Last Updated: May 23, 2025

The Journey IS the Destination

Why I Love Always Traveling

This story was originally published on donnykimball.com and has been syndicated here on Medium.

For some time, I’ve been wondering why I adore traveling in Japan SO much. In one sense, this should be self-evident; after all, Japan is, hands down, the best place on the planet. And so, it only makes sense that I would derive a deep sense of enjoyment from exploring various parts of the country. At the same time, though, I am feeling more and more that Japan’s majesty alone is not enough to explain why I invest every yen I earn in traveling.

This got me thinking. At least for me, part of the fun of traveling is the epic adventure in getting there. As someone who needs to be in perpetual motion, I cannot stand being inactive. In fact, I get most of my best work done on random limited express trains that are bound for some rural part of the country. While some people cherish gourmet meals, there is just something about the act of going on an adventure that makes my soul sing.

The thought first came across my mind during this year’s Golden Week. With many Japanese doing what I have jokingly dubbed “revenge travel” after three long years of COVID-induced self-restraint, popular spots all across the country were filled to the brim with would-be travelers. Undoubtedly, the most frightening instance of this was a viral clip of Enoshima that looked eerily similar to that tragic Halloween disaster in Itaewon last year.

Not wanting to share Japan with legions of other domestic tourists (not to mention the international ones that are back in droves), I opted to head down to the Miura Peninsula. With no real objective in mind or place that I was trying to reach, I somehow found myself in Kurihama after a casual onsen soak a little before sunset. Remembering that there’s a ferry that crosses to Nokogiriyama, I decided to watch the sunset while cruising across the Tokyo Bay.

Now, one thing that I had neglected to consider was that Golden Week this year was extremely windy. This meant that I was in for one hell of a bumpy ride. Truth be told, every other passenger on the ferry opted to ride out the…