Takki Tidbits

According to this morning’s newspaper reports, the first episode of “J’s Journey Nanbei Jyuudan Takizawa Hideaki! 4,800 km” will air on January 7th, 2013 @ 1:59 am on NTV!!! Then, it will continue airing every Monday at 1:29 am.



Be sure to check out the Zoom Sata WS clip (HERE) and also its webpage at NTV!

Also, I’ve translated the article from NTV News 24. Out of all the newspaper reports, this was the one with the most details/information. So without further ado…

*cue the sound of Takki fangirls squealing in excitement*

“I’ve never gone on a trip that I can actually call a journey,” says Takizawa Hideaki (30).

In this show, Takizawa drives a Jeep from Santiago, Chile to Lima, Peru. The whole trip was 4,800 km long – breaking the record as the longest trip in the history of J’s Journey thus far. 

Looking back on the heavy trip, Yoshihara Toshihiro (the director who accompanied Takki on this trip) said “Out of all the journeys thus far, this is the first one that was so long, we thought we wouldn’t be able to reach our goal. Much of the course was on desert or mountain terrain. It was a harsh journey where we had to cover an average of over 400 km a day.”

While they sometimes had to camp out and sleep in sleeping bags, they got to connect with the indigenous people who live around Machu Picchu, the Nazca Lines and Lake Titicaca… Experiences like these were what really moved and inspired Takizawa.

“As it is on the other side of the world from Japan, it was a place that was beyond my imagination, so I thought there would’ve been a wall in communication since our cultures and languages are different. But even though we couldn’t connect through language, I really felt like we connected with our hearts. Now, I am really glad I went there. During the trip, I forgot that we were actually filming and my mind was focused on just moving forward. 



There were a lot of things that you could not experience in Japan. I came upon many things such as, the numerous amount of stars that could be seen at night and the beauty of the South American sun, which is different from the one in Japan, despite it being the same sun. Up until now, I had little interest in nature, but when I saw (with my own eyes) the scenery that cannot be seen in Japan… every single day, I was moved by what is ‘the power of nature.’ I think my outlook on life has changed from this trip. But I still haven’t found the answer as to what that is exactly.”



“Rather than personal strength, I felt the human strength that exists within everyone. This trip for me was one where I took on a lot of obstacles, but if you’ve prepare yourself for a life full of obstacles, you will be able to manage somehow or another – that was the kind of strength I felt that humans had. A while after my journey began, I made a breakthrough. I believed that if I just continued on without stopping, things would (eventually) work out. It occurred to me that it’s the same with life.



Right now, I don’t know how to make use of my experiences from this trip. But I think it will certainly become useful somewhere (in the future). I think there’s a meaning behind me taking this journey after turning 30. Had I taken this trip in my 20’s, I believe I would’ve felt differently about the scenery and my contact with nature. I want people to watch this and feel like they’re going on this journey with me… while thinking about what kind of journey it would be if they were to do a similar trip themselves.”