Home · 緊急時クイックガイド
Emergency in Japan — the numbers
119 Ambulance & fire — tap to call Free of charge · any phone, no SIM contract needed · no insurance required · 救急車They answer in Japanese: “Kaji desu ka, kyūkyū desu ka?” (fire or ambulance?)
→ Say “Kyūkyū desu” (救急です) = ambulance. Then your address.
→ Limited Japanese? Say “Eigo onegaishimasu” — many dispatch centres can add a phone interpreter.
Not 911 · not 999 · not 000 · not 112. And 110 is the police, a different line.
Call 119 without weighing it up for
- Chest pain or pressure, especially with sweating or nausea
- Stroke signs: face drooping, one-sided weakness, sudden slurred speech
- Severe difficulty breathing, or lips turning blue
- Unconscious, hard to rouse, or a seizure over ~5 minutes
- Heavy bleeding that pressure doesn't stop · major injury
- A baby under 3 months with any fever ≥ 38 °C
The crew assesses you on scene and phones hospitals before departing — an ambulance parked outside for a few minutes is protocol, not a problem. Full guide →
Not sure it's that serious? Phone a nurse first
“I'm ill tonight — where do I actually go?”
- Ask #7119 (or #8000 for a child) — they know which facility near you is open tonight. Openings rotate by date, so this beats searching.
- Or search: your city's name + 休日夜間急患センター = municipal holiday & night urgent-care clinic — the right door for fevers, vomiting and other non-ambulance problems. Cheapest and least crowded tier.
- Go with: your insurance card (or passport, for visitors) and some cash. Expect a modest after-hours surcharge on the usual bill — never a reason to stay home when worried.
Symptom not urgent, just confusing? Which Doctor Do I Need? tells you the right clinic type for the morning.
Visitors & language help
One preparation worth doing now: write your address in Japanese in your phone's notes (and on paper by the door). At 2 a.m., that one line matters more than any language skill.