My First Japanese Hospital Visit

I’ve heard quite a lot about the horrors of a Japanese hospital visit so I was a bit wary. I had to go there because of the mandatory check up that teachers have to do. Last month, I had to sign my name for a specific day since it’s one person per day. So fast-forward to last night when, in preparation for the hospital visit, I couldn’t eat anything after 9 pm. Not a problem. Next morning before I went, I couldn’t eat breakfast, smoke (not that I do anyway), drink tea (!), alcohol or milk. Not a problem. So I wake up a little earlier than normal since check-in is from 8am-9am, and head out to look for it. Let’s see if it’s easy to find since everyone told me it’s quite cut and dry so I should be able to find it….


No, it’s not. While I’m biking over there, I took a little turn because I saw people standing near their office, spraying the sidewalk and windows with some water. So I walk up to them and ask them where the hospital is. They point down the road they were facing and told me that’s the way to go. I thank them, find what I think is it then go in. They look at the paper I have and they let me know that this isn’t the place and since I got over here by taking a turn, I just need to go straight down that street without turning and I’ll find it. So I sigh, seeing as how I was led in the wrong direction, then I head off on the bike. I pass by the same guy that told me to go the way I came from and I told him that it was a no-go. He asks me what I was looking for and even though I already told him, I repeated that I’m looking for the hospital. He goes ”Oh you wanted the hospital! The hospital is down that way! You can’t miss it! The hospital!” -.- In any case, I don’t give him a hard time about seemingly not being able to read the paper that I showed him the first time then head there.

I biked for like 7 minutes or so…but… I’m not seeing the hospital that I’m looking for…I see a giant hospital now, but the kanji for the hospital I’m looking for is completely different, so the name is different. I go a little further and notice that the road splits so I’m like alright…it can’t be this far. So I turn back around and look at the giant hospital, I realize that I need more help. Luckily, a Japanese woman just happened to be walking by so I tell her what I’m looking for and she told me to park my bike because she’ll show me where to go. Yes! So I hurry back to her, (forget my bike key in the bike!!), since I don’t know if she has somewhere to go. In any case, she leads me to the big hospital that has a different name, but I don’t say anything since she’s Japanese and she lives here. She told me that she works at a different hospital nearby as a nurse. I ask her if it’s hard and she says it is. So it’s been like 30 minutes since I left the apartment and headed towards the hospital, she finally leads me inside….only for the receptionist to awkwardly say that this isn’t the hospital we’re looking for. Awkward. She was bragging and everything too lol, only for her to lead me to the wrong hospital. I figured it couldn’t have been the right one because it’s a different damn name.


So, afterwards I thank the other lady that helped me, then the receptionist from the hospital leads me to the back somewhere. I ask her if it’s just because the hospitals are connected she was like “it’s a completely different hospital.” Awkward. Then we go down a long flight of stairs, then to a long corridor that leads to the back of the hospital. We’re facing to hospital like places. She smiles and tells me that the building I want is on the left side, and I have to go to the second floor. What the hell, man. There is absolutely no way I could have known that the actual building I’m looking for is behind the biggest hospital ever -.-. Well in any case, I get in there to begin the hospital business.


Before I enter I have to take off my shoes and put slippers on. Not a problem. I walk up to the receptionist desk, they’re all shook because a foreigner just walked in and they don’t know if I know Japanese or not lol. You get used to that. So, I confirm that I’m in the right place, and she gives me a health questionnaire. It’s similar to the one you get when you’re about to give blood, seeing as how there were like 45 questions.

So after I answer those with some help, I hand in the paper, get a key and I was told to pick an outfit based on my height. I asked her what height do I look and she told me, so I got one and went in the changing room for women. Now, the outfits look like elaborate scrubs/pj’s for patients. No flimsy material with the ass out. None of that. An actual sleeved shirt that covers everything, and long pants. Not to mention I have slippers on so I feel quite comfortable. After I change I was immediately given a pee cup. Nothing different about that…except how they looked like regular cups that you’d drink water from lol, no top or anything, but it’s okay.

Afterwards I had a blood test….they didn’t use any gloves….I know what you’re thinking! “OMFG NO!” Right? Yeah…me too when I saw the lady just wash her hands thoroughly with soap, but not put on any gloves. They don’t use gloves for the dentist here either. Ewwwww lol. Yeah…I didn’t go to find that out; I was told that by someone who goes to the dentist here. Not my cup of tea. I take care of my teeth anyway so I’m making sure that I don’t have to go….it’s a hygiene thing, you know what I’m talking about?

After that it was pretty much just the standard business: height and weight check, eye sight, hearing, blood pressure, breast check (!), heart and that was about it. The strange thing about the eyesight test is that it’s not one with numbers and letters. It’s just the letter C in different directions. So you’d have an upside C, downside C, regular C and inverted C. I’m not sure if that’s a good indicator for eyesight, but they’re the professionals. Also with the hearing, there were only 4 beeps for you to hear; not the 7 or 8 or so in the states. I’m sure (hoping) they know what they’re doing. For the breast exam, I had to meet with this old man (!),get into a dark room, and hug this giant machine that was doing some check thing. I didn’t know that he wasn't in the room until he was talking to me from the PA system in a room next to the one I was in. I’m pretty sure they were using radiation to check them, but whatever…I’d rather Dr. Old Japanese Man not touch them anyway…real talk.

The order of the checks was kind of like those random games you play in school with stations. Everything was done in a different room, in a different part of the hospital. Like, I literally went around the floor in a circle once I completed everything. I started at the receptionist desk; I ended up adjacent to it when I was finished. It seemed like we were rounded up and called on like cattle. The waiting was about 5 or 6 minutes per “station,” and there were like 7 or so “stations.” It just seemed shorter to me because I would get nervous before each call lol, but I guess even that was all in my head since they were mainly women that knew what they were doing (yes!). Well in any case, that’s my experience; it’s quite different from what I’m used to, like can you imagine if they did it that way in the states? A doctor will go to see you, he’ll take your blood pressure, tell you to leave, and call on the next person and do that rotation until everyone is finished? No thanks.