Head spinning and temperature rising, I stumbled into the nearest drugstore in Tokyo. Luckily, they’re as ubiquitous as vending machines because this was my first time getting sick in Japan.
When I pulled out my phone to check online for recommended medicine, I realized I had already run out of data for that month. Flailing around, I tried my best to explain how terrible I was feeling to the poor shop attendant who earnestly tried to listen to what the disheveled girl at the counter was trying to tell him.
In the end, I was able to use my few remaining brain cells to conjure up some kanji I remembered studying in Japanese language class. Stay in school, kids.
In the end, I was able to use my few remaining brain cells to conjure up some kanji I remembered studying in Japanese language class. Stay in school, kids.
One of the scariest things that can happen to you when you live abroad for the first time is getting sick and not having any medicine on you. Finding the right kind of medicine with only a limited grasp of Japanese is like playing a scary video game like Resident Evil on expert mode. In the dark. With one hand behind your back!
Lesson learned—bring medicine from your home country with you when moving to Japan. If you do run out of your old reliables, use this chart that lays out the most basic terminology for Japanese medicine.
| English | Japanese | Romaji |
| Pharmacy | 薬局 | yakkyoku |
| Cold medicine | かぜ薬 | kazegusuri |
| Runny nose | 鼻みず | hanamizu |
| Sore throat | のどの痛み | nodonoitami |
| Fever | 熱 | netsu |
| Cough suppressant | せき止め | sekidome |
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