After receiving the official announcement that I had been accepted into the Master’s program at the University of Tsukuba, the initial plan was for me to depart for Japan just before April 1st, 2020. This is because, administratively, my official status as a new graduate student would begin on April 1st—right at the start of the academic year in Japan.

At that time, no one could have imagined that the world was about to be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, a crisis that would shape our lives for several years. All my plans for departure, classes, and research activities still looked completely normal and straightforward.

However, around October 2019, my prospective supervisor in Japan contacted me via email with some unexpected good news. He told me that I was welcome to arrive earlier so I could get used to the campus environment, the laboratory, and life in Japan before classes officially began. He even suggested that I start my research activities in February 2020, which meant I would need to arrive at the end of January 2020.

Not only that, he showed tremendous kindness and support. Since I had not yet received confirmation about whether I would be accepted into the NIMS-GRA (NIMS Graduate Research Assistantship) program, he took the initiative to offer financial support for my first two months (February and March). He also assured me that he would help look for alternative funding should I fail to secure the NIMS-GRA. For me, this was one of the first moments that made me feel incredibly fortunate to have him as my supervisor.

The departure process moved surprisingly quickly. My Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) was completed in early January 2020 and scheduled to arrive at my home on January 20th. As soon as I received the document, I immediately applied for a visa at the nearest Japanese Consulate. The process was very fast—only three working days—and on January 23rd, 2020, I officially had my visa in hand, with the status of “Researcher.”

Finally, on January 29th, 2020, I set foot in Japan for the first time. At that moment, I had no idea how many surprises, challenges, and valuable lessons awaited me—both academically and in everyday life. This journey marked the beginning of a new chapter in my life in the Land of the Rising Sun.