Differences between Pharmacy and Drugstore in Japan

Hi Smiles friends! Welcome back to our Japan 101 series. Today we are going to share on what to do when you go to a pharmacy or drugstore in Japan.

It can be quite confusing if you want to buy medicine in foreign country. Japan is very famous with their varieties of drugstores, but they still have the old-school pharmacies like what other countries have. So, what are the differences? Where should we go first if we need to buy medicine?

Pharmacy

A pharmacist is stationed at the pharmacy and has the function of dispensing drugs in the dispensing room. In addition, under the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Act, while a pharmacist is stationed, he/she can handle all over-the-counter drugs, including prescription drugs, drugs manufactured and sold at pharmacies, drugs that require guidance, and Class 1 drugs. The difference with drug stores is that most of them do not sell daily necessities and only have small amount of OTC drugs. People who come to pharmacy mainly bring a prescription from the hospital to prescribe the medicine.

Here is a list of some English speaking pharmacies:

1. National Azabu Supermarket Pharmacy
Address: 4-5-2 Minami-azabu, Minato Ku, Tokyo
Website: http://www.national-azabu.com/

2. Yakuju Pharmacy Roppongi Izumi Garden
Address: 1-6-1 Roppongi, Minato-Ku, Tokyo
Website: https://izumigarden.jp/

3. The Pharmacy at Tokyo Medical and Surgical Clinic
Address: 32 Shiba Koen Building, 3-4-30 Shiba-Koen, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Website: http://tmsc.jp/pharmacy

Drugstore

Although drugstores were originally intended to sell over-the-counter drugs without dispensation, the number of hospitals that provide prescriptions outside the hospital has increased due to the progress of division of labor in recent years. In that case, you can buy over-the-counter medicines, you can get prescriptions, and there is also an image of a convenience store where you can find daily miscellaneous goods. Drug store became more and more popular among consumers as a store with a bright and clean interior, as well as health and beauty care, as well as stores that change everyday household goods at low prices.

Hopefully this article can help a few Smiles friends. Visit our page to see more about Healthcare in Japan. Thank you for reading!

Sources:
Karugamo Pharmacy
Fnavi
Plaza Homes