What makes a traveler who’s been to over 60 countries, keep returning to one place, year after year? For our guest today, Boyang Xue, the answer is simple: Japan.
In this episode, we dive into his unforgettable gap year in Japan—learning Japanese at the same university where Murakami once studied, biking for a week between Tokyo and Izu peninsula, camping under starlit skies, hopping slow trains all the way to Hokkaido, and hiking through landscapes that few tourists ever see.
Charming and full of stories, he shares not just adventures from Japan, but also tales from Colombia, Italy, Switzerland, and beyond. But no matter where he goes, Japan remains his true travel love.
Join us for an episode filled with adventures, mishaps, slow travel magic, and a whole lot of inspiration for anyone dreaming of exploring Japan differently.
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00:00:00 Trailer
00:02:00 Episode & Guest intro
00:08:30 Early travel stories
00:11:30 A crazy trip to India
00:16:37 LATAM stories
00:25:05 What’s special about Japan
00:29:51 Spending a ‘gap’ year in Japan
00:40:37 Bike trip in Japan
00:54:01 Onsen experiences
00:59:04 Slow train trip in Japan
01:04:00 Volcano erupting during the trip
01:07:03 Train hack in Japan
01:12:56 Japanese food
01:16:03 Japanese culture imbibed
01:23:51 Lesser known places in Japan
01:37:45 Settling down – Japan?
01:47:23 Trip that went above and beyond
01:53:43 Toodles and see you again soon
