Child Sick or Hurt in Tokyo? Emergency Numbers, Doctors & English Help [2026]

Your child is sick or hurt in Tokyo — what to do first

First, stay calm and check your child’s consciousness, breathing, skin color, temperature, and whether they can drink fluids. A rough guide:

• Unconscious / struggling to breathe / ongoing convulsions / heavy bleeding or burns → Call 119 immediately (ambulance — free)
• Not sure whether to call an ambulance → #7119 (Tokyo Fire Department emergency consultation)
• Want advice at night or on a holiday about whether to see a doctor → #8000 (children’s health advice line)

Ambulances in Japan are free. But only the ambulance ride is free — the exam and treatment at the hospital you’re taken to are charged separately, and since visitors have no public health insurance, medical costs are generally paid in full out of pocket (see “travel insurance” below). If it feels like an emergency, don’t hesitate — dial 119. Below we walk through the phone numbers, where to get help in English, and how to see a doctor.

Emergency numbers to save (119, #7119, #8000)

Save these three in your phone’s notes or contacts before you need them.

Number	Use	Hours
119	Ambulance / fire (life-threatening emergencies)	24 hours
#7119	Advice when unsure whether to call an ambulance (Tokyo Fire Dept.)	24 hours, year-round
#8000	Phone advice for a child’s sudden illness or injury (doctors/nurses)	Weekdays 6:00 PM – 8:00 AM next day / weekends & holidays 8:00 AM – 8:00 AM next day

• If #7119 won’t connect, or from some phones (rotary/IP lines), you can also call 03-3212-2323 (23 wards) / 042-521-2323 (Tama area). (Official: Tokyo Fire Department Emergency Consultation Center)
• #8000 is a Tokyo service; you can also call 03-5285-8898. (Official: Children’s Health Advice Line (Tokyo))
• These lines are answered in Japanese by default. If Japanese is difficult, use them together with the English-language services below.

Getting help in English (and explaining symptoms)

Tokyo has services where you can get medical advice and referrals in English (and other languages).

Service	Phone	Details
Himawari (Tokyo medical information service)	03-5285-8181	Daily 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM. English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Thai. Hospital referrals and help understanding the system
AMDA International Medical Information Center (advice)	03-6233-9266	Weekdays 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM (language availability varies by day). Hospital referrals and phone medical advice
AMDA remote medical interpreting line	050-3405-0397	Weekdays 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM. Phone/online interpreting during a visit (contact first; connection fees may apply)

Handy English → Japanese phrases at the clinic

If there’s a language barrier, show these phrases to the staff.

English	Japanese
My child has a fever	熱があります
He/she has a cough	咳が出ます
He/she vomited	吐きました
He/she has diarrhea	下痢しています
Stomach ache	お腹が痛い
Headache	頭が痛い
A rash has appeared	発疹が出ました
Allergic to ○○	○○にアレルギーがあります
I have travel insurance	海外旅行保険に入っています

Seeing a doctor, OTC medicine & travel insurance

• Get travel insurance before you go: The ambulance is free, but the exam and treatment at the hospital are not. Visitors aren’t covered by Japan’s public health insurance, so medical costs are generally paid in full out of pocket (injuries or a hospital stay can get expensive). Insurance is strongly recommended. A cashless policy may let you skip paying at the counter.
• How a visit works: For a holiday or night clinic, call ahead, and bring your passport and insurance certificate. You pay after the exam (claim later, or go cashless).
• Night & holiday pediatric care: Each Tokyo ward has holiday emergency clinics and night-time pediatric first-aid. Use the “Tokyo medical facility guide” to find facilities that are open by time of day.
• OTC medicine: Drugstores (Matsumoto Kiyoshi and others) sell children’s fever reducers and stomach medicine. Still, it’s safest to bring the medicine your child is used to. Ask the pharmacist about dosage.

For getting around the city, see our Tokyo Metro guide for families.

Quick reference

Item	Details
Life-threatening emergency	119 (ambulance, free)
Unsure whether to call	#7119 (24 hours)
Night / holiday advice	#8000 (weekdays from 6 PM / weekends & holidays from 8 AM)
Help in English	Himawari 03-5285-8181 / AMDA 03-6233-9266
Money	Travel insurance (ideally cashless)
Medicine	Bring what you use; restock at drugstores

That covers being prepared. Finally, a quick word about holding on to the time you spend here.

Keep the healthy, smiling moments on film

Traveling with kids always comes with worries about their health — which makes the moments when everyone is happy and well feel even more precious. But parents have their hands full, and those smiles rarely end up on your own camera.

We help you capture the family moments you didn’t manage to photograph yourself. Take a look if you’re interested.

👉 See the Tokyo Family Records service

※ This article is general information, not medical advice. In an emergency, always call 119. Phone numbers, hours, and systems can change (current as of July 2026). Please verify with each official source or the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Public Health.

Photos via Pexels: thermometer, taking temperature, examination, child examination, pharmacist