APPOINTMENTS
Understand Japanese medical department names, ask reception about appointment routes and check referral requirements without self-diagnosing.
Department names describe areas of a medical service. They cannot tell you which condition you have or which service you personally need. If you do not know which department should receive an enquiry, ask the facility's reception or patient-information office to explain its process. Clinical assessment belongs to a qualified healthcare professional.
Japan has no family-doctor gatekeeping for clinics: patients usually choose a clinic and its department themselves, and a clinic can refer you on with a letter. The names below are the labels on clinic signs, in hospital directories and in the official search tools. They are translations, not a symptom-matching list, and they cannot tell you which service you personally need. If you are unsure which department should receive your enquiry, ask the facility's reception.
| Japanese | Romaji | English label |
|---|---|---|
| 内科 | naika | Internal medicine |
| 呼吸器内科 | kokyūki naika | Respiratory medicine |
| 消化器内科 | shōkaki naika | Gastroenterology |
| 循環器内科 | junkanki naika | Cardiology |
| 脳神経内科 | nōshinkei naika | Neurology |
| 小児科 | shōnika | Paediatrics |
| 皮膚科 | hifuka | Dermatology |
| アレルギー科 | arerugī ka | Allergy |
| 眼科 | ganka | Ophthalmology (eyes) |
| 耳鼻咽喉科 | jibiinkōka | Ear, nose and throat |
| 外科 | geka | Surgery |
| 整形外科 | seikei geka | Orthopaedics |
| 脳神経外科 | nōshinkei geka | Neurosurgery |
| 泌尿器科 | hinyōkika | Urology |
| 婦人科 / 産婦人科 | fujinka / sanfujinka | Gynaecology / obstetrics and gynaecology |
| リハビリテーション科 | rihabiritēshon ka | Rehabilitation |
| 精神科 | seishinka | Psychiatry |
| 心療内科 | shinryō naika | Psychosomatic medicine |
| 歯科 / 口腔外科 | shika / kōkū geka | Dentistry / oral surgery |
Two labels confuse many visitors. 心療内科 contains the word for internal medicine, but it is a mind-body specialty. 発熱外来 (hatsunetsu gairai) is not a department: it is a separate fever reception that many hospitals and clinics run, so follow its signs when a facility asks you to.
The Tokyo government's official institution directory shows departments and languages side by side. A listed department may still have restrictions on appointments or new patients. Tokyo department and language listings
Avoid choosing a department from an online story about a person with similar symptoms. Hospitals may divide services differently, and a service name does not establish what happens at a first visit.
JNTO's directory filters include medical department, but it provides basic information and advises checking with the facility. Use a directory to find a contact, not to establish clinical suitability. JNTO directory limits
A shokaijo, also called shinryo joho teikyosho, is a referral or clinical-information letter prepared by a healthcare professional for another provider. Ask your current clinician whether a referral is appropriate and ask the receiving hospital what it needs. Do not write a substitute clinical letter yourself.
Some hospitals charge an additional fee when a patient attends without a referral. MHLW provides a template explaining this charge; the facility must tell you its own policy. A fee exception and permission to attend are separate questions. MHLW referral-charge explanation
Insured clinics bill from the national fee schedule. Under the revision in force since June 2026, the basic first-visit fee (初診料) is 291 points, or ¥2,910, and the basic follow-up fee (再診料) is 76 points, or ¥760. Small add-on charges also apply, such as a new 2-point (¥20) price-response charge per visit, and tests, procedures and medicines are billed on top. MHLW: FY2026 revision, price-response charges
With Japanese public health insurance most working-age adults pay 30% of the schedule price. Without it, you pay the facility's own price, which may be above the schedule. Ask for an estimate (見積もり, mitsumori) before treatment if cost matters, and see the cost guide and calculator. Estimates are for planning purposes only and do not constitute formal quotes. Confirm full costs directly with your chosen healthcare provider.
In a discussion about arranging a first hospital appointment, a patient described having received a letter from a local doctor and asked how to book at the named hospital. The posting date could not be confirmed. Treat it as a prompt to ask who books the appointment; it is not evidence of a national referral rule or waiting time.
Use How seeing a doctor works for clinic or hospital and referrals, and Talking to a Japanese clinic for what to bring and say. To find a clinic, use the clinic finder. For language arrangements, find a remote medical interpreter.
Official sources accessed 17 October 2026; fee-schedule source and department list added 24 October 2026. Community material was checked on 17 October 2026 and is not evidence of law, clinical suitability, prices or national waiting times. This is navigation information, not a clinical review.
Information provided for planning purposes only. No diagnosis, treatment recommendations, or direct booking services.
YOUR NEXT STEP
The clinic finder suggests a department from the official visitor guide when you describe the problem. You can change it.
Care Compass Japan does not book care, make a referral or send your medical records through these links.