Joetsu Myoko Hospitals & Clinics

Whoever and wherever you are, there’s always a chance you might get sick and need to visit one of the local Joetsu Myoko hospitals. Skiing and travelling adds to the risk of injury and every season there are a few unfortunate souls who need to visit a clinic or hospital. Being in an unfamiliar country that doesn’t speak your native language can make that experience all the more difficult.

Joetsu Myoko Hospitals, Clinics & Health Services

What to do? Who to talk to?

If your injury has occurred on-mountain, the ski patrol will obviously be able to guide you and help organise medical assistance. Note: A local patrol will not provide you pain relief. So you might want to keep some paracetamol inside your jacket pocket as part of your regular kit.

If you’re staying in a hotel, your first contact should be the front desk, duty manager or English-language concierge at your hotel. You should describe your symptoms for referral to one of the local Niigata hospitals. In the case of something minor, they may be able to just refer you to the local Niigata Myoko Prefectural Hospital (map) or nearby Shinetsu Hospital (map).

You can also try the local Tourist Information Center where you can receive a referral to a nearby medical institution. Some resort areas have English speakers available for such emergencies.

You can also check your international travel medical insurance. If you have traveler’s insurance (and you better have!) the staff can contact the insurance company and refer you to one of the local Joetsu Myoko hospitals.

If you have a dental problem, best to ask one of the contacts above. There is a small local dental clinic near Myoko Kogen station (map) but there are no English speakers available.

If you just need some medical supplies such as bandages, pain relief, cold medicines, etc., then Matsumoto Kiyoshi Sekiyama Pharmacy (map) is about ten minutes drive down the hill from Akakura Onsen. You can ask your hotel to arrange a taxi for you.

What if there are none of these options?

Don’t worry! The Japan National Tourism Organization is here to help!

JNTO created an excellent, easy-to-use website with all the information you could want about hospitals all over Japan that can accommodate a number of languages!

On this site you can find a wide variety of information about hospitals in Japan: from what kind of institutions there are, to places that can speak certain languages. They even have a breakdown of symptoms and treatments for some common afflictions.

It may also be possible for foreign visitors to access medical treatment in Nagano Prefecture. Go here to find out more.

What if I can’t find anyone who speaks English?

Download this bilingual medical questionnaire. It can be used to help communicate your medical needs to hospital staff. Print out (or load on your device) and bring to any Myoko hospital or clinic.

English Speaking Hospitals in Joetsu Myoko

This is not an exhaustive list. There may be English speaking doctors (or translators) available at one of the many other hospitals and clinics in the region. We suggest, if possible, that a preemptive telephone call is made to any hospital before proceeding there.

Kawabata Clinic

Niigata Prefectural Central Hospital

Uchiyama Clinic

Keinan General Hospital

For more information, or links to hospitals outside of Joetsu Myoko, check out the JNTO website linked below!