Flu Shot in Shimbashi, Tokyo – 4,000 Yen, No Insurance Needed

Price and season

The price below is the total. There are no separate consultation or booking fees.

Seasonal flu vaccination in Japan is a voluntary vaccination, not part of the routine immunisation programme. It is therefore not covered by Japanese public health insurance, and you pay the full amount yourself. You do not need a Japanese health insurance card.

The season may shift depending on when vaccine supply arrives.

Coming as an English speaker

Our staff are not professional interpreters, and we do not have an English-speaking doctor on every shift. In practice a flu shot is short and the questions are few, so most visitors manage without Japanese. A translation app is welcome, and a friend who speaks Japanese is welcome to come with you.

The screening sheet you fill in before the injection is in Japanese. If you tell reception that you would like help, we will go through it with you question by question.

Our clinic specialises in men’s health, but flu vaccination is available to anyone.

Who should not be vaccinated

The doctor checks your temperature and your medical history before the injection. You cannot be vaccinated if any of the following applies.

Please tell the doctor if any of these apply

None of these necessarily rules out vaccination, and not having any of them does not guarantee it. The decision is made by the doctor at your visit.

What happens on the day

What to bring: photo identification, a record of any medication you take, and clothing that lets you free your upper arm. No Japanese health insurance card is needed.

After the shot, and side effects

You may bathe as usual, but do not rub the injection site. Avoid strenuous exercise and heavy drinking for the rest of the day.

The most common reaction is redness, swelling or soreness where the needle went in, which usually settles within two or three days. Fever, headache, chills and tiredness are also reported and usually pass within a few days.

Antibodies develop over roughly two weeks and last around five months. Working back from the usual flu season in Japan, getting the shot by the middle of December is a reasonable target.

Vaccination is expected to reduce the chance of falling ill and to make illness less severe. It does not make infection impossible, and the effect is not guaranteed.

Booking, hours and how to find us

First-time visitors are accepted up to 30 minutes before closing, returning visitors up to 10 minutes before. Use the booking buttons on this page to reserve a slot.

Vaccinating a whole company

If you are arranging shots for your staff, the price per person is the same ¥4,000. From 30 people our doctor and nurse can come to your office; below that, we reserve a block of slots at the Shimbashi clinic.

About influenza in Japan

Influenza circulates in Japan roughly from December to March. It tends to begin abruptly, with a fever above 38 degrees, headache, aching joints and muscles, and a general heaviness that sets it apart from an ordinary cold.

Each season’s vaccine is built around the strains expected to circulate that year, and those strains are reviewed annually. That is why a flu shot is needed every season; a shot from last winter does not carry over.

Vaccination is not a substitute for the ordinary things: washing your hands, airing rooms out, and staying home when you are ill.