Domagoj Mičetićさん（リエカ大学 第5学年次）

What a month that was! This is the answer I have for people who ask me about my experience in Japan. In this report I’ll try to highlight the things that fascinated me the most.

It all started with a flight from Zagreb to Tokyo and continued with a night bus from Tokyo to Osaka. In Osaka there was a car waiting for us and within 30 minutes we reached our Guest house. There was Miss Kyoko Torii waiting for us. She welcomed us, showed us where is the hospital, supermarket, train station and explained us the plan for the following days regarding our clinical clerkship. The accommodation was perfect for multiple reasons. Each one of us had a private room with air condition. Moreover, the house had a shared bathroom, kitchen and living room. The location of Guest house couldn’t be any better. Hospital was 2 minutes away, supermarket as well and the train station was only 5 minutes away which was convenient because we could easily reach nearby cities (Osaka, Nara, Kobe, Kyoto and Himeji) for sightseeing on the weekends.

On our first day of practice Miss Torii waited for us in front of the hospital and after that introduced us to the President of the hospital and Chairman of the board of trustees. Following that we were introduced to our departments. I spent four weeks on Department of Gastroenterology. Firstly, I was introduced to professor Miwa, chief of the Department and then to Dr. Kondo who was my mentor. My working day would start at 9 am and on average I would finish around 3 pm. Also, I had 1.5h long lunch break. The weekly schedule would be as it follows. On Monday I would be with Dr. Oshima in endoscopy room on diagnostic upper endoscopy. I use this opportunity to thank him for his time. He was an incredible teacher who not only taught me about current knowledge and procedures but gave me some ideas what to seek and what to research in the future. On top of that he taught me how to use endoscope on a training model. In the afternoon I would attend conference and professor’s round which gave me insight in department’s organisation. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were mostly reserved for endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) procedures. Those were very interesting for me because it was the first time seeing them since they aren’t performed in my hospital. Also, it amazed me how skillful the doctors were. Fridays were quite relaxed since I had to be in the hospital only till lunch time.

But exchange in Japan was far more than spending time in the hospital. Even though we spent a lot of time in the hospital there was still plenty of time for travelling and exploring this beautiful country and its culture. Local students were great hosts. They invited us to several dinners and even taught us how to prepare sushi. The doctors from hospital were also very friendly and they took great care of us. Probably the best experience with them was baseball game at Kyocera Dome. As I mentioned we spent weekends travelling around. Some really unique experiences include feeding deer in Nara who are walking around the city center, walking on Dotonbori in Osaka, seeing Atomic Dome in Hiroshima, climbing among Torii gates in Fushimi Inari Shrine (Kyoto) and trying Kobe beef (the best meal I have ever had).

To conclude, I would like to thank everyone involved who made this exchange unforgettable. Big thank you goes to all doctors at Department of Gastroenterology, local students and Miss Kyoko Torii. And I wish to anybody reading this to visit Japan and experience what words cannot describe.
Sending you best wishes from Croatia.