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Drs Jason Koh and Ryosuke Kuroda of the Patellofemoral Foundation Board of Directors present the 2018 PF Foundation Traveling fellows, Drs Maine and  Nunez, at ISAKOS in Cancun

The 2017 Patellofemoral Foundation funded Travelling Fellows recently completed their fellowship with a visit to see Professor Ryosuke Kuroda and his sports medicine team at Kobe University Hospital. Not only was the trip a valuable academic experience, but also an incredible cultural immersion with hospitality second to none. From the moment we arrived in Japan, the language barrier we expected was barely noticeable as Professor Ryosuke, and Consultant Surgeons Takehiko Matsushita and Daisuke Araki were kind enough to translate for us in their clinic where a variety of Patellofemoral and Sports cases were reviewed. We had the opportunity to present our own research and were treated to a departmental dinner - the first in a week long extravaganza of Japanese culinary delicacy. Guided tours to Kyoto, Nara and Himeji castle introduced us to the concept of Wabi Sabi, a philosophical conundrum that we will continue to study and appreciate. The unit had then been instructed to present their rounds and complex cases in English and we finished our trip following a day of surgery with dinner at a Kobe beef restaurant. The experience has primarily reinforced to us that the mission for which the Patellofemoral Foundation and International Patellofemoral Study Group were  founded, being a collegial family of surgeons with a common interest in furthering understanding of the PFJ, is still alive and well. We sincerely hope that we will have the opportunity to return the hospitality of our Japanese family in the future and we look forward to presenting a summary of our travels at the ISAKOS meeting in Cancun.