So, I'm planning on documenting my process of trying to get testosterone in Japan. In about a year of searching, I haven't found anything much of use in English and my hope is that one day this thread will be useful to any trans folks who find themselves living here and in the situation of needing to get HRT with limited Japanese ability.

A few disclaimers about the information that I will be posting:
- I live in a small city in the greater Osaka area. As such I have Kyoto and Osaka cities within a 30 minute train ride from my apartment. Kobe and Hyogo cities are close but a bit further from me. Any clinics and information here will be about processes and clinics in my area. There is a lot more information available about clinics and hospitals, as well the presence of English speaking doctors in the Tokyo area in general, so I most likely won't include information about Tokyo. Where and when it is relevant I will add info about other prefectures, but the majority of what I will experience and know will be based in Osaka.

- I am a resident foreigner, so the rules are a little different regarding my residential status. While I am still foreign, I have a resident dependent visa with work permission. I am not on a government work visa nor am I a student, so my healthcare is not reported to anyone and no one receives my annual health exam information but me. Since my visa is a bit more permanent than many, I do not have the same restrictions as an exchange student or a sponsored worker for a government program.

- In order to receive my work permissions I had to forgo the national health insurance that I would have received through my partner. Therefore, I will not be talking about insurance coverage for my treatments. Where possible I will include information that could be helpful for those with insurance, but I won't have first hand knowledge.

- Since I am on the guys side, I will mainly be addressing how to go through getting testosterone and what is required of FTMs in the system. However, I will do my best to gather information that could be useful to all members under the trans umbrella. I would like to be able to address potential issues that could be faced by trans women as well as what they can do and should expect, and whenever possible I will add that to the information I'm gathering.

- I would like to be as candid as possible about my experiences so that those who may use this information won't be blindsided by anything unpleasant. In the event that I do talk about issues that may be triggering, I will add a trigger warning at the beginning. I won't post anything that is grotesque, crass or vitriolic. However, I may need to address things such as physical exams, intimate questions and answers and uncomfortable experiences. I will be doing my best to maintain my privacy, but I will not do so if it will damage or preclude any relevant information. In those cases I may edit my answers, but not to the extent that it will make anything useless. This does mean, however, that I won't post anything that could jeopardize my status as a resident or be traced back to my partner as he has a job that requires he present a very specific facade at work.

- I am coming at this process with three years of established residency, understanding of the culture, government and language. As I said before, English info and English speaking clinics are harder to come by where I am. It is likely that links I provide will be in Japanese. I am willing and happy to provide basic translating services, but my language skill is limited and I will be utilizing my partner's help in explaining my situation to the medical professionals I will see, as my transition history is a bit of a mess. I am conversational and I can read and write a decent amount, but medical care is a bit more complex and I am expecting that there will be times when my partner will be providing backup, as his technical Japanese is a much higher level than mine.

- Its important to note that I am not beginning my transition here. I'm an American citizen and I started transition and HRT 3 years ago under the care of my doctor in my hometown. I have also had top surgery and won't be pursuing and surgery here in the foreseeable future. If we stay long term that may change. The information I get will most likely be different from someone who is trying to start, since I already have a history on my meds and documents stating that I've had what can be considered a gender reassignment surgery.

- For anyone who has questions, I welcome them. I'm currently teaching a full load with approximately 60 students ranging from 3 to 70 and I teach at three different locations in my city with one school and City Hall. There may be times where something slips my mind or when I assume knowledge that it isn't common. I will do my best to ensure that doesn't happen, but in the event it does, a quick "hey man, how about..." Is more than welcome and may be useful for others as well. If anyone is uncomfortable with posting a question directly on the thread, a PM is always welcome and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as I can. If there is a delay or I'm not sure, it may mean that I need to look something up and I'm okay with doing so.

The whole point of doing this is so that others will hopefully not have the same problems I have encountered for the last year. I've certainly gotten some grey hairs just from trying to find information. I know that we have few members who live where I do, but I have had many people ask questions about my experiences because they want to live, work or visit overseas. We have members all over the world and many who move to other countries. Living in a country that barely speaks ones native language is challenging at the best of times and a complete free-for-all of confusion at the worst. Medical care for something this important shouldn't be one of those things that leave us feeling like we've spent an entire day living in some alternate reality. That all being said, I hope this will be useful in the future for someone or at least interesting to read.

And now I'm off to the best place in the world: the dentist.

What is the general acceptance level for transgender people in Japan? I met a couple of women at WPATH who live in Tokyo and that said it was difficult for family relationships as it is a male dominated family environment, and 'male privilege' is an important societal structure?

Hi Ayden, to help people find this post I'd like to suggest you add keywords people searching for it will find. There's no "FTM" or "transgender" in your post for example. You have "FTMs" but its different, and Cindy added "transgender". I guess there's more that might be useful.

I may be wrong, but as I understand it outside the house its male dominated. Inside its a bit different.

http://kotaku.com/the-world-of-japanese-husband-salaries-506417591

Hi Ayden!

We are a few trans foreigners in Japan.
I'm M2F, about 5 months on HRT,  living in Tokyo (in Japan since 14 years) and with engineer visa (didn't apply for the PR yet)
I went through the Nagumo clinic first and got referenced to a gender clinic in Tokyo.
As for Nagumo Clinic in Osaka, look at the link below.
http://www.nagumo.or.jp/osaka
Write to them and they should give you some info.

I had to wait 3 months before getting an appointment with a gender therapist.
You'll need 2 opinions before getting authorized to start HRT.
I had therapies for 7 months and then got referenced to a second gender therapist for the second opinion.
Note the therapies are 15min long.
Mine are in Japanese. If you don't speak Japanese, finding a therapist speaking English is going to be hard.
I also had a blood check and a physical check along the way.
Not sure for other clinics but I get injections every week.

Therapies are covered by the national insurance but not the hormones.
I pay a total of about 1,700 yen per week.

I haven't figured out the visa, name change yet.
I know I cannot get SRS if I'm married or have children.
I'm married but no kids.
Hope it helps.

Sonia

Hi Cindy!

I think it's accepted to a certain level.
I've seen many trans (or possibly ->-bleeped-<- too) in the trains or walking the streets.
Even seen old guys dressed in schoolgirls but that is an extreme.
There are personalities on TV who are trans too.
It's not a freak show but sometimes it's close to ridiculous.
I'm super clockable but never got any comment or refused a service at a convenient store or super-market.
That said, Japanese people are polite.
M2F you got clocked guide in Japan:
- guys don't look at you
- girls do
- the cashiers look puzzeled but still try to smile

Sonia

AnonyMs: I hadn't thought to add the tags. Thank you for mentioning that, I'll do so.

Cindy: there's a varying level of acceptance. Almost no one will say anything directly to you, but they will notice. I've seen more acceptance for celebrities than for run of the mill folks. Here in Osaka people are a bit more direct than in most of the country. I've been stared at, had people inform me that I was in wrong bathroom, ask me if I'm male or female. I've met a few folks from Tokyo that are more polite in general. The way of talking is different in every region. Osaka folks don't mess with proper speech so much which is nice and awkward at the same time. Sometimes I'd prefer the more polite versions but in general Osaka folk are easier to talk to.

With patriarchy, yes, it's a patriarchal society. In the home the man is the head of house. The wife typically handles money but the husband is considered the head, even if he is working all the time. The gender spheres are very distinct. Women are in home, around other women, raise the kids. The men are with other men, hang out with other men and usually have less to do with the household than a lot of their western counterparts. There's actually been some push to get men more involved with home affairs, but work culture makes it difficult. The gender spheres are very ingrained though. At work, I have kids that are around three with a few younger ones added in, and even at that age the kids are encouraged to stay in their gender groups. It's something that I try to discourage when possible; of a girl wants to play with trains or a boy wants to play with the grocery store and homemaking stuff I encourage it. But, I've had parents actually request that I don't do that so that the kids "learn their roles" young. There are extreme pressures to fit into a role very young and stay there. Deviation is often quickly stopped. Men are typically in the work circles and the provider circles and that's where they stay. As such, more men have power influence than women. It's changing, but change comes slowly here. It's affected by the large elderly population. They hold more power and from what I can tell in my conversations with younger people, the mindset is twenty to forty years behind some other places in the world with the government heads.

This is an awesome idea for a resource. I'm considering teaching in Korea for an extended period of time and am worried about getting my hormones while I'm over there. My doctor is very chill and might be willing to prescribe me a year's worth to take with me, so that's my hope. However, I'm also worried that something will go wrong with my internal reproductive organs while I'm there and I'm not sure I want to deal with that. I've only been on T for a year so that's not a huge possibility. However, should I get a hysto while I still have health insurance here before I go? Have you had a hysto/do you plan to get one? If so, how do you think that will go over?