Life is like a journey,
and travel is a mirror that reflects life!

***First Stage***

As for travel, it all started with a 10-day trip to Europe with a friend in February 1974, the year I graduated from school.

At the time, flights mostly went via Anchorage, so I remember eating hot noodles while the plane was getting refueled there. Since it was Sabena Airlines, I stopped at Anchorage, landed at a Belgian airport, and then quickly changed planes from London to Paris to Geneva to Rome, Pisa, Florence, and Athens (I was supposed to return home from Florence, but my reservation was cancelled, so I only had to change planes within the airport). I remember flying south and refueling in two places, one in Central Asia and one in Southeast Asia.

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***Second Stage***

Although I got the job, it was during the oil crisis at the time, and I was the only one who was not officially assigned to a position after joining the company, so I spent my training period helping out in various departments, and in March 1975, 10 months after joining the company, I was suddenly asked to be transferred to the Chicago office. It seemed that one of the people in the Chicago office had become homesick and had to return to Japan suddenly, so I was chosen to take their place (as a reserve?) as they had not yet been assigned to a specific position.

Although I studied English from junior high school through university, I couldn't speak it and had no idea what was written on a sign written in English.

However, over time, I was able to get back to normal life and even became able to speak a little correspondence English. It was also a time when I returned to Japan on business trips and started to enjoy life in the US. Around the fourth year, I had to return to Japan due to a shortage of staff in the overseas department at the Japanese office. It was too late to wish I had traveled more within the US, but it was too late.

But looking back, I can see that the experiences I had over the past four years have had a major impact on my life.

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***Third Stage***

After my retirement age was extended, I spent some time helping out with new businesses and working as a temporary employee for a staffing agency, when a friend invited me to go on a trip to Switzerland in the summer of 2019. I was overwhelmed by the beautiful scenery of Switzerland, and this trip was what got me started on traveling.

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***Fourth Stage***

The number of COVID-19 patients continued to increase, and the following year it spread rapidly around the world, but I was already planning a trip to New Zealand in February 2020. After hesitating whether or not I should travel, I decided to go ahead with it, and I have wonderful memories of New Zealand, where there is still a lot of nature left.

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***Fifth Stage***

As the COVID-19 pandemic was coming to an end, I planned my second long-term trip to Switzerland in 2020 and spent 30 days traveling around half of the country. I was worried that if I tested positive for COVID-19 I would not be able to board the plane, but I managed to return home with a negative result.

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***Sixth Stage***

In the summer of 2024, someone I happened to meet asked me if I would like to go on a whirlwind tour of Barcelona.I had always been interested in Barcelona's Sagudala Familia, so I immediately agreed and went on a five-day whirlwind tour in November.

I was very impressed with the two-hour tour by our Spanish guide, who spoke Japanese extremely fluently, and although I ended up staying in Barcelona for almost two days, the only thing I remember is seeing the Sagudala Familia.

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***Seventh Stage***

This will be my trip to Europe in 2025 .

On previous trips, I brought a handheld video camera with me, but the footage wasn't very good, but this time I think I've improved based on that experience.

I used a Panasonic digital camera this time, but in terms of image quality, the Canon and Pentax digital cameras I've used up until now seem to have taken more natural photos. I've thought about buying a Sony camera, but they cost over 100,000 yen, so I'm still thinking about it.

Regarding the travel plan, I think I was able to carry it out pretty much as planned and was satisfied with it. Of course, there are things I would have done differently, but I think the destinations and route I chose were good.

 

Also, I hope we can plan for next year and beyond...