The whole set up is very different to the New Zealand system. Instead of going to a private clinic for physio or doctors appointments patients predominantly visit large public hospitals for even minor ailments. There are generally no one-off appointments, rather patients go to the hospital in the morning and wait until a doctor can see them. This can take up to a couple of hours if it’s busy. After check in the patients sit in a large waiting area near reception. Perhaps after about half an hour you will be called through by the receptionist to have a seat in the hallway along which there are about a dozen numbered examination rooms.
After another wait the doctor calls your name and a room number from a microphone in his room. Waiting around is a bit of a pain but I guess the good thing about it is that there are a range of doctors and specialists all in the one building so if the GP detects a more difficult problem you could potentially have specialist treatment the same day. I visited Kitakyushu Municipal Medical Centre, a large hospital about ten minutes walk from my apartment.
My first few visits were quite challenging as there were no other foreigners in the hospital at all and very few people seemed to speak English. Not for the first time I wished I had studied Japanese more diligently before I arrived. I muddled through though and fortunately there was a really kind lady at reception with pretty good English who helped me a great deal to find my way round and communicate with the other staff there. I must say that although it must be a difficult situation for the staff to deal with a patient who understands virtually no Japanese, they have generally been unbelievably kind and welcoming to me.
Being such a regular patient it’s not a stretch to say I’ve become something of a celebrity amongst many of the hospital staff as a big, good natured foreigner who can’t understand their language. It’s important to remember that a lot of Japanese people only see foreigners on television or films and many of these people may have never met a European before, let alone a New Zealander! Even now it’s unusual for me not to get giggles and smiles from the receptionists as I walk past each week.
Looking back I’ve had some great conversations full of confusion and laughter with the admin staff, and even nurses and doctors. But no relationship has developed as much as the one between me and my Physiotherapist Shinji, or ‘Shin’. It’s funny how friendships can develop when you least expect it.
I first encountered Shin last year. I remember walking into his rehabilitation gym and everybody staring at me. There were a few patients going through exercises with the therapists and maybe ten other patients waiting but when I walked in all activity seemed to stop for a few moments. Luckily this compact, cheerful guy in his 30s who looks a little like Jackie Chan spoke a little English and came over to greet me. Recently Shin admitted that when he first saw me he was so nervous to speak English and deal with a foreign person that he wanted to run away. But he was so friendly that first meeting I’m not sure I can believe that.
The doctor who had referred me suggested I come in for weekly rehab sessions to repair my injury. So I began to get into a rhythm of coming in every Tuesday morning on my day off and working with Shin. As the weeks went by we both relaxed and began to chat and open up to each other. He has a very vibrant personality and we really clicked. Since then we’ve been friends and nowadays he says he really looks forward to meeting me each week, and I do too. I’ve been going for over six months now and it’s really been a long road to recovery but the fun I have coming in for my treatment with Shin makes it a lot easier. He often takes great delight in my lack of flexibility or balance. Most Japanese of course seem to have contortionist-like flexibility so I really don’t think I’m that bad. He often spends an hour and a half to two hours with me in the gym, staying after the other physios have left to perform their duties around the hospital. His passion for sports is similar to mine and when I try to thank him or apologise for him spending so much time with me he quickly rebuffs me saying its no problem. Apparently he really enjoys the opportunity to work with a sports injury as these days most of his time is spent with post operative or elderly patients.
To his credit Shin has not been scared to speak English as a lot of Japanese are, and does his best to communicate with me even if at times he is reaching for language. Generally speaking I’ve found the Japanese to be perfectionists who are quite shy and terrified of making mistakes in a wide range of situations. So when it comes to English even if they can speak very well the attitude I often come up against is ‘I can’t speak English’. But not Shin, he’s one of the few people I’ve met here who will just have a go even if he doesn’t know the words for what he’s trying to say. One of my favourite descriptions of his was when he said I needed to strengthen my ‘foot fingers’, gesturing to my toes.
He’s also helped me learn a lot about Japanese language and culture, and given me advice about places to visit in his country. We’re both very interested in travel but like a lot of Japanese people Shin is chained to his job and only able to take a few days off each year for fear of letting his colleagues down. As a result international holidays are very rare for him. However, he’s been to Australia before and he’s keen to go to New Zealand, so I’ve been promoting the beauty of our country and some good diving locations as he is a keen diver. We went through a kind of gift giving phase late last year which I initiated by giving him a New Zealand calendar as a thank you. He in turn gave me some quite expensive exercise equipment. It’s a real gift giving culture here so I wasn’t sure when it would end. But luckily after exchanging one or two more gifts we both agreed to stop!
Recently I went out for dinner with Shin and his wife Sachiko; a nurse. We went to a Korean style Yakiniku Restaurant near the hospital. At this type of restaurant you are able to grill the food yourself on a hotplate built into the table. It’s quite similar to a barbeque except the meat you eat is a little different. Shin treated me to several plates of beef tongue, stomach and colon. I think he decided on the menu as a bit of a joke as he knew I was a bit squeamish about eating some of the food that’s popular here. I must say I quite enjoyed it though and after seasoning the meat with black pepper and some red Korean spices it was delicious. We had a few drinks together and had a really great night. Shin is already planning our next night out and I’m looking forward to many more before I leave in a few months.
It seems funny to say but Shin has probably become my closest Japanese friend here and he’s shown me the kind of genuine hospitality that I think every traveller craves. We are going to keep in touch after I go and I’m hoping one day he and his wife can find the time to stay with me in New Zealand so I can do the same for him.
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