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Hey, first, thanks for the thread Nyororin! It's very interesting browsing through the info here. :)
I'm curious about the differences between the large cities (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya etc), and smaller places. I'm going to Kanazawa for a year in April (graduate exchange year), and I spent 08-09 in Tokyo as an undergraduate student, so my experiences with Japan was quite urban, except for travelling around in vacations. How do you think a smaller place is to live in? (Some hundreds of thousands in Kanazawa) |
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Google"卒業アルバム 大学" |
There are some US universities that do the yearbook thing for its graduating class, they're just rare. My father got one for the college he attended back in the 70s.
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I decided to ask this here too, just in case it got missed in the other thread regarding medication in Japan.
Should one bring over a copy of his/her medical chart focusing on the medications one take or just some chart in general? Should it have the technical name? Does anyone know where I can even look up the names of my medications, and what their equivalents would be in Japanese to save up on the trouble? I'm looking over the form for the Yakkan Shoumei and how it has to be mailed in. It mentioned the "post" and how one of the things needed when submitting for one is a Return Envelope with Japanese Postal Stamps. Does anyone know if it's acceptable to use something faster like UPS or FedEx? I wanted to overnight this using that since I know it'll take at least a week for them to send it back. I also wanted to do that since I won't be able to send out anything until tomorrow afternoon since that was the earliest I could see an actual doctor and I already told them of my situation and they were cool with it. I'm supposed to leave March 28, I'm scared I might not get the Yakkan Shoumei back in time. Does anyone know what happens if this is the case? Can medication just get shipped over or is there a rule or law to doing something like that? So, when one does get the Yakkan Shoumei back, and then head over, I just show it to customs when going through my baggage? I wanted to bring at least a 6-month supply of my medications with me since I'm not sure when the insurance will start up right away. Edit: Oh yeah, I was just wondering about something else that might can get me around having to fill out the Yakkan Shoumei form. Could I get a year's worth of refills for my medications, take a month's supply over of my prescription medications (as that's the minimum I would be allowed to take into the country anyway), and then just have it filled by my family here at home and then mailed to me every month? Is there any law against doing it that way? |
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You may have less luck if you try to get your family to ship your meds, customs is hit and miss, but they will certainly be interested in any pills they find in the mail. You are better off not having your family mail your meds here, in Japan you are not "innocent until proven guilty", rather the other way around. Bring a year's supply with you, with your proper prescription forms and treatment records. Getting your meds in Japan should be easy, clinics and hospitals here are very free with prescribing drugs for even simple things like colds. Never in my life have I seen a doctor when I've caught a cold, but in Japan is is common practice. |
That's something to think about. I guess I'll try the online clinic thing or ask the doctor I'm seeing later on about that. Like I mentioned earlier, I really don't think I'll have time to do that Yakkan Shoumei since I'd have to wait to do it.
I actually contacted the place I'm being hired through, and they were looking up the medications I take and how it "clearly states that the second two medications are available in Japan" and that "the first one is not listed but other medications with similar use are". I'm still trying to figure out what to do, though. I only have 11 days left before I have to head over there. So, bottom line is that what I should bring with me, since I don't feel there's enough time to fill out and send in the Yakkan Shoumei [as they already said it may take 2 weeks at the most] are: Written prescriptions to use once over there (I'm assuming) Bring a copy of my medical history highlighting these particular medications Bring proper medical forms [which would be what?] Sorry if I'm showing my ignorance here. I just want to make sure all of this is in order. Ironically, this is what's holding me up. The thing that should be the simplest. I just found out this past weekend that I have to be in Tokyo by the 29th. |
Your medical insurance will kick in here as soon as you go to the local town hall and fill out the forms. You don`t need to worry about when you`ll have insurance.
You will have no income from the previous year to base the payments on, so there is nothing you will need to present to enter national health insurance other than your foreigner registration card - something else you will need to apply for right away. And you are legally required to enter the health plan, so will likely be encouraged to do so immediately when you apply for or pick up your card. I do not know what medications you require, so can`t comment on how difficult they would be to obtain - but unless it`s something of a highly guarded nature (pain killers, sleeping pills, ADHD medications, ie. things likely to be abused) you should be able to bring over a minimal amount (30 days, or about) without paperwork and then get a prescription inside Japan with little difficulty. If it IS something that is very tightly controlled AND unavailable in Japan, then you really should have started working on this a lot earlier... In experience with others - it seems that bringing something from your doctor listing your condition and the medication regimen you are on, having that verified by a doctor here (medical check) will almost immediately get you the same prescription in Japan. Bringing over your medical history is really almost a waste of time and effort (unless you have a very very rare condition that no one will have ever heard of) because they will still insist on doing an exam and confirming it. My aunt was even able to get pain medication for her chronic back pain on a tourist visit by going to the doctor and showing him the pills she had brought with her (although only a minimal amount to cover the days that had been unplanned for because of a flight cancellation). It would have been best if you`d arranged to bring over all the medication you need much earlier on, but I don`t think you`ll need to worry about insurance and getting a prescription inside Japan. |
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You should be able to present your current medication plan to a doctor and have them continue it and monitor you properly to change anything if necessary. Diabetes isn`t uncommon at all in Japan. Quote:
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