Andrej Belančićさん（リエカ大学第5学年次）

Our one-month journey began on August 13th 2017, when we left Zagreb from Franjo Tuđman airport and took the flight Zagreb-Dubai-Tokyo. The Japanese adventure began with a five-day Tokyo tour. Ivan, Luka and I were lucky enough to visit all the major parts of the city in such a short time (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Tsukiji fish market, Ginza, Roppongi, Ueno park, Akihabara, Asakusa). After five unforgettable but rainy days in Tokyo, we took a night bus to Osaka.The next day we arrived to Osaka where sunshine and Ms. Kyoko were waiting for us.

We traveled by taxi from the Osaka bus station to our accommodation in Nishinomiya-Hyogo Guesthouse. We were extremely satisfied with our accommodation where we spent the next 4 weeks of our medical exchange at the Hyogo College of Medicine. After getting acquainted with our roommate-a German student Anna Loy, with whom we became good friends during our exchange, Ms. Kyoko explained to us the rules of exchange and we got the schedule of obligations and some items that we needed for our work at the hospital. Students of Hyogo College of Medicine who visited Rijeka College of Medicine-Marumi and Mayu took us to a nice welcome dinner (yakiniku), while Tomoko organized an excellent takoyaki party at our Guesthouse.

Our medical practice at the hospital was begining on Monday. On Monday morning, we went to Ms. Kyoko's office to create ID cards, and then we went to our departments to introduce ourselves to our mentors. My choice was Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, and my practice was organized as follows: Monday-Friday from 9am to 5pm. I spent the first two weeks of exchange as a member of the Diabetes group where my mentor was Dr. Tomohito Masuda. All team members, especially my mentor, were always ready to help and to explain. Every Monday afternoon we had a Professor round that was extremely useful to me, because I had the opportunity to learn and see a lot of new things thanks to Prof. Hidenori Koyama. On Monday, after the Professor round, there was a joint meeting of endocrinologists and diabetologists where we had the opportunity to hear pharmacological novelties and discuss further plans for the treatment for certain hospitalized patients. Every Tuesday afternoon we had a Diabetes group meeting, where the most interesting cases were presented in English in order to choose the best choice for diagnostics and treatment. The remaining days of the medical practice consisted of morning and afternoon round tours. I was a member of the Diabetes group for two weeks. During that time I learned a lot of new things, mostly about choosing the most adequate therapy and dosage in order to achieve better glucose regulation. Moreover, I had a chance to compare Croatian and Japanese guidelines for the diabetes management, which was also a very useful experience. Apart from getting some new information about diabetes I had the chance to learn about Japanese culture and customs and to try some of the Japanese specialties during lunch time.

We spent the first two free wekeends in Osaka (Dotonbori, Osaka Castle), Kobe, Nara, Himeji (Himeji Castle, Himeji Garden), Kabutoyama and on a baseball game of the Tigers. Although all the excursions were nice, I liked Nara the most. There we had the chance to feed the deers with biscuits and to see the world's largest wooden building - Todai-ji Temple and Big Buddha.

On September 4th 2017, I became a member of the Endocrine group. My mentor was Dr. Miki Kakutani who has taught me a lot of new things about disorders of the pituitary, adrenal, thyroid and parathyroid glands, electrolyte status and the most important things about endocrinology loading tests etc. All the members of the group were extremely friendly, so it felt like I knew them before. The practice consisted of morning and afternoon round tours. The meetings were held on Monday and Wednesday (Endocrine group meeting). Thyroid ultrasonography was a very useful part of my clinical practice. We were doing ultrasound exams on Wednesday. I had the opportunity to see and learn a lot and finally I have performed an ultrasound examination on my own. I also liked the fact that the team members are even privately very closely connected and friendly, since the whole endocrine team goes together for lunch (udon noodles, Thai restaurant, Chinese restaurant) almost every day.

During the third free weekend Ivan, Luka and I visited Kyoto. Two days are certainly not enough to visit all, but we managed to visit the most important parts. Beside Nara, Kyoto was surely the most delightful of all the excursions. On Sunday we were invited for dinner to Prof. Okamura and his wife’s house. There we spent a wonderful afternoon with our hosts and our friends Yosif and Magdalena from Bulgaria.

The last week of the medical exchange arrived. Unfortunately, time passes so fast. Doctors from the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases organized a goodbye-dinner in my honor, where I had the chance to try another Japanese specialty-kushikatsu. The atmosphere was great and the dinner was very interesting. I had the opportunity to discuss with Prof. Koyama about my scientific researches and scientific papers and also to hear about his ideas and areas of interest. Friday was the last day of my medical exchange at the Hyogo College of Medicine. At 5 pm I finished my hospital duties. All the doctors from the Department were sad that I was leaving, moreover I was also sad that this wonderful experience had passed so quickly. Finally, I went to the office of Prof. Koyama who gave me a certificate as a proof of successful medical exchange. We had a chance to talk and take a few photos for keepsake. The professor also said that he does not even doubt that I would have an outstanding career as an endocrinologist in the future and that he believes this is not my last time here at Hyogo. I was full of impressions and wonderful memories after the last day.

Saturday, September 16th, arrived and the time for me to return to Rijeka has come.
I will take this opportunity to thank Ms. Torii Kyoko, Prof. Hidenori Koyama, Dr. Tomohito Masuda, Dr. Miki Kakutani and also all the wonderful people that I have met during my exchange at Hyogo College of Medicine and my stay in Japan. Moreover, I would also like to apologize to those who I have not mentioned in this text, but if I had described all the beautiful experiences from Japan I would have to write a book, since this was a wonderful and unforgettable part of my life. Hyogo College of Medicine, thank you very much for everything and I hope to return one day soon.