Traveling around the world alone for half a year at the age of 50 Nojima Tsuyoshi: Find yourself through travel

"I hope that in my life after the age of 50, I will be surrounded by everything I want." This was the choice he made for the second half of his life after a six-month trip alone. In recent years, more and more people are keen on traveling. From self-guided tours and group tours to cruises, trains, and self-driving tours, many people have tried it. But have you ever thought about, like him, embarking on a half-year journey around the world alone; during the journey, get along with yourself, explore your heart, and think about the second half of life?

This is a 50th-year-old gift given to himself by the well-known Japanese media person Go Nojima. "In recent years, "breaking away from home" has become popular in Japan. But not only does life require renunciation, traveling is also a kind of renunciation,” Nojima emphasized.

In 2018, two years after leaving the "Asahi Shimbun" where he had worked for 25 years, Nojima embarked on a half-year trip around the world alone. After half a year of preparation, he set off from Japan, visited New Zealand, Australia, South America, Africa, and finally came to Europe before returning to Asia. This is his 50th-year-old gift to himself, and it is also a journey to carve out time and space for himself to think about the second half of his life.

Nojima Tsuyoshi changed out of his suit and walked into an African tribe, practicing his "detachment" during his travels.

Nojima Tsuyoshi wrote that one-man trip into "Nojima Tsuyoshi's Food Study Around the World". Although it is called Food Examination, the book is more about his first-hand observations of the humanities and history of various places. Traveling is also an investigation, and the remaining architectural remains can be vaguely seen behind Nojima Go.

Through traveling, you can think more clearly about the second half of your life.

Nojima Go said that he has loved being a backpacker since he was young and has traveled all over the world. But traveling around the world alone at the age of 50, what difference does it make? He answered bluntly that when traveling in his 20s, he always wanted to see everything and experience more, and he would arrange the itinerary in the morning, noon and evening.

But things are different after the age of 50. "Now I want to find myself through travel," Nojima said clearly.

During the journey, Nojima Tsuyoshi focused on inward exploration, "I am caring more and more inwardly, thinking about what kind of life I want to live in the next 30 years." During the six-month journey, During the trip, when he was alone, the books Nojima read the most were philosophy books. "Because I have a lot of time when traveling, I can think about these issues."

"I am 50 years old, how will I live the remaining one-third of my life? My body may still have 20 years to move freely. "Thinking about how to live a meaningful and happy life is a problem that everyone must face in an aging society," Nojima Tsuyoshi said in the preface of "Nojima Tsuyoshi's World Food Study".

Through this six-month journey, he had a more thorough idea of ??the second half of his life. "There is unlimited freedom in travel, but there is no unlimited time." Freedom can be achieved through work freedom, financial freedom, or traveling alone, but time in life is precious.

After thinking about this clearly, Go Nojima saw more clearly the life he wanted to live after the age of 50, and he began to make choices for the second half of his life. He declined speeches that could have been lucrative in the past because they took too much time to prepare; he also declined social events; he began to think about who his true friends were. "Among 100 people, maybe only 10 are true friends." Because of this, he will carefully choose who he drinks or chats with. Because he realized that at over fifty years old, he might only have 30 years left to live, so he should cherish it even more.

"I hope that in my life after the age of 50, I will be surrounded by everything I want," Nojima emphasized. Maybe some people think this idea is a bit selfish?

But Nojima Tsuyoshi didn't take it seriously. He said openly that he was already 50 years old and might not be alive in 30 years. "I am most afraid of regretting when I die. I hope that life is wonderful enough, At least I didn’t waste my life.”

What preparations have you made to say goodbye to club life?

Back to real life, in a society like Japan where "clubs (large companies) come first", how is Nojima Tsuyoshi's life different after bidding farewell to the company where he has worked for 25 years?

Hearing this question, an interesting smile appeared on his serious face. He joked that after leaving the Asahi Shimbun, he was once stopped by the police on the road. The police asked him what his occupation was, and he answered "freelance writer." As a result, the police wrote "unemployed" in the notebook. The police's response once surprised and frustrated Nojima Tsuyoshi.

Tsuyoshi Nojima, who chose to become a freelance worker, is busy but happy.

Reflecting on the four years since he left a large company, Nojima Tsuyoshi, as a freelance writer, is busier than before, but his income is unexpectedly more generous than before. The past four years have also been the most stress-free period in his life.

Go Nojima gets up at 5:30 every morning and starts writing at 6:00. It’s close to noon and I cook for myself. In the afternoon, I will do interviews and exercise. Before going to bed at night, he would definitely give himself half an hour to read comics to reward himself for a day's hard work. "As you get older, you need discipline, especially as a writer," Nojima stressed.

What are your hopes for the future? Nojima said with a childish expression that his greatest hope is that every middle-aged person can force himself to take a trip at the age of 50 to find himself, and then contribute to the second half of his life with more vigor.

Are you also willing to join the ranks of Nojima Tsuyoshi?

"From@王月濆"