Starting pharmacy at RCSI, research had always been an area which interested me. I was incredibly excited to get to where I am now, with the opportunity I had to engage in a research project as a part of the curriculum in 4th year. I recently finished my project with my PI as part of my college curriculum, and I found myself to be completely immersed in the topic regarding stroke. For this reason, I was extremely enthusiastic about taking part in a completely new and exciting research project at Hoshi University.
My other source of motivation stems from my desire to explore different cultures. Travelling is a major interest of mine and I happily take any opportunity I can to explore the world. Japan is a country that has always been at the top of my dream destination list. I was rather excited to be able to explore all the cultural differences that Japan has to what I have been previously exposed to.
Ultimately, I was motivated to complete this research opportunity in Hoshi University because the ability to combine my passion for research with my desire to see Japan was an extraordinary chance to not only further my journey in research, but also provide me with a unique opportunity to immerse myself in the rich Japanese culture, undoubtedly improving my personal and professional growth.
I was enrolled in an 8-week research project in the Department of Pharmacology. My Project was supervised by the head of the department Prof. Narita, as well as by Prof. Hamada, Prof. Suda, Prof. Kuzumaki and Prof. Mori. My project was centred around investigating the effect of various CNS drugs on tumour progression in mice. We investigated paroxetine (SSRI), duloxetine (SNRI) and Zolpidem (Benzodiazepine) with saline as the control group. We had two cancer groups, Lewis Lung Carcinoma cells to assess the effect on tumour growth and Pan02 cancer cells to assess the survivability. This was quite an interesting research project to me because for the first time, I was lucky enough to partake in an in vivo experiment from the start of the process, from preparing the mice ordering documentation for approval to the mice arriving and acclimating to the laboratory.
We moved between the two neuroscience labs and the biology lab frequently depending on the type of experiment being done. Lab activities included weighing the mice every day, injecting them with their various drugs daily, measuring the tumour length and width every 3-4 days.
While waiting for the experiment to begin, I was able to get involved in some of the other experiments going on in the Department of Pharmacology, observing and partaking in procedure like Western Blots, RT-PCR and Flow cytometry.
【Scenes from a lab tour on campus】
Eating habits
During my time in Japan, I lived on the Togoshi-Ginza Shopping Street, and 4 minutes away from the Musashi Koyama Shopping Street, which are two areas packed full of all types of restaurants including Italian, Chinese, Indian and of course Japanese. I had the opportunity to try so many different places, and the options were never scarce, so much so, that after two months of trying new places, there are still restaurants I never got to try. I absolutely loved the experience of trying so many new foods as well as trying Japanese food straight from the source. Eating outside often was also very possible because of how much more affordable it is in Japan compared to Ireland. Some of my favourite places were Mister Donut for that amazing old-fashioned glazed donut, CoCo Curry, Kura Sushi, Hazeryu, Makino, and the list definitely goes on. 7/11 and FamilyMart also definitely saw my every day.
Places to stay
I stayed in a Female only Share House called Tulip House. I would absolutely recommend a share house accommodation type because it provides the opportunity to live with and meet Japanese locals. I was lucky enough to share a house with such amazing people – locals, other travellers etc. It was a great way to get to see Japan and I don’t think it could have been any better. A share house would probably be the best option but there are other options such as HomeStay, renting an apartment short term etc.
Climate
Japan is definitely one of the most humid countries I have ever visited. In June, it wasn’t too bad with it still being rainy season. In Ireland it rains all the time, but the rain in Japan was heavier than anything I’d ever experienced in Ireland, and it is impossible to get through without an umbrella. In July, it still rained but it was also incredibly sunny, humid and hot, with temperatures reaching 32 oC – 35 oC every day! It was difficult adjusting coming from such a colder country, but some absolute must haves that helped me get through it were cooling wipes, a handheld fan and a UV umbrella!
Public Safety
I don’t have anything negative to say about the safety in Japan. I took several walks at nighttime, and I felt completely safe. Even going out in the early morning time (1am – 4am) felt incredibly safe. I had heard a lot about how safe Japan is even if you lose/forget items in public places and after being there for 2 months, I can definitely see the true to that. However, the only thing that I did lose was umbrellas, but this was probably because the transparent umbrella is so common in Tokyo and practically everyone has one.
How to spend holidays
I would definitely recommend going outside of central Tokyo for one, visiting places like Nikko, Kamakura, Yokohama, Saitama etc. Everything is incredibly accessible because of how great the train system is in and around Tokyo. There is so much to see! I went to Shibuya nearly every weekend, a Bon Odori Matsuri in Asakusa, Odaiba beach, Tokyo DisneySea, TeamLabs Planet, Firework festivals, Flea markets, a Baseball game, multiple shrines and so much more. However, there are still so many things I wish I could have done, like visiting historic sites way outside Tokyo like Osaka Castle, Kyoto, Hiroshima etc. I definitely plan to return to Japan hopefully soon and see more, 2 months was an amazing opportunity, but it still wasn’t enough!
I am truly glad to have been able to take part in an in vivo experiment. The procedure was completely new to me, and I learned so much from even just observation.
I am also extremely incredibly happy that I took a chance to try learning Japanese during laboratory downtime to help my communication with the students I hung out with. It was an amazing experience, and I would love to learn more Japanese and hopefully be able to read Kanji one day! I learned so much about Japanese culture and how it operates both inside and outside of the workplace and I will forever cherish saying ‘おつかれさまです’at the start and end of every work day.
This experience definitely piqued my interest in laboratory research even further and made it even more likely for me to continue exploring this as an option for my career. With completing this research project in Japan, I have made strong connections with professors and students, which I hope to maintain in the future. The skills and knowledge I gained from this experience will be incredibly valuable for my future research endeavours and I am so grateful for the opportunity.
I feel exceptionally lucky to have experienced this once in a lifetime opportunity. I genuinely could not think of a better way to spend my summer vacation. I met the most amazing people both in and outside of the university. Everyone was so incredibly helpful, thoughtful and genuine with helping me adjust and being incredibly patient with my lacklustre Japanese speaking skills.
I want to thank everyone in the Department of Pharmacology – the undergrads, Professors and PhD students alike. I would also like to thank Toshiyuki Ami from the international executive office for helping to make our transition easier. The experiment and the experience were such an incredible time thanks to everyone at Hoshi University involved. I truly had the best summer, and I am beyond grateful.
I wanted to come and do research at Hoshi University because I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to further my skills and knowledge in research. I like to try and do research every summer, and I’m always interested in projects that seem exciting and important. When looking at Hoshi university, I saw how amazing the university was, and I really wanted to go to a school that has great facilities and support.
I really enjoy doing research, and the topic of research at Wachi-Sensei’s lab was really interesting and matched well with what I had already learnt about in university. I think that coming to Hoshi university is a great opportunity to enrich both my education and my personal life by going to a different country with a different culture.
It’s not common for people to go to Japan as it’s very far away and the language is very different, but many people want to go. Japan is known as a innovative and technically advanced country, and I really wanted the chance to come and explore it. I’ve also always been a fan of the country, so the opportunity to come to Hoshi was very exciting!
During my stay at Hoshi University, I stayed primarily in my lab under the guidance of both Wachi-Sensei and Kusonoki-Sensei. I would also have occasional lab tours, where I could learn about other labs within the university and the research they were conducting. I also had the chance to sit in on a students practical class so I could see firsthand how students learn in Japan! My day typically started at 10, with me being debrief about my activities for the day. I would normally perform gelatin zymographies and run cell culture, techniques that I had done prior to coming to Hoshi.
My professors were excellent at guiding me and teaching me how to do everything. I did a lot in the lab, and I lived being responsible for myself, after being taught something a few times, they’d allow me to do it on my own. This allowed me to fully develop my confidence in these new lab techniques. As well as practical learning, my professors also took the time to teach me the theory behind experiments and help me understand my research topic more, as well as how to better investigate scientific papers. I think I really developed my skills these past 2 months thanks to the amazing teachers at Hoshi.
【Scenes from a lab tour on campus】
Eating habits
Prior to coming to Japan, I never tried Japanese food. I was very nervous about the food but once I arrived I was blown away from the moment I arrived. My first real Japanese plate was udon from Hanamaru Udon in Shibuya and I fell in love! I made sure to try everything and I enjoyed anything that I tried. The best thing in the cafeteria is GoBo salad, and the one from 7/11 is a close second! I went to Kura Sushi often, as sushi is very hard to get back in Ireland. I would highly recommend the tempura or salmon ones.
Since food is highly affordable in Japan, I could eat out once or twice a day comfortably and even then it was cheaper than a single meal in Ireland! My professors ensured I tried many different foods such as monja, yakisoba, and yakiniku! The only thing I didn’t like was natto as it has a ‘nebaneba’(sticky) texture!
Places to stay
During my time in Japan, I stayed in a sharehouse, where I lived with 8 other girls. It was a very clean place with 2 floors and every person had their own large room. At my sharehouse were both Japanese and foreign girls and it was really fun living with them and learning about other cultures!
I was really lucky to find accommodation so close to the school. My accommodation was in Togoshi Ginza which is next to both Togoshi shopping street and Musashi Koyama street. It’s home to amazing restaurants that serve everything from specialty ramen to Italian food. Everything I needed was no more than a 15 minute walk away.
There were 3 main train stations close to me, Togoshi Ginza, Togoshi and Mushashi Koyama. The public transport system in Japan is very advanced and the train lines allowed me to easily get into big cities like Shibuya and Tokyo or go out to Kawasaki or Yokohama! This allowed me to go into the city after I was in the lab, or easily go farther out to explore Toyko without needing a car!
Climate
The weather in Japan is very different to Ireland. When I was in Japan, the temperatures for around 30 to 35 degrees Celsius, and I remember celebrating that it was cold at 20 degrees! There would be occasional thunderstorms but that can be expected as it was entering rainy season. This is the opposite of Ireland, where during the summers temperatures get from 18 to 25 degrees and everyone is sweating, but it still rains there too!
It’s also very humid in Japan, and during midday the air becomes thick. Because of this, I learnt to follow the advice of my friends and use suncut umbrellas, sunscreen and cooling patches often. I was so impressed with my suncut umbrella that I brought mine home. Japan has so many cool and amazing inventions to deal with the heat such as neck fans and cooking jackets, and I’d never seen them in any other country! Once it was evening, the weather cooled down and the temperature was cooler – which is perfect for enjoying warm yakitori!
Public Safety
Public safety was never an issue for me whilst I was in Japan. Everywhere was incredibly safe, and I was easily able to walk home at night or take the last train. Ashley and I were able to explore places like Asakusa temple and Togoshi park at night, and it was amazing to see the views of these places when it was calm and quiet.
In more populated areas like the city it was always safe at night, with police patrolling around. This was a relief as I could still enjoy late night arcade trips without being anxious of danger! We were never worried about getting home either as there are trains until half past 12 at night and good taxi services.
During festivals such as the Bon Odori or hanabi fireworks, there were always staff working to ensure public safety. They would guide you from the train station to the festival site, help you navigate traffic and answer any questions you had. The staff work hard to help and even translate any updates about the festivals for you. With such large crowds of 700,000 people, I always felt safe!
How to spend holidays
I made sure that I tried as much as I could when I was in Japan. I tried as much food as I could and went to so many places. I’m a huge fan of rollercoasters and I heard that Japan has many, so I made sure to attend as many as I could including DisneySea – which is exclusive to Japan, YomiuriLand, which has many unique rides including karting, haunted houses, bungee jumping and an incredible waterpark. My favourite however, was Fuji Q, which is located in Yamanashi prefecture. It had extreme rides and amazing views of Fuji mountain.
Outside of rollercoaster I tried to go to as many places as possible, and I made sure to go to different cities within Tokyo, Saitama, Yokohama, Kawasaki and Yamanashi. Toyko has my different cities, each with its own unique specialty. I often went to Akihabara to get anime souvenirs, Shinjuku or Shibuya to go g shopping and Ueno for the zoo. Besides Toyko, I went to Saitama where I attended the Kadokawa cultural museum where they have a projection show and a huge collection of Japanese literature and art.
Yokohama was my favourite place though, it’s very close to Hoshi and an easy 30 minute train journey. They have a great amusement park, a fantastic night view and many different sight seeing areas. I was able to explore Chinatown and even go to a Yokohama DeNA Baystars game with my professor!
I’m grateful to have gotten this opportunity which has helped me improve massively in research. I’ve gotten the chance to experience life as a full time researcher, understanding the work that goes on behind the scenes, from planning experiments, conducting them and analysing results. I learnt so many new lab techniques and greatly improved my research skills. It was amazing to see the difference between how things are done at both RCSI and Hoshi university!
I also learnt so much about Japanese culture during my stay there. I learnt how important traditional culture is, and how hard people work to preserve it. I learnt about things such as Shintoism abs Buddhism in Japan, and where possible, I tried to go to traditional Japan shrines to collect Goshiun – hand drawn stamps given by Shinto shrine workers.
I also attended dance festivals called Bon Odori where people wear traditional clothes and dance in a circle. Going to shrines is also popular, and I visited Sensoji, got my fortune and prayed. I also had the great chance to learn how to do a tea ceremony with one of my professors, and I learnt the history of it and its importance. This allowed me to see so much of Japan’s rich history and it’s fantastic to see how well it’s preserved.
Outside of traditional culture, I learnt a lot about the modern Japanese lifestyle. Japanese people work hard and therefore know how to enjoy their free time. I was able to go to an onsen and learn about ‘totonou’ which is meant to restore mental balance. I also went to popular Japanese venues like Izakayas, yakiniku and karaoke. I’ve grown to highly respect how Japanese people relax and enjoy their time!
From this experience, I was able to learn about Japan, its culture, and its people. I was able to travel to so many places, and met so many amazing people in Japan all in 2 months! I developed deep and life long friendships with the great people I met here, and I can’t wait to come back to Japan to visit them again! There is still so much I haven’t done and seen in Japan, I hope to return in the future and continue to explore the amazing country. I hope to take the many aspects of Japan life that I admire and try to implement them in my daily life back home, for example ensuring I meet up with friends often, working hard in school and work, and enjoying nature.
I’m so grateful to have gotten 1 on 1 teaching by the fantastic professors at Hoshi university and it’s my hope to use what I’ve learnt in future research and even use it to develop a career in the science field. I would also like to use the skills and techniques I’ve learnt here in my future studies. I’m also grateful to have gotten 1 on 1 teaching by the fantastic professors at Hoshi University, and it’s my hope to use these techniques I’ve learnt in future research. The amazing support I received from these teachers at Hoshi has encouraged me to learn more about elastin – my research project and I aim to continue learning more about this field. I am looking forward to when I start back at RCSI, as I want to further these skills and use them for my degrees or even to grow a career in the science field.
I’m so incredibly grateful to have been given the opportunity to go to Hoshi university and participate in this lab exchange. I’m so thankful to Ami-san, Wachi-Sensei, Kusonoki-Sensei and everyone who guided me during my stay. I had a wonderful time, got to travel and meet fantastic people. I would highly recommend any student thinking about doing this exchange to apply. It truly is a once in a life time opportunity!
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