March man Daniel Doughty is one step closer to achieving his ambition to have a book about his travels around Japan published.
The former Neale-Wade Academy student has been travelling for almost a decade after leaving university and in 2014 he cycled almost 7,000 miles visiting all 47 of Japan’s counties - known as prefectures.
In six months he, his bicycle and 25kgs of odds and ends - as he puts it - got into a “lot of mischief in the land of the rising sun”.
He began and ended his epic journey in the country’s capital Tokyo and he says on his online kickstarter page - where he is looking for funding to publish his book - there was a whole lot of “uncertainty around every corner.”
Daniel, who is in his thirties, said: “Beginning and ending in the biggest metropolis on earth, small town farm hand Daniel Doughty with his trusting steed plunges head first into the deep end as he tackles all 47 of Japan’s prefectures in Tokyo to Tokyo.
“Where around every corner uncertainty awaits, not to mention mountains, bustling cities, nudists, typhoons, the rainy season, 100% humidity, culture clashes, language barriers, volcanoes, macaque attacks, sexy donuts, drivers of unscrupulous quality, grizzly bears, earthquakes, battered communities, starvation, hangovers, dicey bowel movements, nuclear fallout, more mountains and an all round general fear of the unknown.”
He said the book, which he is hoping to self-publish if he can raise £2,300 through kickstarter, will literally be a tale of “ups and downs” - mainly because of Japan’s mountainous terrain.
He claims it is a feat no other westerner has achieved to date, and more exclusively one that no one has ever written a book about.
He said: “An untapped niche perhaps thus far, in a world whereby cycle tour writing appears to be on the rise and inducing many a big draw amongst the most budding and fully bloomed of cyclists the world over. “Now I’m no Michael Palin or Bill Bryson, and I’m certainly no Ranulph Fiennes, but I do like to think that I have my own unique blend of writing, slightly earthy for some maybe, and perhaps the reason as to why many publishers and agents weren’t willing to take the bait.
“But there is a story here nonetheless, and I can’t wait for you to read it. Thus far I have finished writing my second draft.”
But he said he will need to hire a copy editor and also a book cover designer to help piece the finished publication together, which he hopes will be available to buy from October this year - to mark the anniversary of completing the journey.
He is hoping people will help him reach his goal by sponsoring the publication in return they will receive a variety of rewards from an e-dition of the book to personalised video messages and for anyone willing to stump up the full £2,300 they will receive his cycling jocks (washed).
To find out more visit: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/675565076/tokyo-to-tokyo
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