TOHOKU, Mar 18, 2026 (News On Japan) - A donkey pulls a handcart while a man walks quietly beside it, as former newspaper reporter Kotaro Takada, 36, and his partner, an 8-year-old male donkey named Kusatsune, make their way along the Sea of Japan coast on a 900-kilometer journey from Yakumo in southern Hokkaido to Chiba, selling handmade "donkey salt" produced using deep-sea water from the Sea of Japan.
Carrying their goods in the cart, the pair travel about 20 kilometers a day, crossing mountain passes, meeting people along the way, and occasionally taking detours. In the Tohoku region, they visit an elementary school preserved as a disaster memorial from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, where Takada listens to the stories of a narrator who lost a child in the tragedy.
Takada left his job at a newspaper company at the age of 26 and spent time traveling overseas, where he encountered working donkeys and became deeply fascinated by them. Now, as he camps outdoors while staying alert to the risk of bears, his journey unfolds at a pace far removed from efficiency.
Yet it is precisely Kusatsune’s steady stride that allows new perspectives to emerge—scenery and encounters that might otherwise go unnoticed. Rather than a journey driven by goals or achievements, it is guided by Takada’s desire to “work together with a donkey,” moving forward slowly but deliberately.
Source: HBCニュース 北海道放送
