video – Kintaro Walks Japan

Not much of a thru-hiking story, none the less I recommend this light-hearted, comic adventure.

Kintaro Walks Japan is a documentary film produced and directed by Tyler MacNiven. It is an account of MacNiven’s journey walking and backpacking the entire length of Japan from KyÅ«shÅ« to HokkaidÅ, more than 2000 miles in 145 days.

MacNiven cited three reasons for the journey. On his first trip to Japan in 2002, he fell in love with the country. It was on this trip that a friend nicknamed him “Kintaro,” which means “Golden Boy,” because of his blond hair. Occasionally accompanying him on the trip was his girlfriend, Ayumi Meegan, whose father, George Meegan, completed the longest unbroken walk in recorded history – a nearly 7 year sojourn from the southern tip of Argentina to the northern tip of Alaska. Inspired by their story, MacNiven conceived of the task after learning that his father, whose parents were foreign missionaries, was born in an unknown location in HokkaidÅ. Armed with a desire to impress Ayumi and find his father’s birthplace, as well as an interest in Japanese culture, MacNiven set sail to Japan. …

Kintaro Walks Japan – Wikipedia

You can watch the movie for free on Google Video (67min). Or buy it on Tyler’s official website .

Here’s a very short sample …

Kintaro Walks Japan