they have another chart of circles with one side missing. You just tell them (or point to) the direction. Once they've determined your prescription they will put test lenses in a contraption for you to try out. Don't hesitate to tweak the prescription if it's not quite right. Once that is done you pay, and then they put the lenses in your frames. My appointment was at 4:40, and I was already finished paying at 4:49. They told us it would take 30 minutes to put the lenses in, but finished and brought them to us much more quickly. As I was checking out they told me that they will replace the lenses up to twice for free if the prescription isn't correct. 

In the end, my pair cost 5900 yen, or about $50. Julie got a more expensive pair and paid an additional 4000 yen (about $32) to get the special lenses for looking at computer screens.

The funniest part of this whole experience is that there was a camera crew filming inside the store while we were there, and they became very interested in us. In the end we did a little interview with Raku acting as translator and they filmed us trying on lots of frames. We have no idea if this was for a TV show, a commercial, or something else, but it was a lot of fun.

Doing the Eye Test

Plenty of Selection

Super Stylish!

We're So Famous!

Jins Harajuku

Hours: 11:00-10:00 Mon-Sun

Phone: 03-6418-6212

Location: 6-12-17 Harajuku, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Map

Going to the Doctor in Tokyo

Confession. I'm scared of the doctor. The idea of seeing a doctor here in Japan scares me even more. I've been really lucky to be so healthy while we've been living here, but today I finally had to go to see one.

I was worried about being able to communicate, which seems important in a medical situation, especially being allergic to some antibiotics. I wanted to be able to see an English speaking doctor, but I also wanted to be able to use my national health insurance. A lot of the fancier English clinics only take private insurance.

Tokyo Midtown Medical Center has English speaking doctors, takes walk-ins, accepts national insurance, and is affiliated with Johns Hopkins. Exactly what I was looking for! The clinic is on the 6th floor of Midtown Tower in Roppongi. It's clean, friendly, and professional, and I was very happy with their service. The receptionists, doctors, and even the pharmacists on the same floor all speak English. Within an hour I was able to complete the paperwork, see a doctor, and fill my prescription. I'm still in shock over how affordable it was too. With the national insurance the doctor visit cost 1370 yen and the antibiotic was 770 yen. That's a total of $18.44 at today's exchange rate. 

I still hope I don't need to go to the doctor again any time soon, but I feel so much better just knowing that this clinic exists. If you're looking for English speaking doctors in Tokyo that accept national insurance I highly recommend Tokyo Midtown Medical Center.

Tokyo Midtown Medical Center
Hours: M-F 9:00-7:00, Sat 9:00-12:00, closed Sundays and holidays, Walk-ins Welcome
Phone: 03-5413-7911
Address: 9-7-1, 6F Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Map

Visiting a Japanese Dermatologist

Since coming to Japan John and I have both had some flare-ups with our complexions. I don't know if it's from stress, or differences in the water, or adjusting to a climate that swings from incredibly humid to incredibly dry. I've spent a lot of time trying to find good face wash that would help, which I've detailed here, but I recently read a little about dermatologists here and was really excited by what I found. I told John about it, and we went to one today.  He did the test run, but I may go myself in a few weeks.

In the US I have always thought of going to the dermatologist mostly as a luxury, though they do treat a lot of real conditions too. I certainly never wanted to spend the money just to go for acne. But here it was supposed to be very common to go for acne treatment and very easy, affordable, and covered by national health insurance. I talked to John about it and he found a place in Hiroo, The Hiroo Garden Clinic, that took national health insurance and spoke English.

We were surprised to learn that we could just walk in rather than needing an appointment. When we got there it was pretty crowded, but they saw people very quickly. Both the receptionists and the doctor spoke English and John was also able to fill out all the paperwork in English. The actually appointment probably took less than 5 minutes, which startled John, but it was very efficient. He was given a prescription for an oral antibiotic as well as a topical antibiotic and an acne cream and asked to come back in a week to see how it was working. The total for the visit was 1020 yen (about $10).  We then went to the pharmacy which was just downstair and next door where John was also able to fill out his paperwork in English. It took about 10 minutes for them to be filled, and each one was labeled with dosage instructions in English.  The total for the two creams and a week's worth of oral antibiotics was 1500 yen (about $15).

The clinic is about a 10 minute walk from Hiroo station. It was very clean and pleasant inside and I would definitely recommend it. While we waited we got to watch Toy Story dubbed in Japanese.  Neither of us has spent much time in Hiroo, but the walk to the clinic was very pleasant and the neighborhood seemed really nice. There were lots of cafes and shops that would be nice to visit before or after a doctor's appointment.

Hiroo Garden Clinic
Hours: M-W, F 10:00-1:00 & 3:00-6:00, Sat 10:00-1:00, Closed Thurs, Sun, and holidays
Phone: 03-6427-9198
Address: 7-14-7 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Map

Bear Hug Massage

Over the weekend John and I went to get massages at Bear Hug, one of the most common massage chains I see all over Tokyo. We've both had massages in the US, but this was our first time in Japan.

Bear Hug Massage

At Bear Hug you don't need to schedule and appointment, you can just walk in.  After filling out a form (luckily John could read it) we were each taken back to a massage cubicle.  I say cubicle because the walls didn't go up to the ceiling and I could hear the masseuse next door walking around and talking to John.

The Cubicle

 The biggest surprise for me was the outfit we were each given to wear. I'm used to being told to strip down to my underwear if not being complete nude for a massage, but we were each given a pair of  baggy athletic pants and shirt (red for me, blue for John). At the time I wondered if it was just because my massage was given by a man, but later in the massage there was a part where I sat up and he did some stretches on my arms that no one would do naked.

The Outfit

All in all, it was a pretty strange experience.  It seemed to be expected that the masseuse would never touch my actual skin, so on top of the outfit I was covered in a blanket, and the massage was given through both.  For the most part this was fine (though the constant readjusting of the blanket was distracting), but he did a scalp and face massage, and it was super weird and unpleasant to have my whole head wrapped up in a blanket.  I think he and I were both a little nervous because I didn't speak Japanese, so the whole process wasn't relaxing at all.  I think I left more stressed out that when I came in, and spent most of the massage just wishing it was over.

John on the other hand had a great time.  He said his massage was wonderful - really intense, almost to the point of painful, but that his muscles felt great afterwards (and still do).   He'll probably go back.  I won't.

Socialized Medicine (by John)

Just this week I had a physical performed at a Japanese health clinic. They drew my blood, gave me an EKG, did a chest X-Ray, and checked my vision - all at zero cost to me. 

Every year in Japan employers pay for a yearly physical for any of their employees that elect to do so. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to subject myself to such a battery of tests, but since it was free and a friend of mine had been diagnosed with cancer during a similar test I thought it was the prudent thing to do. 

My physical was scheduled for last Wednesday at 2pm. I decided to show up a little early, but it turned out that the office was closed for lunch until 2:00. When I returned at 2:01, however, the office was open and there were already three people waiting for their appointments. 

As a precursor to this physical I was required to collect and bring with me my own urine sample. I was provided with a test tube and a small cup for home use. The instruction instructed me to fold the cup using a certain origami fold (really) to facilitate the transfer of the liquid from the cup to the test tube. 

I had requested that the tests and consultation take place in English, but it turned out that was not going to happen so I stood in line at the receptionist desk going through the possible phrases that I could use to communicate that I was here for my yearly physical and not for any specific ailment. 

Before I had made it to the front of the line a nurse approached me and asked if I was a lawyer. I said yes and handed her my packet of information and was instructed to wait in a chair. 

I was then directed to a small room where I changed into a pastel colored shirt that I suppose was meant to make it easy for the nurse to take my blood/measurements/heart beat etc. 

What followed was the list of tests that I listed above with the addition of a blood pressure measurement and a measurement of my height, weight, and waist size. It seems the waist size measurement is specifically engineered to discourage obesity. In the questionnaire that I filled out prior to my physical I was also asked if I had gained more than 20 pounds (1.6 stone) since age 20 - I've only gained 18 - and whether I had gained 7 pounds in the last year. 

There were very few honest to God walls in this clinic. Most of the testing areas were separated by curtains which were whisked open and closed as I was directed from one testing machine to the next. 

After the nurse had completed all my tests I met with the doctor for approximately 5 minutes. In these five minutes the doctor reviewed my test results (the X-Ray was already displayed on her computer screen) and I was asked if anything was troubling me. I said no and then she told me I was finished.  In a few days I should receive a full written report on the results from my tests.

From start to finish the procedure took 40 minutes including the initial wait.