Specialty Department Signs: Reading Japan Clinic Placards

Japan medical specialty departments announce themselves on clinic placards in kanji, and reading those signs is the skill that gets a resident to the right door. Japan has no official General Practitioner system, so patients match symptoms to departments themselves, and the wrong first choice usually ends in redirection rather than treatment.¹²

Confirm current details with official sources

Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at Japan Healthcare Info or your municipal medical institution guide. This article is general information, not medical advice; for your specific condition, consult a licensed physician.

Overview

A clinic sign in Japan follows a compact grammar: one or more kanji plus 科 (ka, "department"), where the preceding characters name the field.³ The 内科 (naika, "internal medicine") sign marks the GP-equivalent default for adults, while every other sign names a narrower lane such as surgery, pediatrics, or dermatology.¹⁴

Most clinics hold a single specialty with one or two doctors, so a symptom outside that lane means visiting a different clinic.¹ This article decodes the 14 standard signs, maps overlapping symptoms to the right department, and states the naika-first rule for ambiguous cases. Department names are uniform nationwide, though a small clinic may display combined signs and staffing varies by facility.¹⁵

How to read a department sign

The table below is the full reference this article builds on. Each row gives the placard form, the reading, and the coverage boundary in one line.

Sign	Reading	What it covers
内科	naika	Adult general illness, chronic follow-up, checkups; the default first stop16
外科	geka	Injuries and conditions needing surgical treatment16
整形外科	seikeigeka	Bones, joints, muscles, spine, including non-surgical orthopedic care17
小児科	shonika	Children's health to around age 15, vaccinations, growth monitoring17
産婦人科	sanfujinka	Pregnancy, childbirth, and female reproductive health17
眼科	ganka	Eyes: disease, injury, glasses and contact-lens prescribing17
耳鼻咽喉科	jibiinkoka	Ears, nose, and throat, often shortened to 耳鼻科18
皮膚科	hifuka	Skin, hair, and nails, including minor burns17
泌尿器科	hinyoki-ka	Urinary system and male reproductive care16
精神科	seishinka	Mental-health conditions such as depression and anxiety12
心療内科	shinryo-naika	Physical illness connected to mental states, such as stress-linked pain32
歯科	shika	Teeth and gums, including general and orthodontic dentistry3
口腔外科	koku-geka	Surgical mouth and jaw cases, face and neck reconstruction1
形成外科	keisei-geka	Plastic and reconstructive surgery, functional as well as cosmetic19

The kanji-plus-科 pattern

Almost every clinic sign contains 科, and the characters before it name the field: 歯 means teeth so 歯科 is a dental clinic, 眼 means eye in the medical sense so 眼科 is an eye clinic, 内 means inside so 内科 is internal medicine, and 外 means outside so 外科 is surgery.³ Once this pattern clicks, even an unfamiliar sign gives a readable hint about the field inside.

The pattern also composes. 胃腸科 joins stomach and intestines for a gastrointestinal division, and 心療内科 joins mind, healing, and internal medicine for psychosomatic care.³ A sign that ends in 科 always names a department, never a symptom or a procedure.

Abbreviations and combined signs

The full ENT name 耳鼻咽喉科 (jibiinkoka, "otolaryngology (ENT)") is long for a placard, so signs commonly shorten it to 耳鼻科 (jibika, abbreviated "ENT" sign form).⁸ Expect this shortening on shopfronts and station-area directories, and expand it mentally to the full department when searching online.

A clinic name often embeds its main specialty, with secondary areas listed on the outside sign, and small clinics may display combined signs such as internal medicine plus pediatrics.¹⁸ The underlying department names do not change in these combinations. Read each 科 segment separately and match the symptom to the segment, not to the clinic name as a whole.

General care: internal medicine, surgery, bones, and children

Internal medicine is the default first stop

内科 specializes in preventing, finding, and treating illness in adults and serves as the primary doctor for checkups and ongoing illness. Its doctors do not operate.¹ It is the first stop for stubborn colds, chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, routine checkups, and long-term disease management.⁶

The coverage list is broad: cough, sore throat, asthma, fever, headache, dizziness, palpitations, stomachache, diarrhea, nausea, suspected influenza or COVID-19, and worsened hypertension or diabetes all start at naika.⁷ When the doctor cannot resolve the issue, the clinic refers onward with a 紹介状 (shokaijo, "letter of introduction, referral letter").² A patient who genuinely cannot place a symptom starts at naika and follows the clinic's onward direction.⁴

Surgery versus orthopedics

外科 evaluates potential surgical problems and performs operations, from minor procedures such as cyst removal to major surgery.¹⁶ Severe bleeding injuries, large-area burns, and abdominal cases that prove to need an operation belong here.⁷

整形外科 covers the musculoskeletal system instead: sprains, bruises, fractures, neck pain, stiff shoulders, back pain, limb numbness, and sports injuries.⁷ It includes non-surgical orthopedic care, so a sprained ankle or a thrown-out back goes to seikeigeka without any expectation of an operation.² Limb numbness sits on the boundary and can indicate an internal condition, in which case naika is the starting point.⁷

Read orthopedics as bones and joints, never as cosmetic care

整形外科 shares characters with cosmetic-surgery advertising, but it is orthopedics. Cosmetic-leaning work sits under 形成外科, which is itself reconstructive and functional rather than cosmetic-only.¹⁹

Pediatrics for children

小児科 is the child equivalent of naika: general care, vaccinations, growth monitoring, and childhood illness, generally to around age 15.¹⁷⁶ A child with high fever, cough, rash, or ear infection starts at shonika, and the pediatrician refers to a specialist when the case needs one.²

Pediatricians provide the general layer and call in neurosurgeons, ophthalmologists, orthopedists, or other specialists as needed.⁷ For parents, the practical habit is one trusted shonika clinic the way adults keep one naika clinic.

Eyes, ears, skin, and teeth

Eyes, ears, and skin

眼科 diagnoses and treats eye disease and injury, prescribes glasses and contact lenses, and performs eye surgery.¹ Contact-lens trouble and foreign bodies or chemicals in the eye belong here.⁷

耳鼻咽喉科 diagnoses and treats ear, nose, and throat disease, including sinus and sleep surgery, tonsil removal, and hearing and balance problems.¹ Runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, ear pain, ringing ears, swollen tonsils, objects in the ear, and fishbones in the throat belong here, though milder nose and throat symptoms may also be treated at naika.⁷

皮膚科 diagnoses and treats skin, hair, and nail disease such as acne, psoriasis, warts, and skin cancer, and may operate on skin disorders.¹ Rashes, allergic reactions, insect bites, hives, shingles, and minor burns belong here.⁷ Persistent acne and itchy rashes are hifuka cases, as are hair and nail issues.⁶

Dentistry and oral surgery

Toothache and routine dental care belong at 歯科, and dental signs subdivide further into 一般歯科 (ippan shika, "general dentistry") for everyday treatment and 矯正歯科 (kyosei shika, "orthodontic dentistry") for alignment work.³ Preventive dentistry appears on signs as a third subfield for cleaning and home-care instruction.³

Surgical mouth and jaw cases belong at 口腔外科 (koku-geka, "oral surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery"), which treats and reconstructs the mouth, jaw, face, head, and neck after injury or surgery.¹ The split is generalist versus surgeon: the dentist handles teeth and gums while the oral surgeon handles implants, impacted wisdom teeth, jaw surgery, and facial trauma or reconstruction.

Women's health, urinary care, mind, and reconstruction

Obstetrics-gynecology and urology

産婦人科 (sanfujinka, "obstetrics and gynecology") covers pregnancy from conception through delivery and after, female reproductive disease, routine care such as Pap smears and breast examinations, and gynecologic surgery.¹ Menstrual irregularities, period pain, pregnancy concerns, and abdominal pain with a gynecologic cause all belong here, across the span from puberty through old age.⁷ Routine checkups through specialized pregnancy care sit in the same department.⁶

泌尿器科 (hinyoki-ka, "urology") covers the urinary system in men and women plus male reproductive disorders, with medication, surgery, and urination-problem treatment.¹ Urinary discomfort, suspected kidney stones, kidney and prostate issues, STD checks, and male infertility concerns belong here.⁶²

Psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine, and reconstructive surgery

精神科 (seishinka, "psychiatry") handles behavioral and psychological difficulties including depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and mental disorders, with prescribing and consultation.¹² Counseling plus medication is the standard shape of care.⁶

心療内科 (shinryo-naika, "psychosomatic medicine, mind-body connected illness") handles physical illness tied to mental states: stress-related stomach pain, insomnia, and chest tightness, often in cooperation with seishinka doctors.² The two signs look related but position differently, and choosing between them turns on whether the presenting problem is primarily mental or primarily physical with a stress link.³²

形成外科 (keisei-geka, "plastic and reconstructive surgery") repairs abnormalities of body form and function by surgery: congenital anomalies, trauma, burns, post-tumor tissue loss, and aging changes, with functional recovery in eating, speaking, and moving weighted alongside appearance.⁹ It also covers surgery that improves appearance or follows injury or cancer removal.¹ The dermatology boundary runs cleanly: skin disease belongs at hifuka while reconstruction cases need keisei-geka consultation.²

Psychiatric departments may expect an introduction letter

Psychiatric departments are often crowded and frequently ask first-time patients for a letter of introduction, so calling ahead before visiting avoids a wasted trip.²

Which department for ambiguous symptoms

Japan's freedom of access means the patient picks the lane, and a wrong first choice typically ends with redirection rather than treatment.¹ The decision below, cited to the symptom mapping above, compresses the article into one flow.⁷⁴²

Stomachache, fever, headache, and cough start at naika, while severe bleeding and large burns go straight to geka.⁷ Sore throat and nasal symptoms may be treated at either naika or ENT, but objects in the ear and bones in the throat belong at ENT specifically.⁷ Abdominal pain with menstrual or pregnancy-related signs belongs at sanfujinka.⁷

Skin-first symptoms point to hifuka while post-injury reconstruction points to keisei-geka.⁷² Eye symptoms point to ganka, ear and throat symptoms to jibiinkoka, and any childhood symptom to shonika.⁷⁴ Mental-health-first symptoms map to seishinka while stress-linked physical symptoms map to shinryo-naika, and any department that cannot help refers onward with a shokaijo.²

Good to know

When in doubt, start at internal medicine

Going straight to a large hospital for an undifferentiated symptom wastes money and time, since large hospitals expect referred patients and the walk-in path costs extra. Neighborhood clinics are the entry point and write the onward letter when hospital care is needed.⁶⁴

Departments inside one facility are not all staffed every session, so calling ahead to confirm the needed department is staffed that day avoids a wasted trip.⁵ The naika-first rule plus one phone call resolves most ambiguous cases before any travel.

Orthopedics is not surgery, and reconstructive is not cosmetic-only

Reading 整形外科 as cosmetic surgery sends patients to the wrong building. Seikeigeka is bones, joints, muscles, and nerves, while cosmetic-leaning work sits under keisei-geka, which is reconstructive and functional rather than cosmetic-only.¹⁷⁹

Skin disease and reconstruction split the same way. Hifuka treats skin disease while keisei-geka handles reconstruction after injury, burns, or tumor removal, so matching the problem to the correct side of that line matters.²⁹

Psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine position differently

Treating 精神科 and 心療内科 as interchangeable leads to the wrong waiting room. Seishinka handles mental-health conditions directly while shinryo-naika handles physical illness connected to mental states such as stress stomach pain and insomnia, often with both departments cooperating.²

Psychiatric departments are often crowded and may ask for an introduction letter, and that pressure varies by area and facility.² For a first mental-health visit, confirming the letter requirement by phone is part of choosing correctly, not an afterthought.

See also

• Clinic vs. Hospital: The Two-Tier System
• The Freedom-of-Access Norm: Seeing Any Doctor in Japan Without a Referral
• Finding an English-Speaking Provider
• What to Bring to a Doctor's Visit
• The Referral-Letter (Shokaijo) System

References

Footnotes

1. Japan Healthcare Info (General Incorporated Association, Tokyo). "Which specialist do I see?" https://japanhealthinfo.com/japanese-healthcare-services/which-specialist-do-i-see/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹

2. Obihiro City, Tokachi Pioneer newsletter Issue 169, May 2025. "Types of Japanese Medical Departments." Municipal newsletter PDF. https://www.city.obihiro.hokkaido.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/001/394/pioneer2025-05.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸

3. JapanesePod101. "Learn Japanese Kanji: Everyday Kanji (Clinic Signs)." Published 2009-08-28. https://www.japanesepod101.com/blog/2009/08/28/learn-japanese-kanji-everyday-kanji-clinic-signs/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

4. Expat.jp (haru). "Visiting a Clinic in Japan: Step-by-Step Guide for Expats." Published 2025-09-07, updated 2026-07-05. https://expat.jp/visiting-a-clinic-in-japan/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

5. Japan Dev Team. "Pediatrics in Japan: Everything You Need to Know." Published 2026-07-23. https://japan-dev.com/blog/pediatrics-in-japan ↩ ↩²

6. Japan Dev Team. "How To Get Medical Care in Japan." Updated 2025-04-21. https://japan-dev.com/blog/how-to-get-medical-care-in-japan ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

7. FUN! Japan / JTB Japan Medical and Health Tourism Center, supervising doctor Sumiko Goto. "How to Find a Hospital or Clinic in Japan, Which Department to Visit, and How to Get Treated." Published 2025-04-09, updated 2025-08-21. https://www.fun-japan.jp/en/articles/14056 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²²

8. Japan BiZ Guide. "Healthcare." Published 2016-10-20. https://japanbizguide.com/life/healthcare.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

9. Tokai University Hospital. "形成外科 (Plastic surgery) department page." https://www.fuzoku-hosp.tokai.ac.jp/en/service/keisei-geka/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵