Tatsuya Kushihara left Japan to carry out his project. In the Maciachini region, the vehicle with which he crossed dozens of countries was stolen
At the end of April, he begins a world tour by bike. Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, India, Turkey, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, in no particular order. Thousands of kilometers and a dream: to return to Japan at the end of one of the most fascinating journeys there is. But for now, Tatsuya Kushihara has to take a forced break. The time needed to buy back all the equipment and gather his thoughts after a group of people beat and rob him in Milan, in the Maciachini district. It's the same Japanese influencer who tells Corriere della Sera his misadventure, which however certainly did not discourage him. The 19-year-old was sitting at a table inside the McDonald's in via Farini, intending to edit the latest videos made with a smartphone and portable camera to post on social media, when he looked at his bike and realized it had been stolen. On the ground are notes and tools from his trip, clothing and camping items. “They were inside the four bags attached to the bike. Which disappeared, while I managed to recover the rest,” he told the Milanese newspaper. But it didn't stop there. When the young man approached his belongings abandoned in the street, he was attacked first by a person who snatched his cell phone from his hands, then at least four other strangers intervened and responded to his attempted reaction with kicks and punches.
The journey continues
At that time, after overcoming the attack, the 19-year-old used an old cell phone he had with him. He reported everything to the police, thanks to an acquaintance who acted as his interpreter, then he found his smartphone by geolocation. “It was in a building in the Navigli district. I went there on Sunday morning with a friend of a friend but we couldn't get it back,” he admits, and still no trace of the bike either. But the journey doesn't end there. Thanks to the support of his followers, more than 17,000 on Instagram, he hopes to be able to buy his bike, his smartphone and his GoPro All the equipment necessary to continue your intercontinental route “I don't want to stop, the next step. is Portugal. And I also want to cross America”, he added, before talking about his Milan experience: “I believe in part that what happened was also my fault I would like. come back to discover the beautiful side of the city.” On social networks, he wanted to reassure those who learned of his misfortune: “It will take time but everything will be fine, physically I am fine, I am positive”. Five years ago, on August 15, another Japanese cycle tourist trying to tour the world had his bike stolen, still in Milan.