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