Coming to Japan in January was a bit of a culture shock. I am not talking about the complexities of the spoken and written language, the karaoke bars or the sea-based cuisine, much of which features tentacles. That was the easy part.

What I am talking about is the shock caused by leaving behind four years of purely computational biology and going back to the bench, where I learnt the wet-lab techniques of experimental cell biology and biochemistry. I've realized that doing experimental biology has both advantages and disadvantages.

The main advantage is that you work with living things. This is beautiful and complex, and seems closer to reality because you are actually observing cells and proteins in action, rather than just simulating them on the computer.

The main disadvantage is that you work with living things. They are difficult to control, much slower than their corresponding computer models and unwilling to reveal their secrets.

Yet, as hard as it sometimes seemed, I did finally adapt to this new benchside culture. I became more efficient, more patient and better at cross-examining my proteins. Before I left Tokyo in July, I spent a whole day in the cold room, cheerfully conducting two parallel phosphorylation assays and actually succeeding at both of them, a scenario that would have seemed unrealistic only six months ago. I thoroughly enjoyed my work and this whole new world of experimental methods and techniques that has opened up to me.

As for the other culture shocks: I can now read Japanese books written for very young children, and have probably eaten representatives of more marine species than I can name. Don't ask about the karaoke.