I loved to travel.

    I had heard people say that life was a nasty game, but for me, wandering around overseas was a real RPG.

    I was always an otaku, a total indoor person who mostly watched anime, read books, or played games when I was in Japan.

    Was it after watching a certain anime in which a girl somewhere traveled around on a talking motorcycle (Kino no Tabi)?

    Or perhaps it was long ago when I admired the sight of a grand thief’s lover straddling a motorcycle and riding off in style….

    I couldn’t quite recall, but I would say that by the time I was in high school, I was already obsessed with the urge to travel the world with great interest.

    I was uncertain if it was an escape from reality, but while I was still immersed in anime, books, and video games, I was steadily preparing for a trip around the world.

    My high school studies had been disastrous, but I took my English language studies seriously.

    I also dabbled in Chinese and Spanish to the point where I could hold a conversation.

    I also started taking Tai Chi seriously, something I had been doing with my grandfather since elementary school because I thought it would be good for my physical fitness and self-defense.

    It was also when I was in high school that I took the plunge and began learning the tea ceremony after reading a book about an experience in which someone was asked about Japanese culture abroad and felt that they knew nothing about their own country.

    In college, while preparing for traveling, I saved up money for the trip by working as a tutor and teaching junior high school students at a private cram school.

    Incidentally, I had studied relatively seriously as a middle school student, but I had changed into a complete idiot by the time I entered high school, so I could not work with high school students, no matter how high the hourly wage was.

    Also, I got a motorcycle license! After all, traveling should be done on a motorcycle!

    After graduating from college, I set off on my long-awaited trip while everyone else around me was getting jobs.

    The trip was fun… I think.

    The ruins and castles often seen in games, the deserts and jungles, and the horizon that seemed to go on forever, seemed to be a natural part of the trip.

    To be honest, it was tough at times, and there were times when I actually almost died, but…

    No, I actually died… yes, me.