Kusuri: Japanese Medicines You'll Find at the Pharmacy

Are you traveling to Japan and have no idea which Japanese medicine to take for a headache, a cold, a sour stomach, a hangover, or the mosquito that found you first? The drugstore will have a wall of boxes, and most of them look equally confident.

Many Japanese medicines come in packs of small pills, and the insert often asks for two or three at a time. That is not a hint to “double it like at home.” Read the label. The kanji on the box already tells you how careful the staff expects you to be.

Contents 10

Kusuri and Yakkyoku — pharmacy in Japan

Kusuri [薬] is the word you want: medicine, drugstore products, the thing you came in to find. Point at the symptom, say kusuri, and you are already halfway there.

A dispensing pharmacy is a yakkyoku [薬局], often next to a clinic, and that is where prescriptions get filled. The place tourists actually wander into is usually a drugstore [ドラッグストア] — Matsumoto Kiyoshi, Welcia, Tsuruha, Sundrug — a bright shop that sells shampoo, snacks, contact-lens solution, and a whole aisle of OTC boxes. Both can help. They are not the same counter.

If you are really unwell, skip the aisle and look for a hospital in Japan. The boxes below are for the ordinary trip problems, not for guessing at something serious.

Classification of medicines in Japan

On the box you will see 第○類医薬品, with 1, 2, or 3 in place of the circle. That number is the OTC risk class:

Class 1 [第1類医薬品]: a pharmacist has to hand it over and can ask what you need it for. These are the stronger OTC products.

Class 2 [第2類医薬品]: sold by a pharmacist or a registered seller. Most cold and pain boxes live here. Side effects are still worth reading.

Class 3 [第3類医薬品]: lower-risk products you can usually pick up yourself — vitamins, many skin items, everyday support.

Some boxes say 指定第2類医薬品, with the 2 in a circle or a square. That is a designated Class 2 product: extra caution, often shelved close to the information counter so staff can answer questions. It is not a stamp that automatically means “never mix” or “never for children.” Read the insert for that specific product.

Japanese medicines for headaches and other pain

Weather swings and long train days are enough to start a headache. Bufferin [バファリン] is the aspirin-family name you will see first, often around 1,000 yen depending on the pack.

The same brand splits into different jobs:

• Bufferin A — everyday pain;
• Bufferin Premium — a stronger combination for tougher pain;
• Bufferin Luna — cramps and menstrual pain;
• Bufferin Kaze EX — cold-related aches.

Tylenol [タイレノール] is acetaminophen (paracetamol). People reach for it for fever, toothache, headache, menstrual cramps, and back pain, and it is usually gentler on the stomach than the NSAIDs.

Another very common headache box is Eve Quick [イブクイック], built around ibuprofen. Tylenol, Eve, and the other headache packs often sit in the same price band, around 1,000 yen.

For sore muscles after a day of walking, look for Vantelin [バンテリン] gels and patches. They are easy to find and they are for the body, not a substitute for a headache tablet.

Japanese medicines for flu and colds

Bufferin and Tylenol can take the edge off a fever or an ache, but a Japanese cold is usually treated with a combination pack. Those formulas often include an antihistamine, so drowsiness is part of the deal. More on getting through a cold or flu in Japan is in its own guide.

Pabron [パブロン] is the name many people grab first. It is meant for cough, throat irritation, and a runny nose, in tablets or powder, often around 1,300 yen.

Lulu Attack EX [ルルアタックEX] is another multi-symptom pack for chills, congestion, phlegm, fever, and sneezing. Kakkonto [葛根湯] is the kampo option people take at the very start of a cold, not as a copy of Lulu with a different label.

If you want to hunt by symptom instead of brand, look for these words on the box:

• 風邪 (kaze) — common cold;
• 喉 (nodo) — throat;
• 咳 (seki) — cough;
• 咳き込む (sekikomu) — a cough that will not quit;
• 痰 (tan) — phlegm;
• 鼻づまり (hanazumari) — stuffy nose;
• くしゃみ (kushami) — sneezing;
• さむけ (samuke) — chills;
• 発熱 (netsu) — fever;
• アレルギー (arerugī) — allergy.

Japanese medicines for sore throat

For a raw or swollen throat, some people reach straight for Loxonin S [ロキソニンS]. It is a strong NSAID (loxoprofen) that also covers joint pain, sprains, headaches, bruises, shoulder pain, muscle pain, and cramps.

If your stomach is already unhappy, skip it. Loxonin S is harder on the stomach and usually costs more than a simple pain reliever. Start with lozenges or a throat spray unless you actually need that kind of anti-inflammatory.

Ask for nodo [のど/喉]. Throat lozenges turn up in pharmacies, supermarkets, and convenience stores. You will also see powders meant to sit on the tongue without water — useful when you do not want another tablet.

Japanese medicines for motion sickness, nausea, and indigestion

Travelmin [トラベルミン] is Japan’s familiar motion-sickness brand: dizziness, nausea, and the headache that comes with a winding bus or a long ferry. Take it for the ride, not for diarrhea. Travelmin Junior [トラベルミンジュニア] is the children’s version, generally from age 5; still check the box.

For loose stools, food that did not agree with you, or that sudden travel stomach, the household name is Seirogan [正露丸]. It is a wood-creosote digestive pill for diarrhea and related gut trouble. It does not do the same job as Travelmin.

Seirogan has a strong smell and a taste that not everyone can stand. If the first pill already feels like punishment, ask the staff for another diarrhea option instead of forcing the rest of the pack.

Fibe Mini is a drink people buy when constipation hits after a few days of travel food. It is a fiber drink, not a prescription laxative drama — useful in a pinch if your gut simply stopped.

Gaster 10 [ガスター10] is for heartburn and too much stomach acid (famotidine). It is a Class 1 OTC product, so a pharmacist has to hand it over. Tablets, powder, and liquid versions exist; it is not a diarrhea pill and it is not a motion-sickness pill.

Japanese medicines for insect bites

Kinkan [キンカン] is the old liquid people dab on mosquito bites. The same bottle is also used on tired hips, shoulders, sprains, and bruises. It goes on the skin, not in the mouth.

Next to it you will find Muhi [ムヒ], in tubes and roll-ons. Muhi is the itch brand: insect bites, heat rash, dermatitis, eczema, hives. Pick the strength on the box rather than grabbing the first pink tube.

For what to spray before the bite, there are repellents and other creams in the guide to insects in Japan.

Japanese medicines for hangovers

Hepalyse [ヘパリーゼ] is the little bottle you see after a night at an izakaya. It is a liver-extract drink people buy to feel less wrecked the next morning — popular, convenient, not a miracle.

No-Mikata [ノ・ミカタ] is a granule you can take before, during, or after drinking. Ukon no Chikara [ウコンの力] is the turmeric drink in the same convenience-store fridge. None of these replace water or sleep, but they are what the shelf is for.

Look for futsukayoi [二日酔い] if you want another option. Many of these drinks sit in convenience stores, not only in the pharmacy.

Skin, vitamins, and women’s drugstore staples

Ninocure [ニノキュア] is a urea cream for those rough red bumps on the upper arms and legs (keratosis pilaris), plus dry, itchy, irritated skin. It is a skin product, not a “women-only” medicine, even though it often lives near that aisle.

Chocola BB [チョコラBB] is a vitamin B2 series. The tablets are sold for rough skin, acne, and canker sores from the inside — not as a hormone treatment.

Bōkoren [ボーコレン] is a kampo tablet (goshinsan) people buy for the burning, residual, too-often feeling of a urinary tract irritation. It can ease those symptoms; it does not replace a doctor if the fever or pain is climbing.

Meditreat [メディトリート] is a common OTC option for vaginal yeast infection [kanjida chitsuen / カンジダ膣炎]. Cream, spray, or insertable tablet. Many people use it for symptom relief while they decide whether they still need to see a doctor.

Vocabulary to find your medicine in Japan

This list is what you show the pharmacist when the brand names above do not match what hurts. Point at the English, say the romaji, or just show the Japanese column. A longer clinic-side list lives in the Japanese medical vocabulary guide.

English	Japanese	Romaji
common cold	かぜ／風邪	kaze
acne	ニキビ	nikibi
pressure point adhesive	つぼ用シール	tsuboyō shīru
allergy	アレルギー	arerugī
antihistamine	抗ヒスタミン剤	kōhisutaminzai
burning, stinging	ヒリヒリ	hiri-hiri
Job's tears extract	はとむぎエキス	hatomugi ekisu
asthma	ぜんそく／喘息	zensoku
heartburn, sour stomach	胸やけ／胸焼け	munayake, muneyake
turmeric	ウコン	ukon
nutritional drink (energy/vitamins)	栄養ドリンク	eiyō dorinku
bump, pimple	おでき	odeki
callus, corn	たこ	tako
face	かお	kao
carnitine	カルニチン	karunichin
poultice	パップ剤	pappuzai
phlegm	たん／痰	tan
scar	傷あと	kizuato
scar, mark	あと	ato
itchy eyes	目のかゆみ	me no kayumi
cholesterol	コレステロール	koresuterōru
collagen	コラーゲン	korāgen
eye drops	目薬	megusuri
overeating	食べ過ぎ／食べすぎ／たべすぎ	tabesugi
itching	かゆみ	kayumi
tablet	錠剤	jōzai
compress	シップ剤	shippuzai
frostbite	しもやけ／霜焼け	shimoyake
excessive consumption	飲み過ぎ／飲みすぎ／のみすぎ	nomisugi
elbow	ひじ	hiji
cream	クリーム	kurīmu
calcium	カルシウム	karushiumu
capsule	カプセル	kapuseru
diaper	おむつ	omutsu
blue light damage	ブルーライトダメージ	burū raito damēji
skin peeling due to dryness	皮むけ	kawamuke
discoloration	シミ	shimi
diarrhea	下痢／げり	geri
diet	ダイエット	daietto
stomach ache, discomfort	胃の不快感	i no fukaikan
stomach ache, nausea	むかつき	mukatsuki
eczema	しっしん	shisshin
bruise	打ち身	uchimi
packaged	パック	pakku
mouthwash	うがい薬	ugai-gusuri
rash	かぶれ	kabure
skin rash, acne	吹き出物	fukidemono
heat rash	あせも	asemo
burn, scald	やけど	yakedo
sneezing	くしゃみ	kushami
steroids	ステロイド	suteroido
stomach	おなか	onaka
heavy stomach, problematic digestion	胃もたれ	imotare
eye fatigue	目の疲れ	me no tsukare
fever	発熱／熱	netsu
wound	きず	kizu
crack	あかぎれ	akagire
tape	テープ剤	tēpuzai
throat	のど／喉	nodo
creamy gel	クリーミィーゲル	kurīmī geru
gel	ゼリー	zerī
royal jelly	ローヤルゼリー	rōyaru zerī
plaster	プラスター剤	purasutāzai
ginkgo	イチョウ	ichō
granule	スティック顆粒	sutikku karyū
hydrogen	水素	suiso
chapped skin, cracks	ひび	hibi
sore, eroded skin	ただれ	tadare
soy isoflavone	大豆イソフラボン	daizui isofurabon
knee	ひざ	hiza
scratching due to dry skin	かきむしる	kakimushiro
languor	だるさ	darusa
lecithin	レシチン	reshichin
contact lenses	コンタクトレンズ／コンタクト／レンズ	kontakuto renzu, kontakuto, renzu
calorie limit	カロリミット	karorimitto
lotion	ローション	rōshon
lutein	ルテイン	rutein
powdered medicine	粉薬	konagusuri
corn on the foot	うおの目／魚の目	uo no me
mineral	ミネラル	mineraru
multi-mineral	マルチミネラル	maruchi mineraru
multivitamin	マルチビタミン	maruchi bitamin
stuffy nose	鼻づまり／鼻詰まり	hanazumari
nausea	吐き気／はきけ	hakike
nausea, gagging	こみ上げる	komiageru
dry eyes	ドライアイ	dorai ai
dry eyes	目の渇き／目のかわき	me no kawaki
stiff shoulders	肩こり	katakori
dry skin	かさつく	kasatsuku
dry and flaky skin	粉ふき	kofuki
rough and cracked skin	荒れ肌	arehada
hangnail	さかむけ	sakamuke
insect bite	虫刺され／虫さされ	mushi-sasare
pigmentation	黒ずんだ	kurozunda
placenta	プラセンタ	purasenta
athlete's foot	水虫	mizumushi
sunburn, tanning	ひやけ／日焼け	hiyake
chitosan	キトサン	kitosan
hangover	二日酔い	futsukayoi
neck stiffness	寝違え	nechigae
freckles	そばかす	sobakasu
feeling nauseous, queasy	むかむか	mukamuka
feeling bloated, gassy	おなかのハリ、おなかのガスだまり	onaka no hari, onaka no gasu-damari
feeling dry, rough	ガサガサ	gasa-gasa
drowsiness	眠気	nemuke
spray	スプレー	supurē
supplement	サプリメント	sapurimento
cough	せき／咳	seki
violent cough	咳きこむ／咳き込む	sekikomu
shivering	さむけ	samuke
moisture	うるおい	uruoi
redness	赤み	akami
wart	いぼ	ibo
blurred vision	目のかすみ	me no kasumi
Vitamin	ビタミン	bitamin
zinc	亜鉛	a’en
hyaluronic acid	ヒアルロン酸	hiaruronsan