Yuji Shimokawa: The Deep World Seen Through Senior Solo Travel

2025/01/20

I believe that life experience is what makes senior travel shine.

I hold the title of travel writer. I often write about backpacking trips. I have walked through various areas over the years. I have been plagued by fierce mosquito attacks in the Arctic Circle. I suffered from amoebic dysentery in Afghanistan. I also lived in Bangkok, Thailand, for nearly two years on and off. A life prone to travel teaches you what kind of travel you prefer. I am not good at luxury travel. Pre-packaged tours do not suit my nature either.

It has nothing to do with the "hard" parts of travel, so to speak—the areas you visit or the means of transportation you use. No matter what kind of trip it is, you gradually come to understand what constitutes a comfortable time for yourself. In other words, knowing yourself... I feel that is the privilege of senior travel. It is a secret to travel that young people cannot yet appreciate.

I think many seniors have sensed this. I am not talking about the true essence of senior travel just because I make a living from it. Even those who have no connection to travel and have worked their whole lives as office workers must have faced themselves while navigating through various troubles. As you gain experience, things like vanity and pretension are stripped away. In short, you come to understand yourself.

Travel leaves a trajectory similar to life itself. When you are young, you are full of curiosity, so you walk through various areas in various ways. Sometimes you might go to relax in a hot spring, and depending on the person, you might go touring on a motorcycle. There are trips where you gaze out the window of a night train that stops at every station, and some people experience overseas travel sitting in business class on an airplane. From such miscellaneous travels, in a sense, your preferred style of travel emerges. You begin to see the color of travel that suits you.

The joy of senior travel appears to be something like that. From the perspective of those around you, it might seem like a selfish way to travel, but for the individual, it feels the most right.

Recently, I went on a ferry trip in Japan. First, I took a ferry from Otaru in Hokkaido to Niigata. After that, I intended to take another ferry to Tsuruga and then travel by train to Kyoto. Yes, I was trying to follow the route of the Kitamaebune ships that once handled Japan's distribution.

The departure from Otaru was in the evening. The half-day before that was quite busy.

First, I headed to a soba shop in Otaru. I wanted to eat herring soba. Herring occupied an important position among the goods that the Kitamaebune transported from Hokkaido to Honshu. However, all the soba shops in Otaru were crowded. It is winter in Hokkaido. There are many inbound tourists from Asia. I was finally able to enter a shop on my third attempt.

From there, I headed to the Sankaku Market next to Otaru Station. I thought I would look for some beer snacks for that night.

I was traveling alone. I glanced sideways at snow crabs costing 10,000 yen and picked up a bag of grilled shellfish mantle for about 300 yen. Since I was in Hokkaido, all I needed after that was Sapporo Beer.

Japanese ferries are divided into types that emphasize being a means of transportation and types that claim to be cruise ships. The ferry I boarded was the latter. Live guitar music welcomed the passengers, and the ship was equipped with a grand restaurant and a large public bath. However, I am somewhat uncomfortable with that kind of world. The restaurant is the world of tour groups, and I cannot find my place there. It is enough for me if I can take a shower before going to bed.

I took a window seat on my own and popped open a beer.

The sun had already set, and the dark sea stretched out before me. The lights visible in the distance were probably around Cape Takashima. The relocated "Herring Mansion" is located there.

It is the winter Sea of Japan. Once we leave Otaru Port, the ferry might rock. Knowing that I am the type to get seasick easily, I took motion sickness medicine before boarding.

"I hope it doesn't rock."

I slowly drink my beer while looking up at the night sky of Hokkaido. Memories of the boat trips I have experienced so far come back to my mind. I once took a boat from Shanghai, which was in turmoil due to the Tiananmen Square protests, to Hong Kong. That was truly an escape by sea. The ferry crossing the Caspian Sea was more comfortable than I expected. If I could have that kind of solitary time on the ferry to Niigata, playing with my past travels, I would be satisfied with that.

The kind of trip that satisfies the heart varies from person to person. In senior travel, you should just stick to your own preferences. Knowing what that is... I think that is what it means to be a senior.

I slept in a bed like a capsule hotel in the cheapest class. In Japan, where night trains have disappeared, a ferry that can be used as a substitute for an inn makes me feel like I've gained a little something extra.