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Japanese man travels 6yrs on bike from Tokyo to Europe
Keiichi Iwasaki, is a
man who has completely gone insane, or is enjoying his life to
the max. He’s going
around the world – by bicycle. Currently 6 years and more than
30,000km into an estimated 10-year trek, this air conditioning
repairman left his native Gunma-prefecture, Japan in 2001 with
160 yen (U.S.2 ) in his pocket and a
vague notion to yes, see the world. Since then he’s traveled
through more than 25 countries and reached unimaginable highs
and lows.
Logical first question starts something like: “What kind of
crazy...” He laughs, knowing this one was coming. With an easy
smile and a glint in his eye he recounts how “life” in Japan
wasn’t exactly inspiring. “Most people are just working and
sleeping. If they ever do travel, they go by plane, which is
fast and easy, but you can’t see anything. I want to meet
people, see the land, and help spread peace.”
Starting off hitching, Keiichi soon realized that he was still
waiting around, asking for a ride. Independence became
paramount, and a bicycle offered both the freedom he wanted and
the low cost that was necessary. And “low-cost” is no
understatement – his rickety one-speed mamachari, a
Japanese slang term for “granny bike” covered with customized
luggage racks, looks like it’s held together with no more than
love and a whole lot of packing tape. But this mimics his entire
approach to the adventure, which, with some very notable
exceptions, has been funded by the charity of others and the
money he earns busking. His skill? Magic tricks.
“There are cyclist networks, and hospitality clubs, so I
couch-surf,” he explains, while making an old receipt turn into
a bank note. “Money is important, but it’s not all” -one red
plush toy becomes five in my closed fist- “If you don’t have
any, you just work” -a set of chopsticks emerges from his nose-
“I never eat at restaurants, and mostly cook for myself on the
road” -a folded handkerchief comes alive as a mouse- “If you’re
hungry, you can eat anything.”
What about equipment? Keiichi
says he carries a small stove but no camping gear, using just a
tarp and taking shelter wherever he can find it. Bizarrely, he
carries a laptop computer and a camera. “It’s heavy, but so
useful,” he explains. He prefers his donated bike, which he has
learned to repair himself, to something more efficient, to prove
that anything is possible, even on about 2 euros a day.
That attitude fueled his most significant achievement so far. After riding throughout southeast Asia and Nepal, he decided to go from sea level to the top of the world, with no money and no gas. Locking away savings he would need for equipment later on, he started at the southern tip of India, then rode the height of the subcontinent, earning enough through his tricks to make it to Mount Everest base camp. There he joined a 17-person international expedition and spent 10 months training to become one of just three people from the expedition to summit on May 31, 2005. Once the mission was completed, he rowed his way 1,300 km in a boat on the Ganges River, and biked back to Calcutta.
On the road Keiichi has faced many challenges apart from the physical enormity of traveling so far with so little. He’s been robbed multiple times, bitten by dogs, battled loneliness and beset by constant cultural differences and communication problems. By coincidence, he met a childhood friend traveling in Nepal. Convinced it was fate, the two decided to get married. While Keiichi’s parents were supportive (and have been through the entirety of the trip), hers, alas, were not. He has not heard from her since she returned to Japan.
Despite the challenges, he remains firmly positive, even after
six years on the road, communicating with friends and family by
e-mail and Skype and posting photos and updates on his website.
“If I wanted to, I could just get on a plane and be home in a
few hours,” he says. “Every day is interesting, and I’ve never
wanted to quit. The world is not so big – I’m not on the moon.”
As people go, he explains, differences are not so great. “Human
emotions are the same everywhere – only culture and language are
different. So I’m not afraid.”
There is a long road ahead for Keiichi Iwasaki. After riding up
into Russia and then through Europe, he’ll cross into Morocco
and bike to South Africa. There his dream is another ultimate
undertaking: to row across the Atlantic Ocean, a three-month
voyage to rival the years he’s already spent at nature’s whims.
This he acknowledges, like the Everest climb, will have to be
sponsored. Once in the Americas, his final destination will be
Alaska, but as of now the route remains undecided.
What would a post-circumnavigation future look like for such a
limitless adventurer? Keiichi plans to begin writing a book
while still on the road, and thinks he’ll probably undertake
other far-flung challenges, such as seeing the north and south
poles and climbing the tallest peak on each continent. For now
he’s happy to be living a life that few could even dream of.
Asked if he missed anything, he responded in the negative.
Smiling, he corrected himself: “Wait, there’s one thing –
sushi.”