hospital

I Get To Learn What a Japanese Hospital Is Like

Factorial , , , ,

I went to the hospital in Japan. Hooray for new experiences! Mom, I’m fine.

I was doing some squats a few nights ago—no weights, just down and up with my hands in front of me—and I guess I was doing them wrong because after I finished number thirty (the last one) my back sent a very angry letter of resignation to the rest of my entire body.

My back's message. Also, hello new readers!
My back delivers a message to my brain via the central nervous system. Also, hello new readers!

The next morning I hobbled to the hospital.

It looked like this on the outside and just getting there felt like a huge success so I took a picture.
It looked like this on the outside and just getting there felt like a huge success so I took a picture.

When the shift began, all the hospital staff lined up and greeted all the patients in unison with a “good morning,” a bow, some other Japanese I didn’t get, and another bow. That was pretty awesome.

The waiting room. On the left: a counter where everything you need from reception to billing to pharmacy are all lined up with number-taking systems. Very efficient. Upstairs: all the doctors.
The waiting room. On the left: a counter where everything you need from reception to billing to pharmacy are all lined up with number-taking systems. Very efficient. Upstairs: all the doctors, nurses, and technicians.

I had an x-ray, two consultations with a doctor, and blood work done. Then I got a week’s worth of two different kinds of pain medication plus about 50 disposable heat pads. The total bill was around ¥8600 (less than $80 USD). Americans reading this will be amazed. Anyone else will be wondering why I’m even mentioning it.

Anyway, may I never spend more than 2 minutes talking about my health problems, a genuinely boring topic, I know. But for what it’s worth, I had a visit to the hospital in Japan and as usual even the worst of experiences was better in every way here.