Japanese traveler Shogo Uchida with his social media friend MK Pramod during his recent trip to Kozhikode. , Photo Credit: Mithosh Joseph
In just four years, the 26-year-old has completed his scheduled visits to 36 countries.
Japanese national Shogo Uchida is known for his eagerness to experience different cultures and meet people by exploring his social media connections. After his first mission in Vietnam, he never looked back. His wanderings eventually brought him to India, a land that attracted him with its unique cultural characteristics, mix of religions and languages.
“I am incredibly passionate about music, and take it upon myself to make people smile wherever I go. Music is also a means for me to go beyond the barriers of language,” says the young traveller, who Always ready to give impromptu street performances for his budding friends, he always carries three instruments with him – a mouth organ, a small kalimba and a ukulele – for such performances.
Dressed in a traditional kimono, Shogo loves to protect and explain his cultural values to the public. For music lovers, he plays popular Japanese songs using all three instruments together. He also takes out time to listen to local tunes and reproduce them on his favorite instruments.
“For many years, I have been working from home because it helps me earn money to travel the world. Also, such jobs never force one to stay at a particular place,” says Shogo, a graduate in space engineering. Incidentally, he has designed his online career in a travel-friendly way. She is happy that many employers are willing to offer her more part-time jobs.
For his cost-effective travel, he relies on his friends across various universities and social media connections. Shogo considers solo travel to be the most practical option as it enables him to travel to the maximum number of destinations in the least amount of time. They also get support from followers of various online hospitality exchange service communities such as Couchsurfing. In return, he gives his social media followers a full account of his travels and the specialties of each region.
“The hill stations and greenery in India are a refreshing experience, not to mention the variety of food,” says Shogo. He says that he will always remember eating Kerala’s masala dosa and fish curry. Shogo is now planning to go to Bangladesh.