As of the final week in October, the newest round of COVID-19 vaccinations were starting to be administered in Japan, and the virus was still very much present around the country. Japan had around 8,000 active cases of 新型コロナウイルス (shingata koronauirusu, COVID-19) and over 800 hospitalized with severe infections — though these numbers are also down from both one month and one full year ago.

This 減少 (genshō, decrease) is the good news. The bad news? インフルエンザの流行期 (Infuruenza no ryūkoki, Flu season) is swiftly approaching. During the same time period, Japan had around 156,000 cases of 季節性

インフルエンザ (kisetsusei infuruenza, seasonal influenza) — a number that was continuing to 増加 (zōka, increase), as it always does this time of year. The combined risks of 新型コロナウイルス and インフルエンザ can only mean one thing to most people: vaccine time.

Although the subject of much controversy around the world, ワクチン (wakuchin, vaccines) and 予防接種 (yobō sesshu, preventative inoculations) are pretty standard in Japan. The nation has administered 436 million shots of 新型コロナワクチン since 2020, and doled out 62 million 季節性インフルエンザの接種 (kisetsusei infuruenza no sesshu, seasonal influenza inoculations) last year alone. With オミクロン株 (omikuron-kabu, omicron variants) still circulating and the flu season ahead, medical experts around the world have one recommendation: ワクチンを打つ (wakuchin o utsu, get vaccinated).

Getting your vaccines in Japan is easy — with the right Japanese knowledge. Both local 病院 (byōin, hospitals) and クリニック (kurinikku, [medical] clinics) administer them. Although normally when visiting the doctor, you might have to worry about which type of clinic to visit — like a 内科 (naika, internal medicine) for standard infections, 外科 (geka, surgical medicine) for injuries, 眼科 (ganka, ophthalmology) for eye infections, and so on. だが、ほとんどの病院やクリニックが季節の予防接種を行います (Daga, hotondo no byōin ya kurinikku ga kisetsu no yobō sesshu o okonaimsu, However, almost all clinics and hospitals administer seasonal inoculations), which means you can often turn to the clinic nearest you for relevant vaccines.

Searching the internet or Google Maps for クリニック can be a good start in locating the closest place to get vaccinated. Some clinics will require a 予約 (yoyaku, reservation), while others you can enter without a 予約. To check if a clinic is administering the vaccines you are looking for, try the following phrase over the phone or email: 当院ではインフルエンザのワクチンを投与していますか？ (Tōin dewa infuruenza no wakuchin o tōyo shite-imasu ka?, Are you administering influenza vaccines at this hospital/clinic?) If the answer is yes, you can then ask: 予約は必要ですか？ (Yoyaku wa hitsuyō desu ka?, Is a reservation necessary?)

For making reservations, make sure you have a sharp grasp on what the days of the week and month are in Japanese — 20日 (hatsuka, the 20th) or 8日 (yōka, the 8th), with their specific pronunciations, might trip up some phone calls. Also, be sure to add 午前 (gozen, morning) or 午後 (gogo, afternoon) before your reservation time to avoid confusion about using a 12-hour vs. 24-hour clock. For example: 11月20日水曜日の午後4時は空いていますか？ (Jyūichi-gatsu hatsuka suiyōbi no gogo yoji wa aite-imasu ka?, Is space available on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 4 p.m.?)

The day of your shot, you’ll want to be armed with some basic medical vocabulary in order to fill out any forms and answer questions from the 看護師 (kangoshi, nurse) and 医者 (isha, doctor).

Terms like アレルギー (arerugī, allergy), 熱 (netsu, fever), 症状 (shōjō, symptom), 緊急 (kinkyū, emergency) and 副作用 (fukusayō, side effect) could all come out in any casual interaction with clinic staff.

The nurse may ask, 過去にワクチンを打つ時、副作用を経験したことがありますか？ (Kako ni wakuchin o utsu toki, fukusayō o keiken shita koto ga arimasu ka?, When you received vaccines in the past, have you experienced side effects?) Such side effects of vaccinations could include 腫れ (hare, swelling) or 疲れ (tsukare, fatigue). The construction 〜ことがある (~koto ga aru) is a common way to indicate that you have done something in the past; to indicate that you haven’t had side effects, simply conjugate ある (aru) in the negative: したことがない (shita koto ga nai), or in this case, 副作用を経験したことがありません (fukusayō o keiken shita koto ga arimasen, I have not experienced side effects [before]).

The flow of a vaccine appointment is also remarkably simple. While you’ll always want to have your 健康保険証 (kenkō hoken-sho, health insurance card) or 個人番号カード/マイナンバーカード (kojinbango kādo/ mainanba kādo, Individual Number Card/My Number Card) on hand, most vaccinations aren’t covered by insurance. While the Japanese government subsidizes the vaccines, patients have to pay out of pocket, or 自腹を切って払う (jibara o kitte harau) in Japanese. 大体３・４千円の程度です (Daitai san-yonsen-en no teido desu, This usually amounts to around ¥3,000 to ¥4,000).

Usually the 受付 (uketsuke, reception) will confirm whether this is OK with you by asking something like, インフルエンザの予防接種は、健康保険が適用されませんけどよろしいですか？ (Infuruenza no yobō sesshu wa, kenkō hoken ga tekiyō saremasen kedo yoroshii desu ka?, For the influenza preventative vaccination, national health insurance does not apply, is that OK with you?) The technical reason for this is 病気に対する治癒ではないため (byōki ni tai suru chiyu dewa nai tame, because it is not treatment for a sickness).

While the new COVID-19 vaccines and seasonal flu vaccines are relatively safe, you’ll still want to take a few precautions before and after your jab: クリニックでマスクをしっかりつける (Kurinikku de masuku o shikkari tsukeru, Properly keep a [medical] mask on while at the clinic); 言われたら、観察のために15分ぐらい待合室で待つ (iwaretara, kansatsu no tame ni jyugofun gurai machiaishitsu de matsu, if you are told to, wait in the waiting room for around 15 minutes for the purpose of observation); 病院から帰ってきてから、ゆっくり休む (byōin kara kaette kite kara, yukkuri yasumu, take some proper rest after returning home from the hospital).

最後に、この冬に酷い病気にかからないだろうことを、たくさん喜ぶ！ (Saigo ni, kono fuyu ni hidoi byōki ni kakaranai darō koto o, takusan yorokobu!, And lastly, because you will be unlikely to catch a severe sickness this winter, celebrate plenty!)