Prescription Medicine in Japan, in English
Unwell during your trip, or left your regular medication at home? Talk to a Japanese doctor by video in English. Our partner pharmacy delivers the medicine to your hotel, or you can use a pharmacy near you.
This is a self-pay (private) service.
Consultations and medication arranged through this English online service are not covered by Japanese public health insurance, and travel insurance is not billed directly. You pay the full amount yourself. We can issue an itemised receipt and a medical certificate in English so that you can claim from your own insurer afterwards.
Before you book: our approach for international visitors
Our online consultations for visitors are mainly intended to help you continue the medication you use at home while you are in Japan. We prescribe after reviewing an official document from your home country, such as a prescription (this does not apply if you become unwell during your trip), and we prescribe the amount you need for your stay in Japan. Please read our approach before booking.
When This Helps
Getting medical care in Japan as a visitor is difficult: clinics rarely speak English, walk-in waits are long, and pharmacies cannot dispense prescription medicine without a Japanese prescription. This service exists for exactly those situations.
😷 Cold, sore throat, fever
Fever, cough, sore throat or a chest infection that is not improving. We can prescribe antipyretics, cough and phlegm medicine, and antibiotics where clinically appropriate.
🤢 Stomach trouble
Traveller's diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain or acid reflux. Anti-diarrhoeal, anti-nausea, antispasmodic and acid-reducing medication.
🤧 Allergy and hay fever
Japan's cedar pollen season (February to April) catches many visitors by surprise. Antihistamine tablets, nasal spray and eye drops.
🤕 Migraine
If you ran out of your triptan or your usual medicine is not available in Japan, we can prescribe an alternative.
💊 Medication you forgot or lost
This is the most common request. Blood-pressure, cholesterol, thyroid, diabetes and similar daily medication. To continue medication from your home country, please have an official document such as a prescription or a prescription record from your home country ready (see our approach).
🏔 Altitude sickness
Climbing Mount Fuji or hiking in the Japan Alps? Acetazolamide can be prescribed for prevention. Please book a few days before you climb.
🧴 Skin problems
Rashes, insect bites, athlete's foot, minor skin infections and dry skin. Topical steroids, antifungal and antibiotic ointments.
😴 Jet lag and sleep
For jet lag or difficulty sleeping, we may prescribe a melatonin-receptor agonist (ramelteon) or an orexin-receptor antagonist (suvorexant, lemborexant) after consultation. These are not controlled substances in Japan.
We do not prescribe narcotics, or benzodiazepine and “Z-drug” sleeping pills (zolpidem, zopiclone, eszopiclone), which are classified as psychotropic drugs under Japanese law.
How It Works
- 1
Book a time slot
Choose "Something else" under "Other prescription medicines", tell us what you need, choose the pharmacy (our partner pharmacy or a pharmacy near you), and choose WhatsApp or LINE for contact. A ¥1,000 booking fee is charged at reservation and credited against your final bill.
- 2
Send us a short message
After booking, send us a short message on WhatsApp or LINE with your confirmation number so that we can reach you. Use whichever app you already have. Questions before booking? Message us anytime. We do not make phone calls — all contact is by chat.
- 3
Video consultation in English
Join Google Meet at your appointment time. Around 10 to 15 minutes. Please have your passport ready for the first visit.
- 4
We send your prescription to the pharmacy
If you chose our partner pharmacy, Hanaseru Pharmacy in Tokyo, we send your prescription to them. They send you a link by email or WhatsApp, an English-speaking pharmacist explains the medication in a short online session, and you register a card for payment.
If you chose a pharmacy near you, we fax the prescription to that pharmacy and send the original by post. We cannot guarantee that the pharmacy can help you in English. Please check with the pharmacy before your consultation (how to check).
- 5
Receiving your medicine
Our partner pharmacy ships the medicine to your address in Japan. For a hotel, write the hotel name, your room number and your name, and check with your hotel that the front desk can accept a package for you. Express delivery, and same-day delivery in the Tokyo area, are available for an additional fee. If you use a pharmacy near you, ask them when you can collect the medicine.
What It Costs
There are two separate payments: our consultation fee, and what you pay the pharmacy for the medicine. The pharmacy fees below are for our partner pharmacy, Hanaseru Pharmacy. If you use a pharmacy near you, that pharmacy's own fees apply.
| Paid to the clinic | |
|---|---|
| Consultation fee — first visit | JPY 11,000 |
| Consultation fee — follow-up | JPY 5,500 |
| Booking fee (credited against the above) | JPY 1,000 |
| Paid to the pharmacy (Hanaseru Pharmacy) | |
| English support fee (each prescription, tax included) | JPY 7,000 |
| Dispensing fee (one medicine) | About JPY 1,500–2,140 |
| Medicine | Varies by medicine |
| Delivery of tablets (usually Nekopos) | JPY 230 |
| Express delivery | From JPY 1,500 |
| Same-day delivery (Tokyo area) | From JPY 2,200 |
The consultation fee includes an English medical certificate if you need one for travel or insurance. For one kind of low-cost tablet, the total paid to the pharmacy is about JPY 8,800 to 10,400 with Nekopos delivery, if your session with the pharmacist ends on a weekday before 19:00 (for example, a blood pressure tablet for 30 days: about JPY 9,670). Extra fees apply for evenings (from 19:00), Saturday afternoons, Sundays and public holidays, and newer medicines cost considerably more. See the pharmacy's fees in detail. All amounts include consumption tax. The pharmacy confirms the exact figure before shipping.
Good to Know
- Consultations are conducted in English by Dr. Ikegawa. He understands English well and speaks it with some hesitation — we appreciate your patience.
- We cannot prescribe narcotics or psychotropic drugs.
- A prescription is never guaranteed by request alone. The doctor decides what is medically appropriate.
- Medication can only be delivered to an address in Japan. We cannot ship abroad.
- This service is not for emergencies. If you are seriously unwell, call 119 for an ambulance in Japan.
- Rules on carrying medication out of Japan vary by country. Keep the medicine in its original packaging and carry your receipt and certificate.