In Guinea, Africa, I suffered simultaneously from malaria and dysentery, but a local doctor saved my life. In Iran, at the desert, I experienced 54 degree Celsius. In the winter in Tibet, I felt -30 degree Celsius. In the Andes, I was collapsed by mountain sickness, but the State Governor happened to pass by and gave me a life back. The Alaskan winter wrecked my knee, forcing me to concentrate on rehabilitation without cycling for over a month. The KDD's (the main Japanese telecommunications company) telephone messages sometimes became a great healer when I missed Japanese language. Some nights were just too hot to keep candles standing straight up. But whatever happened to me, the sun went down in the evening and came back in the morning, everyday. It was this great law of nature that always moved me and kept me going. In African villages, people treated me differently from others, for they saw me traveling by bicycle of my own force. My knowing about small villages not appearing on the map or talking about the local food allowed me to become friends with them quickly. "Hello." "Where are you from?" The speed of bicycle traveling made it easy to have such spontaneous communication with local people. "Does this trip ever end?" I became hopeless now and then during the long journey. But once my trip ended, it seems that everything had happened only within a moment. All the sudden, my touched feelings, sufferings, intensity and sweet sentiment, all these vivid emotions turned into my "memories." What is left is just who I am right now and only a faint smell from those memories. I have now come to realize that every single moment is a step in my life and that I have to be appreciative of every moment. We all are given a limited amount of time to live. How do you want to spend your time? I want to spend my time doing what I like to do. And, how happy I would be if I could find as many "likes" as possible in the rest of my life.


<Never made it without you...>
People often say, "You're tough that you kept going alone for more than 4 years." But I would say that I could never have made it without the support from my family, friends, company, people I met during the trip, and sponsors. They led me home safely with all the fantastic memories after the 4-year run. How can I express my gratitude to them all? The president of MIKI HOUSE (an industry leader of producing and distributing children's clothing), who is like a father, and 1,100 colleagues of mine gave me an exceptional "paid leave" for this trip. Their supportive heart protected me during my journey, leading me to the goal. The people I met around the world were kind enough to understand me very well. Many of them welcomed me warmly with all kinds of home-made foods. Their kindness gave me courage and strength. The sponsoring companies were also unbelievably helpful to me. My grandmother prayed for me in front of the family Buddhist altar everyday. Without all this support and encouragement, I could never have made it through this trip because it was the support and encouragement that gave me strength and kept reminding me of my original determination. At the very beginning, I thought I might be able to make it all by myself. But I was wrong. Unfortunately, every year, the JACC (Japan Adventure Cyclist Club) counts non-returning members from their overseas trips. The deaths of my fellow cyclists kept reminding me of the importance of taking ceaseless precautions for the worst situations I could imagine, while still envisioning the most positive image of travel. But dangers are often unforeseen. For example, one of my friends, who stayed at the same guest-house in Africa, was robbed of all his belongings. I am too afraid to express how much my family had to worry about me during my journey...