Help - Cut my elbow while I was biking - where should I go?

theres a 24hr place called Ikenohata Yui Clinic a bit west of ueno, smaller than the big hospital but they do stitches and speak enough english for this. walkable from ur hotel, maybe 15 min, and the wait is usually way shorter than Taito. bring ur passport and insurance card, theyll photocopy everything and u pay upfront, keep all receipts. also check the wound for any glass or gravel yourself before u go in, tell the doc what u saw, helps them decide if they need to probe deeper. and if u havent had a tetanus booster in the last decade, just say so, theyll jab u there and it costs like nothing.

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tbh the ER at Taito Hospital is your best bet, but if the bleeding's stopped and it's not gaping, you could also try a 休日診療所 (holiday clinic) near Ueno, they're cheaper and faster for minor stuff. that said, for a bike fall I'd just eat the wait at the hospital, road dirt is nasty and they'll flush it properly. one thing nobody mentioned: ask for a local anesthetic before they stitch, some places skip it if you don't ask and it hurts like hell. also keep the wound dry for 48 hours after, no onsen or shower soaking, just sponge bath it. insurance claim is straightforward, just get a 診断書 (medical certificate) before you leave, it costs like 1000 yen extra but your insurer will want it.

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If it's gaping or you can see fat, skip the clinic and go straight to the ER at Tokyo Metropolitan Taito Hospital, it's a short taxi ride from Ueno. They'll suture it properly and you can sort out the insurance paperwork after, just bring your passport and policy number. If the cut is shallow and not bleeding much, a pharmacy like Matsumoto Kiyoshi near the station can sell you antiseptic and a proper dressing for a few hundred yen, but honestly for a bike fall on pavement I'd lean toward getting it looked at, road grit gets in deep and a doc will clean it out better than you can. Also remember to ask for a tetanus shot if your last one was over five years ago, they'll do it on the spot at the hospital.

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if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping

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kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.

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tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.

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