Health

Health, Sports and Activities

Keeping healthy is very important; nobody likes to get sick. So before you even get here, start reading about Health Issues. Here is a quick rundown of what you should do before you depart for Japan and suggestions of how to stay healthy and have fun after you get here.

Required vaccinations

• Diphtheria: No.
• Hepatitis A: No.
• Malaria: No.
• Rabies: No.
• Tetanus: Yes.
• Typhoid: No.
• Yellow Fever: No.

Discuss vaccinations with your doctor at home several months before you come to Japan, because there are many considerations. For instance, the Hepatitis A+B vaccine is good for life, so even though it's not required, you might want it anyway. Ask your doctor. Also, inoculation regulations can change at short notice.

Other risks

Tuberculosis and hepatitis can be encountered. Typhus sometimes exists in river vallies. Japanese encephalitis is rare but serious. Vaccination is recommended for long term travel (greater than one month) in rural areas. Outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu) were reported in January and February 2007, but travellers are at very low risk. Most human cases in other countries involved direct contact with live and infected poultry.

External links

• http://worldtravelguide.net

Excercise

• Bicycling (not just Mamachyari's or granny bikes) Biking in Akita is an amazing and great way to be seen and see locals. It's also healthy, fun, and for some transportation.
• Most towns have a local gymnasium. These are good places to look for volley ball, basketball, tennis, ping pong, and various other community sports and classes. Also a good way to make some local friends.
• If you are living in a rural community, you might have to commute to the next town to get involved into something like Kendo, Kyudo, Judo, swimming, or even rowing. Asking as many locals as possible helps to get reliable information on where these things are taking place.