Shooting up in Kyoto

Yesterday my friend Aggie and I went to Kyoto to get some vaccinations for our upcoming trip to India (August). So, you'd think that we'd get the doctor's about which injections to get, discuss options, etc. Instead, we just chose which injections we wanted, and after a long wait, she just jabbed us in the arm and almost $300 dollars later, we were out the door! Shocking! And that was just the first visit - we have to go back two more times!

Is this the procedure back at home? I can't remember because I never went anywhere with epidemics when I was in Canada, but I would think that the doctor would advise the patient on what to get, depending on the destination, time of year, and recent outbreaks. I didn't think that a patient could just circle on a piece of paper which vaccinations she wanted! But then again, in my experience with health care in Japan, there seems to be an "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Whenever I get medicine, I always have to ask what the drugs are, what the side effects are etc. Actually, Aggie and I went for some beers afterwards and everyone at the bar was quite concerned that we were drinking after getting vaccinations (one girl warned me that I might die!). And I was like, "Really? The doctor didn't say anything..."

Going to sumo tomorrow! It's the final day of the grand tournament in Osaka, so I'm pretty excited. It's my first time to see sumo live. I don't follow it all on TV, but I imagine it'll be pretty cool to watch live. So stay tuned for some pictures of very big men wearing very little!