My connection with Japan spans now for over 10 years. It was in 1995, still a high school student, that I decided to learn how to read those "incomprehensible" symbols, kanji. I started studying Japanese out of pure curiosity and could never imagine I would one day go and study in Japan. Which is what happened.

To make a long story short, shortly after I had graduated from the TEI of Athens, I learned I had been granted MEXT scholarship and was to study as a research student at Sapporo Medical University, at the northernmost island of Japan, Hokkaido. I arrived in Sapporo in October, 2002. My Japanese knowledge was deemed sufficient and so after spending six months as a research student I successfully sat for the entrance exams for the Master's of Science program in Occupational Therapy,where I studied from April 2003 until March 2005.

Sapporo Medical University, small and specialized as it is, does not attract many international students and so it happened that I was the sole foreign student in the graduate school of health sciences and one of a handful of international people in the whole university. Which I admit seemed a bit unnerving in the beginning, but then I realized it was probably one of the best parts of my university because I quite naturally got to socialize with my Japanese peers. Of course, studying in a university not used to taking international students will inevitably mean that you will have to pave the way in several aspects, something that is not always fun.Some universal qualities however can be always handy and make everything easier: patience, and an open attitude along with respect for the host culture always pay back.

Going to Japan one should be prepared to leave any pre- and misconceptions behind: like electric equipment, they just won't work in Japan! I believe that my ability (coupled with my professional training perhaps) to be flexible and the fact that I do not use to weight experiences against any norm (of the native country for example) were terribly helpful. Also, I found that knowledge of Japanese is next to indispensable, something like a keitai (cell phone) : if you don't have it, make sure you get it soon. Although most Japanese are very keen to be of help, if one wants to live anything beyond the gaijin experience he or she should definitely learn Japanese. Of course, that is not a unique feature of Japan, as you will hear many students complaining. If you go to any country and you do not speak the language, quite naturally you will not be able to get yourself integrated into the local society. It is as simple as that. Plus, navigating through public offices and taking care of the various small things (arranging for bill payments, credit card, paper work etc) can be taken care of in an unbelievably seamless way if you speak the language or they can be transformed in horrendous tasks for those who do not speak Japanese.

In the first few months I was staying in a dormitory for international students. It was very clean, in a central area and brand-new, but living in a dorm had never appealed to me and so quite soon I decided to look for a private apartment to rent. The scholarship thankfully provides reasonably well (I guess students in Tokyo and Osaka should be a bit more tight-fisted to make ends meet) and so I very soon found my dream apartment. The single most impressive thing about Hokkaido was SNOW. Even more than cold (even though at times temperature plummeted at minus 15 or less) the volume of the snowfall was something amazing! Everything was white for several months every year and I had to learn to walk on ice, as every street was covered in it. And nature of course. Having been systematically inhabited by the Japanese only in the past 150 years and being as cold as it is, Hokkaido is still very scarcely populated and has great mountains, animals not seen elsewhere in Japan (brown bear, white fox, kuril seals among others), hiking and trekking for the most demanding nature-lover and on the top of that probably the best onsen and rotenburo in Japan! Combined with amazing sushi and Japan-wide famous ramen, Hokkaido soon became my paradise-on-earth. Living in Japan was not a bed of roses of course. It was highly rewarding though and I would definitely give it another go if I had the chance. If you decide to go to Japan, just remember to not cram your luggage with preconceptions; just experience it with an open attitude and you won't miss!