Masahito Yoshida, 32, recently returned to Shanghai, the city where he started his epic walk around the world, four and a half years ago. He walked a total of 40,000 kilometers across four continents carrying with him a two-wheeled cart full of baggage.

On New Year’s Eve, in 2009, Masahito Yoshida, an average Joe from the city of Tottori, Japan, set out from Shanghai to explore the world on foot. He had always wanted to travel and see all the wonders of the globe, but knew that doing it by plane or train, he would miss the small, sometimes isolated towns of the world, and the people that live in them. So he decided to walk instead. His first destination was Cape Roca, on the Portuguese coast, where he arrived in August of 2010, after covering 16,000 kilometers through central Asia and Europe. He then hopped on a plane to America, where he spent another year walking 6,000 km from Atlantic City, New Jersey to Vancouver, Canada. By the end of 2011 he exhausted most of his travel funds, so he started taking part-time jobs to finance the rest of his trip. From Canada, he flew to Melbourne, Southern Australia, and made his way north, to Darwin, then Singapore and back to Shanghai, China. During his memorable journey, Masahito worn off seven pairs of walking shoes.

Photo: davidfntau

“There were times when I felt my life was in danger, but the journey also gave me the chance to experience people’s kindness,” Yoshida told Chinese reporters, on his triumphant return. “I realized that there are certain things in life you just can’t achieve without taking risks.” Covering tens of kilometers a day, through the wild country, or on the side of busy roads wasn’t easy, but even after suffering a stroke in Vietnam, he continued to walk 30 kilometers daily, because his visa was about to expire. Now, after spending a few days in Shanghai, Masahito is ready to drag his 50-kg cart for an extra 500 km to Taiwan, before returning to Japan in August. The first thing he wants to do when he gets home is walk his dog. Then he plans to save up some money for a new walking adventure.

Photo: Zombie Hunters

The 32-year-old globetrotter already knows what his new challenge will be. “My next goal is to walk from the southern tip of South America to the North Pole,” he said. “Eventually, I’d like to cover every continent on Earth.”

Sources: Mainichi News, Japan Daily