Japanese man ends 6,000km Africa rickshaw trek in Cape Town

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Japanese man ends 6,000km Africa rickshaw trek in Cape Town

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Update Time : Monday, January 27, 2025
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Gump Suzuki, the Japanese runner and social media sensation who started in July 2024 an overland journey of 6400km from Kenya to South Africa, runs along a highway close to the city centre pushing his rickshaw with members of his support team as he nears his end-goal at the Waterfront in Cape Town on January 26, 2025. The 34-year-old tour guide from Tokyo has also done similar adventures on other continents, and wears contemporary version of traditional Japanese Tabi shoes. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP)

Shawdesh Desk:

A 34-year-old Japanese man on Sunday arrived in Cape Town to end a more than 6,000-kilometre (3,700-mile) journey from Kenya to South Africa on foot while pulling a rickshaw.

Yuji Gump Suzuki was emotional as he thanked his supporters for their backing during his latest quest which started in the Kenyan capital in July and took him through Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia.

‘I couldn’t make it without you guys,’ Suzuki said. ‘I am running for fun. I have been travelling for nine years already and I get the power from you guys so I give you guys power, too. That’s my life.’

Among his other journeys, Suzuki has already pulled his two-wheeled cart from China to India (2016-2017), for 2,500 kilometres in Europe (2017) and 5,100 kilometres across the United States (2022-2023), according to his website.

His rickshaw weighs more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds).

Suzuki wears a version of Japan’s traditional tabi socks while on his journeys, which he posts about on social media.