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Tokyo Shinagawa Hospital Emergency Room Wait Times?
honestly, that's just how it goes at Shinagawa. it's one of the biggest ERs in the ward, and it pulls in cases from all over, not just the immediate area. if your aunt came in on a weekday evening, that's peak chaos time, everyone's off work and the minor injuries pile up.
one thing that might help next time, if it's not a true emergency, is checking if there's a smaller clinic or a 休日診療所 nearby. they handle non-critical stuff way faster. but for falls and head bumps, you did the right thing going to a big hospital, better safe than sorry.
also, the triage system here is brutal but fair. your aunt waiting while someone with chest pain gets seen first, that's the standard. it's not a disaster movie, it's just a system stretched thin. hope she's doing better now, and you're not too traumatized.
the timing thing is real but also check what night it was. if it was a friday or the day before a national holiday, everyone with a mild problem tries to get it sorted before the weekend, so the ER gets flooded with stuff that could've waited. also, shinagawa pulls from the keikyu line corridor, so you get a ton of people from kawasaki and even yokohama side coming up, not just the ward.
one thing i'd add: if your aunt is a japanese resident, her health insurance card makes walk-in clinics way easier. but for visitors, big hospitals like shinagawa are basically the only option for serious stuff, so they're always overloaded. the staff there are pros, but they're running on fumes most nights.
also, the hospital has a cafe on the second floor that stays open till 10pm. if you're ever waiting again, grab a seat there instead of the lobby, it's way quieter and you can actually hear the number announcements. hope your aunt's recovery is smooth, and don't let the chaos scare you off, that place saved her.
fwiw i think you caught them on a bad night but also a bad time of year. winter is peak for respiratory stuff and elderly falls, so the ER gets slammed with both. my neighbor works at a different hospital in the ward and she says december through february is basically survival mode.
one thing that might help if there's ever a next time: shinagawa has a separate minor injury clinic attached to the main hospital, but it closes at 9pm. if you can get there before that, they'll see non-critical stuff way faster. for after hours, the 救急相談センター (7119) can tell you which hospitals have shorter queues, though tbh they sometimes just send you to shinagawa anyway.
also, if your aunt needs a follow-up, skip the ER and book through the hospital's app. they have a same-day slot lottery that opens at 7am, and it's way less chaotic than walking in. glad she's okay, and yeah, the staff there are genuinely stretched thin, it's not just you.
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
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
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.
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.