A trio of Japanese men, all former professional rickshaw pullers in Tokyo, are taking their old-fashioned carriage around the planet in a bid to see the world by foot and pedal.
The three men and their non-motorized rickshaw are currently in Thailand, where they traveled from Pattaya to Bangkok this week. They are sharing their adventures on a Japanese Facebook page called World Rickshaw.
Yuji Suzuki, Keisuke Takahashi, and Ken Hirano, all 29, are pursuing their dream of spending three years traversing five continents by foot in order to promote Japanese culture.
They left Japan in early February, taking turns pulling a cart that weighs 90 kilograms.
So far, they’ve visited Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Cambodia. They passed the Thai border at Sa Kaeo, and will travel to India, Australia, the U.S., and Europe next, reported The Nation.
The men have received sponsorship from Japan’s government as well as private backers because of their promotion of Japanese life. Before starting the trek, they trained and planned extensively and a huge group of Japanese fans came to cheer them on as they left their country.
