37 million people visited Japan in 2024, with only a small fraction leaving the Golden Route of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Yet there is an entire country to explore beyond that.

In May 2024, Oscar Boyd set out to cycle the length of Japan, a 3,000km trip from the southern shore of Kyushu to the northernmost point of Hokkaido. Over 27 days of cycling, he filmed the journey and the people, landscapes and food he encountered. His documentary on YouTube has been watched more than 200,000 times since it was published in November.

Featuring clips from his film, Oscar joins us to talk about his experiences on the road — from morning prayers with the monks at Koyasan and the threat of bears in Hokkaido to eating the world’s largest oysters. He’ll discuss the huge, untapped potential Japan has for adventure travel, and how visitors can be encouraged to step off the Golden Route.

Oscar Boyd was the travel and food editor for The Japan Times between 2018 and 2022, and founded and hosted its podcast, Deep Dive. He is now a freelance producer and journalist, and has worked with Bloomberg News, The Guardian, The Financial Times and the Japan National Tourism Organisation. His documentary on cycling the length of Japan can be watched on YouTube here.

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