In January this year, I turned 80. Reflecting back, I remember being 45 years old during the peak of Japan’s bubble economy. At the time, Japan had become the second-largest economy in the world, enjoying the benefits of rapid growth. But despite this national prosperity, I began to question whether my own life was truly “rich.” What does it really mean to live a rich life?
That question led me to a revelation: true richness lies not in material possessions or wealth, but in the richness of the heart. To achieve that, I realized the key was to nurture creativity and individuality—and that required encountering and connecting with many people from all walks of life.
With this mindset, I set out on a new path. I launched two initiatives:
- Create a community exchange facility
- Experience different cultures through grassroots international exchange
Thanks to the support of those around me, we built an exchange center near my home the following year—called Create Plaza. I also became an educational sponsor in Sri Lanka. Living by the motto “If invited, I go. If asked, I do,” I eventually found myself leading or serving as an officer in over 10 different exchange groups. My network rapidly expanded, and to date, I’ve visited 43 countries and regions around the world.
This year, I set myself a bold new goal: to visit 50 countries before the end of my 80th year. With just seven left, I wondered how best to achieve this. The answer came in the form of the Balkans, where many small countries are located close together. I decided to plan a trip starting in Budapest, Hungary, where a former exchange student from Kyushu University now lives. From there, I’d travel through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, and finally Greece—hitting seven countries in one go.
While planning, I realized I could also take a short train ride from Austria to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. A friend also recommended Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying it was a beautiful place—so I added that too. That made nine countries in total. The solo journey would last three weeks, from June 14 to July 4.
Here’s how I traveled:
- Train from Budapest to Bratislava and Vienna
- Ferry from Split to Dubrovnik in Croatia
- Long-distance buses for most other routes
- Flight from Tirana, Albania to Athens, Greece
At first, I planned to fly home directly from Athens. However, combining a one-way ticket from Japan to Budapest and another from Athens to Japan would cost around 150,000 yen. A round trip between Japan and Budapest, on the other hand, would cost just over 100,000 yen. By returning from Athens to Budapest by air and flying back to Japan from there, I reduced the total cost to around 130,000 yen.
There were some delightful surprises too. While taking a bus from Ljubljana, Slovenia to Trieste, I encountered a passport control checkpoint. I wondered why—only to discover that Trieste is actually in Italy, adding another unexpected country to the list. Then I learned I could travel from Tirana to Ohrid in North Macedonia in about 3 hours by bus, so I made a spontaneous decision to go.
In the end, I visited 11 countries and 14 cities, achieving and even surpassing my original goal—reaching 53 countries/regions in total. (Note: I had previously visited Milan, Italy, so the newly visited countries during this trip totaled ten.)
To keep costs low, I stayed exclusively in hostels for all 18 nights. Staying in hostels allowed me to interact with young travelers from around the world, which was a joy. My average lodging cost came to less than 5,000 yen per night, and the entire trip was completed for under 500,000 yen.
Originally, I had planned to travel with my wife. But she doesn’t like trips longer than two nights, so I ended up going alone. Friends warned me: “You’re 80 years old—this is reckless!” But I was determined to achieve my dream, and so I went ahead.
Along the way, I encountered some mishaps:
- I left my suitcase on a plane
- I forgot my smartphone on a tour bus
- I missed a bus
- And the biggest one—I fell near the Parthenon on Acropolis Hill and cut my forehead
Thanks to the swift help of fellow tourists, emergency staff, and a local first-aid center, I was quickly treated. I even got to use a special elevator up the hill!
There were also many happy moments—such as a surprise reunion in Trieste with a young Sri Lankan man I had met two years earlier in Fukuoka.
Above all, this was my first ever solo journey—a carefree, fully self-directed adventure with no one to complain or interfere. It was incredibly fun and full of treasured memories. Now that I’m back safely, I find myself dreaming again:
“Maybe I’ll visit 100 countries by the time I turn 100.”
