A Vague Itinerary
On an unplanned flight from Shanghai to Seoul I peered out of the window as we were making landfall over the southwestern tip of South Korea. From the moving map I learned we were near the town of Mokpo. I had to visit Mokpo.
Mokpo did not disappoint. It’s at the end of a train line, 340 miles from Seoul, and close to a gorgeous new national park, Wolchulsan.
As I was checking out of my hotel in Mokpo, the front desk clerk asked where I was heading next. My reply that I didn’t know earned a confused look, but mercifully the emergency services weren’t summoned.
The walk to the train station was soon enough to start thinking about the next destination.
And that’s the way I like to travel when traveling solo, a style of travel I would not impose on my partner.
Japan… Again, in 2024
Google has been tracking me.
The red dots represent some of the places I’ve visited and often revisited over the past 11 years on Japan’s four main islands (with South Korea thrown in for good measure). It’s almost 2,000 miles by train from the northernmost station to the southernmost: I’ve visited both, but not on the same trip.
In March I’ll be back in Japan, without a specific plan. My flight from Honolulu arrives at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in the evening, so I’ve reserved a room in a hotel directly connected to the International Terminal.
Next morning I’ll board an ANA flight from Tokyo to Kochi on Shikoku, one of Japan’s four main islands. After spending 10 hours on a plane the previous day, a 90-minute flight is more appealing than a nine-hour train journey. Besides, it cost just 5,500 United MileagePlus miles (about $85).
From Kochi I’ll be propelled by a national rail pass and a desire not to freeze. I’ll head west and south: my backpack is too small for the leap from Kyushu’s subtropical south to Hokkaido’s lingering winter.
Riding the rails appeals, including rural lines threatened with closure, and a brand new Shinkansen (bullet train line) extension slated to open March 16, 2024. (And I believe it will open on that date–this is Japan.) I expect to travel about 2,000 miles by train, much of that at high speed at the end of active days.
Places I’ve come to love beckon, including Kagoshima Prefecture and the area around the Seto Inland Sea. National parks are a sure bet when they can be accessed by transit.
I have some recurring themes in mind, including routes traveled by English explorer Isabella Bird in the 19th century, and poet and backpacker (and more) Matsuo Basho in the 17th century. I like to walk in their footsteps and contrast their descriptions with 21st century Japan. Then there’s pilgrimage routes, including the ancient Shikoku 88 (temples) route, that combine hiking and culture.
I don’t do bucket lists or trips of a lifetime. Places are not to be consumed like products; the journey is not an inconvenience. Travel is iterative: each trip is a prototype for the next time I visit an area; there’s no pressure to tick off all the boxes.
With that mindset, I’ll return to Japan in March 2024.
