Your pharmacist in Japan

Sound familiar?

You suddenly get sick in Japan — and you have no idea where to go. English doesn't work at the front desk, and you can't read what you were prescribed.

That's what a session is for.

• · I tell you which kind of clinic or department fits your situation, and list a few options near you — open hours, walk-in or appointment, what to bring.
• · I turn what you told me into a short note in Japanese — your symptoms, when they started, what you're taking — so you can just show it to the doctor.
• · After your visit, send me a photo of your prescription. I'll explain what each medicine is for and how to take it, in plain English.

Before, during, and after — one session covers the whole visit.

Information and navigation support — not medical diagnosis or treatment.

Who you are talking to

I am Natsuko Shibata, a pharmacist licensed in Japan since 2015. Becoming one takes six years of pharmacy school and a national examination.

I have worked in pharmaceutical companies, a dispensing pharmacy, cosmetics manufacturing, and pharmaceutical regulatory consulting.

Kampo is what I have kept studying on my own, for years, because I wanted to.

I built Kampo Compass myself — the constitution check, the formula database, all of it — because almost nothing about Japanese medicine exists in English written by someone who actually dispenses it.

Verification

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare maintains a public register of licensed medical professionals. You can check my registration yourself:

1. Open the register: https://licenseif.mhlw.go.jp/search_iyaku/top.jsp
2. Enter 柴田 奈津子 in the name field

One result: pharmacist, registered 2015.

How it works

1. 1. Book Takes a minute on the secure payment page. You'll get a private LINE line — reply from your phone, in your own time. No call, no app to learn.
2. 2. Open your session You will be given a private line to me. Send your payment confirmation and your question in one message.
3. 3. We work through it I reply within 24 hours — same day on weekdays where possible. Most questions take three or four rounds of messages. I will ask you things too; that is part of the work.
4. 4. You receive your summary When your question is answered, I send you a written summary to keep, and the session closes.

One session covers one health concern, over up to 14 days. A new concern is a new session.

Bring me whatever is in front of you:

• · A prescription, package, or drugstore shelf you can't read
• · A symptom, and the question of where to go and what to ask for
• · Your Kampo Compass result, and the question of what to actually do with it

Price and policy

¥8,000 per session, including tax.

One session covers one health concern: typically three or four rounds of messages, over up to 14 days.

Refunds

• · Before you send your question — full refund
• · After your question, before my first reply — full refund
• · After my first reply — no refund

Your information

What you tell me is stored securely and is not shared with anyone without your request. Please see the privacy policy for details.

What this is not

I give pharmacist guidance and educational information. I do not diagnose, and I do not prescribe or provide treatment. If you need a diagnosis or treatment, please see a physician.

I do not sell medicine. Where a Kampo formula is appropriate for you, I can introduce you to a licensed pharmacy in Japan; the pharmacy handles the sale.

If your situation is urgent — chest pain, trouble breathing, severe bleeding, sudden weakness or confusion — call 119 now. Do not wait for a reply here.

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