POCUS in Yokohama, JAPAN

The thing about Japan - Japan has the cutest, smallest, and most well-behaved volunteer dogs ever.

Let’s start with the workshop. We ran 2 x 6 hour workshops over 2 days. Supported by JaVECCS and a dedicated team of veterinarians, the prep behind the scenes was impressive. Dr. Yu Ueda translated Dr. Soren Boysen and Dr. Serge Chalhoub’s eight hours of online lectures into Japanese—a huge task. During the hands-on workshop, Yu translated while Soren demonstrated.

After watching the demonstration, participants practiced on volunteer dogs. When I asked Yu if the dogs would need sedation, his reply was simple: “These are Japanese dogs—all are well behaved.” And he was right. I wasn’t sure if some teaching points would survive translation. Take Soren's mnemonic “Drones, Rock, 4 o’clock.” It worked, with a minor change - in Japan, Drones Rock 10 o’clock because their indicator is reversed.

Soren, and I each had a translator to help while we instructed while Yu of course instructed in Japanese.

Lunch was a quick dash to a local ramen spot, and Yu made sure we saw some of the sights - from temples, to mountain hikes, bamboo forest, a pig cafe, planet lab and eating the local food... Couldn't have asked for a better host! Thank you Yu, JAVECCs and all the team for your support and hospitality!

Speaking of Japan, have a look at JaVECCS 2026 on 13-15 March in Tokyo (below). And the online lectures translated into Japanese are available here too!

https://event.javeccs.com/en