Yodoyabashi Medical Clinics

Thank you SO much to the kind doctor and staff at this clinic. A 61 year old on a 3 week holiday in Japan, I had tell-tale signs of a urinary tract infection and had tried a local over the counter medicine for 2 days but it made no difference. I knew I needed antibiotics. From arriving at the opening time, to having my urine tested (yes, high white blood cell count) to seeing the delightful doctor who spoke good English, to being prescribed AND given a course of antibiotics, to settling my account, took only 50 minutes. The front desk staff do not speak much English but there are standard forms to fill out which help them to appropriately assist you. Yes it was expensive at 39000 yen (including my medication) but when you're sick, you're sick, and I can claim it back on my travel insurance. I would have paid whatever it took to make sure I could continue to enjoy my holiday. I was feeling pretty poorly. Thank you so much - it was such an easy and pleasant experience to visit this clinic.

Overcharged and lied to. Had to make another doctors appt after this visit to start all over again for the same issue. I was sent here by my hotel for pain in calf after intl flight. Hotel's concierge made appt for me same day and told me it would be 40k yen to which I agreed. I was sent to see Dr. Tenaka, a urologist who spoke excellent English. Doctor diagnosed with an ultrasound a small blood clot behind a knee that developed after an 11 hr flight. DVT (deep vein thrombosis) can be a serious medical condition. He prescribed an anti-coagulant and compression socks. When I asked where to get the medical grade compression socks Doctor told me to ask the concierge at the hotel to locate the medical grade compression socks that go above the knee and to get them right away. He said, "they will be able to get it to the hotel no problem." He even wrote in his medical note how important it was to get medical grade compression socks. I spent 2 days trying to find medical grade compressions socks in Japan's second largest city of 14million people (could not get by mail fast enough). Finally was explained by the hotel mgr that you can only get it prescribed after seeing a specialist doctor. There are no medical supply stores open to the public in Japan. While the 4x overcharges are not great and caused the hotel staff to gasp after showing them receipt, this doctor only saw dollar signs when a tourist needed help. He nor clinic returned my requests for additional info and help. Go elsewhere.

Got the appointment here through my international travel/health insurance. Staff were friendly and explained everything. Doctor was patient and explained everything in detail in very good English. Treatment was on highest level. Didn’t have to pay anything because of insurance (don’t unterstand all the negative reviews of people complaining about paying for stuff if seemingly just coming in without insurance).

The doctor was amazing, but the receptionist forced me to pay 11,000円 just for a paper in English even though I kept telling her I don't need interpretation and I can manage in Japanese. She acted like she didn't understand what I said even though I clearly said I don't need interpretation. I went to the clinic because I had lost my voice due to cough. Make sure you take someone who speaks Japanese in case you don't speak the language.

This place takes advantage of foreigners. Even if you are recident but you don't speak Japanese fluently, they charge you ¥10.000 to just give you a paper in english. There are other places that don't do this, so don't let this clinic fool you. They are scamming foreigners.

Great doctor speaks fluently English. Can do x-Rays and influenza testing. On a walk in basis. Was really happy that I found this place. Don’t go 30 min before closing as they send you away.

Great place to go if you are a foreigner in the Osaka area. I was here on a trip and fell ill. I walked into this clinic at open (10AM) and walked out with the antibiotics I needed by 11AM. The doctor speaks great English and is very polite. The staff does not speak English but thanks to a series of premade forms and QR codes they have prepared in English the whole process is very streamlined and painless. Just be sure to bring your passport. I paid $400 as I do not have Japanese health insurance but it’s a price I would gladly pay for this peace of mind.

I had a great experience at this clinic as a tourist. I had been sick for over a week, and had already seen a different doctor elsewhere, but the prescriptions were not helping. The internal medicine consult was quick & easy as a walk-in, the staff was friendly, and the doctor spoke very good English. He was very kind and worked hard to understand my situation. There was an additional fee (for foreigners only, I believe), but they tell you this up front and I was okay with the cost. Lastly, they kindly emailed me my bill a few days later once I had gotten home and realized I lost the physical copy. Thank you for the great experience!

I've been in Osaka two months. This was the first time I got sick. I went to Yodoyabashi Medical Clinic for a very sore throat. I thought it might be strep. I was so pleased to find a young man on staff who spoke English and handed me a form to fill out in English. The doctor that saw me spoke English as well. (I have been working on Japanese very hard, but medical terms I don't know. But I can point to where it hurts and say "itai," pronounced "ee-TIE," and they knew I had pain." They did a flu test as well as a Strep test. I waited 10 minutes and they called me back in to tell me they were both negative. Diagnosed with cold/sinus infection. Prescribed antibiotics, pain/inflammation meds and I was out the door! So glad I found this place!

DO NOT VISIT THIS CLINIC : I visited this "Doctor" past month after reading the Advertizing of being an English speaking practitioner. Be sure he will charge you 11,000 Yen if your Japanese is not sufficient. NOWHERE in the web site said a Translator will charge you! There is no Translator, but the Doctor who does speak will add to the fee. If you dont visit in within 3 moth, he will add 3,000 Yen to the Fees....and on and on, added fees is a regular in this place. Its not about practice medicine, its more about how can he dig into your pocket. The "DOCTOR" wont check you, will only ask for the problem and will prescribe. I have never seen an Internal Doctor who wont take Blood / Urine test to star with, I doubt all he writes about his credentials. Neither to say that a Japanese Health card is NO USE in this place. All he wants is dig in your pocket, not your health. This "DOCTOR" should not practice medicine!! There are plenty of good doctors in this country of excellent service. His practice constantly change the assistant, receptionist etc, for a reason I guess.

One star explained below. The doctor was great. He asked if I could speak Japanese (I can only speak a little) and offered English, which he was very proficient in. Also pretty personable in his delivery of treatment. The nurse was nice, though my tattoo disproprotionately shocked her for medical staff. I'm not judging her cultural upbringing. It was just funny. The issue was the younger looking staff member with the boy band haircut. When I arrived, I told the other English speaking reception staff I absolutely must leave by 12pm to get to work. After a somewhat lengthy wait (which is totally ok), I saw the doctor and I was waiting to pay. I said I need to leave soon to get to work otherwise I will be fined 30,000 yen ($300) from my monthly salary. They said to take a seat. It got to the point where I had to leave to be on time, which I said to the staff member that asked me to wait. The boy band hair staff member interjected and said if I left they would call the police, said no one else complains about waiting, and that I should have said something before. I simply said I did say something when I arrived and sat down because what else could I do with a threat like that (all over a bill of less than 2,000 yen/$20). This shows a disgusting amount of privilege and lack of empathy. I'm sure this guy has never worked for a company with such strict rules in his life, and to show zero understanding of other people's situations is a disgrace. He was also very rude to suggest I hadn't said something earlier rather than try to offer a quick solution. He could have said, "we'll keep hold of your insurance and resident cards until tomorrow and you can pay then", as to get replacements would cost me far in excess of the exceptionally reasonable fee, so obviously I would come back, pay and get my cards back. The staff member needs some customer service training because if I acted like that at my job I would be fired.