Travel Insurance for Japan: What to Check

In short

• Not required, but strongly recommended: in one real case, treating a heart attack and the flight home came to ¥10 million.
• Look for medical cover of ¥10 million or more, direct billing to the hospital and a 24-hour line in your language.
• Card insurance has conditions: Revolut Metal’s covers a trip only if it was paid with Metal.
• Emergency: 119. For help finding a hospital: the Japan Visitor Hotline, 050-3816-2787.

Do you need travel insurance for Japan?

Japan’s health ministry asks visitors to have private health insurance with enough cover, because medical bills for visitors can be very high. JNTO gives two real cases.

¥10,000,000 — A heart attack: surgery, 45 days in hospital and a flight home

The other, a bicycle collision, meant broken ribs, surgery and 19 days in hospital; with the flight home it came to ¥7.5 million.

What to check in a policy

• Medical cover of ¥10 million or more, and the flight home.
• Direct billing, so the hospital bills the insurer, not you.
• A 24-hour assistance line with interpreting.
• The longest trip it covers, against your dates.
• Your plans: hiking, skiing, a rented bike.
• Conditions you already have, and pregnancy: policies often leave them out.

Tip: Forgot to buy it? Some policies can be bought online after you arrive in Japan, and some of those bill the hospital directly.

Insurance that comes with a card: read the conditions

Bank and card plans often include travel cover, with conditions that are easy to miss. We found this out while planning our own trip: Revolut Metal’s travel cover applies only to a trip paid for with the Metal plan.

• Was the trip paid with that card? Flights and stays both count.
• Did you hold the plan when you booked? Events from before you joined aren’t covered.
• Is the trip short enough? One version of Revolut’s terms stops at 30 days, a later one at 90.
• Does it cover where you live? Revolut’s European policy needs a home in the EEA.

Common mistake: Paying the flights with one card and the hotels with another, then counting on the first card’s insurance.

If you need a doctor

1. An emergency: call 119 for an ambulance.

2. Not an emergency: call the Japan Visitor Hotline, 050-3816-2787, any hour, in English, Chinese or Korean, to find a hospital.

3. Before you pay, call your insurer’s line: it may settle the bill with the hospital directly.

4. Carry cash: big hospitals take cards, but clinics often take only cash.

119 — Ambulance and fire

Important: Leaving a medical bill unpaid can make entering Japan harder on your next visit.