私の物語 · About
Hi, I'm Travis.
I'm a stroke survivor, a filmmaker and a slow traveler. This site is about seeing Japan on the terms your body sets.
The stroke
On March 14, 2016, I had a stroke. Recovery meant relearning a lot of things I had never thought about, from walking steadily to managing fatigue. Some of that never fully came back. My balance isn't what it was, and my body doesn't handle heat the way it used to.
Japan, two years later
In April 2018, my wife Joanna and I spent about a month in Japan: Tokyo in cherry blossom season, Kyoto, Osaka, and then the part I was most nervous about, walking the Kumano Kodo through the mountains of the Kii Peninsula to the three grand shrines of Kumano.
We didn't do it the hard way. We walked short stages, sent our bags ahead, used trekking poles, took buses when it made sense, and stayed in a ryokan with a private outdoor bath at the end of it. We got there. That's the point of this site.
We went back for Christmas and New Year 2019, with Hakone, Tokyo Disney and teamLab, and again a few years later for more of Tokyo. My Google reviews from all three trips are the backbone of the journal.
Why "at my pace"
Most travel guides assume you can walk all day, climb anything and skip lunch. Plenty of us can't, whether it's a stroke, a bad knee, age, a chronic illness or just wanting a gentler trip. Here you'll find effort ratings, rest stops, bus options and honest notes on stairs and heat.
The videos
You can watch my Japan footage on the videos page or on my YouTube channel.