Aijyu

AIJYU

To see everything as new again —
that feeling, one more time

An internist in Hanoi. 69 countries so far, and the journey is not over.

Profile

At 18 I took leave from medical school and set off around the world. That was the beginning; 69 countries later, it still is. Without travelling, I don’t think I would have become a doctor at all.

I am a physician in internal medicine and nephrology. I now work at an international hospital in Hanoi, seeing patients from outside the country. In a place where the language doesn’t reach, I have watched a great many people be frightened less by their symptoms than by not knowing what is about to happen to them.

I met my wife while travelling. Someone I travelled with became my family. Without travelling, there would be no family either.

Becoming a doctor, starting a company, beginning to invest — all of it grows from the same root. It may look scattered from outside; from where I stand it is one line. As a doctor who travels, I am still somewhere in the middle of it.

West Lake in Hanoi at dusk, the sun going down behind the towers on the far shore.

Journey

Around the world at 18 → medicine → Hanoi → joining the two

See the world. Think of people. Connect them through medicine.

  1. バックパックを背負った18歳。世界地図と、アジア・ヨーロッパ・アフリカ・南米への道標。
    01

    Around the world at 18

    Left with one backpack. Meeting people and cultures across the world, he began to think about a life spent being useful to others.

  2. 白衣を着て机に向かい、内科学・腎臓病学・熱帯医学の本を積んで書きものをしているところ。
    02

    Into medicine

    He took the path of medicine, and through many encounters found the ground he still stands on as a doctor.

  3. ハノイのホアンキエム湖。亀の塔を望む岸辺に、家族4人が後ろ姿で立っている。
    03

    To Hanoi

    He moved to Hanoi with his family. In a foreign country, facing medicine again, a different kind of work began.

  4. 白衣の医師が机ごしに来訪者と話している。背景に世界地図と、国をまたぐ航路。
    04

    Where medicine meets travel

    Drawing on both, he works as a bridge — supporting people’s health and peace of mind across borders.

With gratitude for every encounter.
I want to keep giving affection a form, and to be of use to people anywhere in the world.

Work

What I do

Joining travel and medicine

Founder of Aijyu LLC. Designing medical visits for people coming to Japan, and helping hospitals receive them. Founded in 2017, with agreements already in place with medical institutions across Japan.

Container architecture

Co-founder of Dr.Base Inc. Building medical and care facilities from shipping containers. One of the largest welfare facilities of its kind built this way anywhere.

Investing

Mainly overseas assets and real estate. On the strength of that experience, investment firms have invited him to speak.

Words

Where I write

Substack Japan Medical Notes Notes in English on medicine, and on living and working between Japan and Vietnam. Written for readers outside Japan. LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/drshunkubo Professional profile, and posts in English on inbound healthcare in Japan.

I also write in Japanese — two books, a serialised column for physicians, a podcast and a newsletter — but those are only readable in Japanese, so they are listed on the Japanese page.

Contact

Contact

Please contact me by email or X DM.

info@aijyu.tokyo
X DM（@aijyunotoushi）

At 18, I left medical school and went around the world
Becoming a doctor, starting a company,
making a family with someone I travelled beside —
all of it is that journey, still going

The Roman Forum. The triumphal arch and the standing columns of the temples.