Why I’m going to Fukuoka before I walk across Japan

In October, I am spending two weeks in Fukuoka.

The trip started with a simple idea.

A friend I met in Thailand is attending a convention for digital nomads there. It seemed like a good opportunity to see him again and spend some time in Japan to prepare my 3,000 km walk from Cape Sata to Cape Soya.

I have been planning that experiment from Portugal.

I can study maps, research routes and learn Japanese. But there is a limit to what I can understand without being there.

Fukuoka is an opportunity to test three things.

Is my Japanese useful in real life?

Learning Japanese in a lesson is controlled.

I know the subject. I have time to think. I can check references.

Fukuoka will be different.

Can I ask someone a question I have not rehearsed?
Can I understand enough of the answer?
And when I fail, can I remain in an exchange that still connects me with the person?

This matters because the future walk depends on encounters.

Every conversation I can have may reveal something I would otherwise miss.

What am I failing to understand about Japan?

I have visited Japan before, but I have been planning this walk entirely from the outside.

I already have ideas about the concepts I want to explore: ageing, work, fulfilment and what Japanese perspectives might make visible to someone shaped by Western thinking.

But those questions may reflect my assumptions more than Japanese reality.

In Fukuoka, I want to pay attention to what surprises me, what I misunderstand and which of my current questions no longer appear relevant.

It may be counterintuitive but the trip is not really about Japan. It is about uncovering where my ignorance, limitations, and biases begin.

Can I create useful content from Japan?

This may be the most practical test.

I know how to post attractive pictures from a journey.

I have not yet learned how to consistently turn what happens on the road into content that helps someone see a problem or possibility differently.

Japan could easily become another travel story.

That is not what I want WTFT to be.

During these two weeks, I want to test whether I can:

• Notice a meaningful incident
• Explain why it challenged one of my assumptions
• Connect it to a problem other people recognize
• Offer one practical idea they can examine in their own lives
• Do all of that without spending the entire trip creating content

If the process is too complicated for two weeks in one city, it will not work during a 3,000-kilometre walk.

What would make the trip successful?

I do not need to return with a finished route or a complete understanding of what lies ahead

The trip will be useful if it reveals:

• What I need to change in my language preparation
• Which issues remain to be solved on my route
• What kind of content I can realistically produce that will really help readers get more out of their lives
• What I have overlooked while planning from home

Fukuoka was not originally part of the experiment.

Now it can help me discover whether the experiment I have imagined can survive contact with reality.

Walk your talk,
Franck

P.S.:

• Do you know Fukuoka? What should I experience or pay attention to beyond the obvious attractions? Reply and tell me. I read every response.
• If someone else needs this perspective, forward it to them. They can join WTFT here.
• WTFT is free for everyone. If you would like to support the experiments behind it, you can buy me a coffee.