Departing at 13:50 on 14 May, I'm leaving Japan from Kansai Airport 🛫.
From there I head into China, the starting point, and given the current situation there, there will be significant restrictions on what I can broadcast.
As of the end of 2023, there were 110 entered cars — and by the time the start actually arrived, 30 of them had already retired, leaving the official entry list at the starting line at 77 cars!
That includes cases where people simply couldn't get a Chinese visa, and it made clear to me that this challenge hasn't been easy for anyone, anywhere in the world.
Honestly, right up into May, right up to the last minute before departure, there were plenty of moments where whether we could actually take part at all was genuinely in doubt, so none of this ever felt like someone else's problem.
Fellow entrants who'd promised to drive alongside us kept disappearing one after another, and knowing that some competitors were forced to retire this close to the start makes me realize that even getting to set off for Peking like this, right now, is nothing to take for granted. It leaves me feeling genuinely humbled.
And from here on, I'm heading straight into an unknown adventure.
I don't know at what point I'll next be able to send word, even just confirming I'm safe… but having done absolutely everything I possibly could to get here, all that's left now is to keep moving forward.
A note on reporting back:
I plan to broadcast whenever I can, wherever possible, but from the 18th, when I leave China, crossing through Mongolia on rough roads and border after border, I expect it'll be difficult until sometime past mid-June.
For official information, here
the organizer's official website
will likely be updated as things happen.
I've been posting on various social media myself too, but
since I'm not bringing a laptop, updates to the blog and similar will probably be quite a while off.
If you happen to spot updates on any of these social platforms, I'd be genuinely grateful if you could help spread the word.
I don't know which platform I'll actually manage to post through, so I'm listing them all below.
Komo-chan's personal Facebook page
I mean to bring home results I can be proud of, for everyone in Japan who's supported me all the way to this point, so please, I'd be grateful for your continued warm understanding 🥺
So! Here I go!!!!!