Nguyen Ngoc Tuan: The journey of solo backpacking all around Japan

I will go as long as I'm still young...

My memorable youth could truly begin only when I stepped into university. That was when all of the codes of life became as light as a feather to me. The notion of an obedient and hard-working kid from my highschool years gradually faded. It was not to say that I abandoned the image straight away, however, because in my first semester I was very close to receive a scholarship from the university, and even looked down on people retaking classes and exams. Yet, not sure if it was my deliberation or not, I was "in the same boat" with the flunking HUST brothers. If I felt like studying, I would go to class, if I didn't, I would go drinking. If I felt like taking tests, I would sit in exams, if I didn't, I would leave for coffee and chill with some friends. For me, grades didn't matter. 

After 5 years of struggling with HUST, I graduated. I was considering applying for a job in Viettel when a friend suggested university in Japan. Not graduate school, but university, and it sounded tiring at first, after all the hesitance I decided to take an entrance exam and passed. My thoughts at that time were simple: Go then, if I get bored I will come back. 

But life is not a dream, I didn't dare to come back for fear of people laughing at my parents for having a child quitting when he got to study abroad! I had to stay in university for another four years and a half. 

Years of studying in Japan went by peacefully, sitting in class in the day and in front of the computer at night without excessive drinking like before because I didn't have as much money. In those boring days, I take my camera from parks to parks, taking photos to kill time. 

It was not until spring break of 2008 when I decided to not go back to Vietnam but pack my bags and go on a Japan exploration for half a month. That was my memorable memory when studying in the sunrise country, and it was an unforgettable memory of my years of 20. 

My journey began in Tokyo, I decided to travel as far as possible from North to South so I didn't pick a stop. Since I'm a student with little money, I couldn't afford bullet train so I bought the "buffet" train ticket - the regular train. I spent 5-6 hours on the train everyday to travel to cities,  each place I stopped for 1-2 days then moved to another place. 

Some might think of my trip as a journey of self-torture, but I myself didn't view it like that. Sleeping on the street or in the park, eating in a convenience store, taking showers in Internet cafes sound crazy. Of course it is not as comfortable as at home, but I was young, plus my thirst for exploration is greater than all hardships at the mean time, so I just went without fear. 

About my 15 days of drifting all over Japan, there are so many memories, apart from living "on the street" like I just mentioned, I also encountered a lot of "dilemmas" throughout my journey.

There is one thing that I still remember clearly during my stop in Osaka castle. I departed from the train at 12AM, and because the castle opened for visitors at 9AM, I decided to find a nearby park to sleep. I remember that night was very cold, as I was sleeping on a stone bench, I felt spine-chilling, and when I opened my eyes, I saw a dark black dog sitcking his tongue out at only 30cm away from my face. I startled and sat up, then the dog ran away. I thought, why was there a dog running around unattended in Japan, which was a rare sight. My head then was filled with ghost stories, and I realized it used to be a battleground where I was sleeping, and who knew, I could be right above a grave. Thinking about it, chills ran up and down my spine, and my mind suddenly became clear and sound. The story didn't end there, in confusion, I heard music echoing from afar. With another bizzare occurence, I decided to take the risk and follow the singing to find out, because I couldn't sit still there anyway. Upon arrival, I saw a guy playing the guitar. He was playing and singing the whole night, and went away at 4AM. I wandered around in the park until 9AM for the castle to open for visitors. Up till now, when retelling this story, I still have much doubts about what happened that night. 

During my journey, there were plenty of times when the police woke me up when I was sleeping in the train station. They checked my documents, took photos of my shoe sole to compare with the soles of some criminals lurking around in the area. I also got lost a lot of times, luckily I also received a lot of help from the locals. 

Solo traveling is not rare for young people, it is obvious that they are also trying to break away from self-limitations and are willing to experience more. In fact, whether it is my time or their time, it is still a daring decision, but the important thing is to be daring within limits, safety and positivity after journeys. 

Some ask me why don't I stay in Japan to work? My viewpoint is that I must return if I have a home to go back to, I cannot stay at others' place forever. Besides, drinking at home is cheaper, so I went back. 

Back to Vietnam, I worked in Fsoft for a few years then went to work in Framgia, and it has been 5 years now. People say I'm the company's senior, but I personally don't feel that way!  

How do you feel youth? To me, a person's youth is defined by two things, first is the living attitude for your mind and second is the lifestyle for your body. A fresh new living attitude that loves to experience new things cannot be called senior, and if you often exercise, your health is still young! 

I remember on June 5 last year, Taihei-san - Framgia CEO asked Managers in the company to join a 21km marathon. My friends said: "You are dead! How can you manage such a long run without any previous experience!". I was hesitant at first, but eventually I practiced running in 9 weeks. At the marathon, me and my team finally completed the 21km run. From a person who takes no interest in running, after the marathon ended, I realized I was attracted to this sport.

Sports help us become more active, the goal and determination can also be seen more easily. While working depends on many other factors, and I cannot simply do it if I want to. Sports in general and running in particular are based solely on determination, which makes you more "resilient".  

…never get old!

6 months later, I signed up for a 42km marathon across the Pu Luong forest - Thanh Hoa. I had to run continuously in 10 hours and in different terrains. Before participating, I thought this run would help me with many interesting experiences compared to road running. If I got tired, I could just walk, no one could force me to run, and I got to enjoy the forest scenery. Upon participation, I realized that the run across the forest is extremely harsh, and it wore out your mind rather than your body. When facing mountain slopes, different dangerous terrains and areas that I could not even walk, not to mention running, your attitude is the thing that could help you pull through. I witnessed people giving up midway, some regretted participating, and only with a strong mind that you could complete the challenge. The goal is not as important as the effort to win yourself. 

I still remember a friend asking me: "You do what you like or you like what you do?". To me, it is easy to do what you like, but it is not simple at all to like what you think.  

Doing what you like tends to be imperfect, because there will be difficulties when doing, and once it is difficult, there is no fun, without fun, you don't want to do it. Hence, most people doing what they like tend to lose discipline, leading to giving up. 

People who are good at something tend to love it. We might not like it at first, but once you conquer it, you have fallen in love with it before you know it. When we put in efforts and achieve something, you will feel proud of yourself, and the pride will encourage you to continue and achieve more. 

Running to me is also like that. After surpassing each limits, I set myself higher bars, from 21km to 42, 70, 100, 160km..etc…Once I got a goal to reach, even if it is not as likely, at least there is something for me to put effort in. The scariest thing in life is the lack of goal. 

My youth is about living and doing what I "design" for myself. It means that I always take the initiative with all of my decisions and take risks. In my point of view, there is no such thing as right or wrong. They are actually one thing. It is wrong when you look at it this way, but in a different angle, it becomes right. If you want to right the wrong, you are giving up on the right. The nature of the issue speaks for itself, and whether it is right or wrong depends on each individual. What remains unchanged for me is doing what I want. I drink not because people challenge me too, I skip classes to go out cannot be blamed for my friends asking, I go to Japan and travel is my own decision. Hence, I don't regret what happened.

I have always believed in myself, though it is risky sometimes, but for that reason I still keep a positive living attitude, even crazy perhaps, despite my not-so-young age...