Inspired by anime, I set out on a solo camping trip full of firsts

I was born in Hong Kong and had loved Japanese anime since middle school. I was so drawn to Japan that I even studied Japanese culture at university. After graduating and saving a little money, I decided to follow in the footsteps of the main character from the anime Laid-Back Camp and plan a solo camping trip around Mount Fuji. It was my first time driving in Japan, traveling abroad alone, taking a solo trip, and camping by myself. I had graduated and started working, and I wanted to see just how much I could accomplish on my own.

Getting lost led me somewhere beautiful

Even the preparation was a challenge, from choosing campsites to checking the weather, but the journey itself was harder still. Doing everything alone—building a fire, pitching the tent—took me about four times as long as usual. I even took a wrong turn once and turned what should have been a one-hour drive into three hours. Still, I’ve always been a positive person, so I could laugh at myself—“I got lost again”—and keep enjoying the trip.

In fact, on my way to Koan Camping Ground, one of the real-life locations featured in Laid-Back Camp, a wrong turn led me to a place where I could see the lake from angles I never would have encountered on the usual tourist route. It was a view I found precisely because I had gotten lost.

Turning time spent worrying alone into time spent talking with someone

Because I had gotten lost, I didn’t make it to Koan Camping Ground until almost 5 p.m. Even so, the staff carefully showed me the places that had appeared in the anime and the best viewpoints for photos, one by one. I was a complete stranger, yet someone was willing to go that far to help me. Their kindness meant I could make the most of the little time I had left.

To be honest, before my first solo trip I worried that it might turn into a boring week. But this experience completely changed the way I thought about travel. Since then, whenever I’m unsure of something on a trip, I choose to ask someone rather than struggle with it alone. I learned that when you find the courage to start a conversation, you can discover views and experiences you never would have found by yourself.

Moving to Japan—and building a life centered on conversation

I wanted to see more of the world and talk with people from everywhere. Driven by that curiosity, after returning home from Japan I traveled widely—to Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia, Egypt, South Korea, Vietnam, and beyond. Along the way, I valued those once-in-a-lifetime encounters: sometimes I would go out for a meal with someone I had just met, or we would end up spending the next day together.

When I worked as a nurse in Hong Kong, I also began to place more importance on dialogue in the workplace. Later, when I left that job and moved to Japan, I chose to live in a share house. I wanted more opportunities to enjoy everyday conversations with different people, so I also chose a job at a hostel front desk. I genuinely love being able to make someone happy through a simple conversation—asking, “Have you been there yet?” or saying, “There’s a restaurant I think you’d really like.”

After traveling around the world, I finally moved to Japan as I had long dreamed of doing, completely changing both my work and where I lived. I don’t think I could have made such bold decisions without everything I had experienced through travel. I want to keep valuing every encounter and make sure that when I talk with someone, I leave nothing unsaid that I might later regret.