I’ve travelled alone a fair bit in the past; in a camper van in the UK, to a remote house in France, and now to an isolated house in Scotland in a week or so. I’m a little apprehensive about this, and hoping once I get there I’ll get my confidence back. I travel with my little dog and this has its up sides and downs. She’s old now and can’t always go on the long walks, and I can’t leave her either as she howls from separation anxiety, so I have to be really organised with food plans! I hope in the future to go further afield with even more freedom. The last time I went on holiday with someone else we ended the relationship halfway through the week!
I really felt like I was there with your poetic descriptions. It sounds beautiful. I'll be going to Japan for the first time in November!
I also enjoy solo travel, or meeting with friends of friends in other countries. There is something about being open to the flexibility of recommendations and throwing all plans out the window that I find easier as a solo traveler. Some of my best memories come from these trips.
You didn't come into this world to repeat days. You came to transform them.
There's something inside you that never goes out, even if you sometimes silence it. A fire. A voice. A certainty. That thing you feel when everything is calm and you remember: "I'm made for more."
What if today were the first day of the rest of your life? What would you change? What would you choose to stop putting off?
💭 What you put off weighs you down. 💡 What you face frees you.
Your purpose isn't a distant goal. It's a daily practice: being authentic, present, and courageous, even when no one is looking.
It's no longer time to slumber. It's time to live awake.
🎯 If this resonated with you, don't ignore it. Join those who are consciously awakening, one boost at a time:
I’m traveling alone through Japan since the 27th of April 2025.
Now that I read your card I take a break and think about what I’m doing for the first time. I even decided to write a comment here.
I went on this journey because Japan was calling me somehow.
Traveling alone was always something I loved to do, because of the freedom and the opportunity to connect with people and discover new cultures.
But this time it was different. Since my husband died three years ago, I found it hard to enjoy my freedom and to allow myself to have fun, to spend my and his money for my joy. It was hard to gain back strength and confidence and to feel secure just being with me, going away from our house.
Reading your card and the comments I realized, that the reason for traveling alone is different for me. Traveling alone - this time - was not a decision I made. It is fate. So I am not comparing me traveling alone versus traveling together with my husband, my soulmate.
I would have loved to travel here together with him. My husband was a true connoisseur of Japan and Asia in general. But I also liked Japan as long as I can think. I would have loved to discover this country and culture together with him and learn and experience together and handle the challenges, ways, transportation and opportunities together.
So yes, it is still my choice to travel alone. I could have booked a group trip. But I wanted to go on a journey where I follow my heart, trust my instincts and see what life will offer me. How and who am I so far away with just a little knowledge of Japanese language but longing for connecting with people.
I was often asked „What is your plan?“ I always said: „The plan is to have no plan!“ I have to say that’s the best thing I’ve done since a long long time. This journey is flowing, it leads me to places and people I would never even had dreamed of. I trust the becoming and I am being gifted so rich and beautifully. And I’m not only taking I’m even giving.
I thought I would want to write about every day. I thought I would have to compensate my lack and gap of communication. But I don’t need anything but the very moment and I accept what comes my way. And it is more than I can tell and describe in words. So this time I decided to not take notes, to contact people at home just if I have the longing to and to do everything in my own pace.
I’m having such great experiences and the most important one is the one about myself. I can trust myself. And by doing so, I am experiencing, learning, growing, healing and transforming.
I’m so greatfull for having this opportunity. I know it’s a very luxurious situation. But it’s a consequence of a lot of suffering, grieving, leaving, loosing, stopping, struggling and finally deciding to go on, because it is my life. No one can live it for me.
I feel life and joy and I can even embrace the hard times and parts of life now.
I still don’t know where I’m going where this is leading. But I am sure it is good for something and not only for me.
I would like to encourage everyone to „travel „ alone even if it is just a short time, a few hours maybe and even if it is just around the corner. Experience is waiting for you every day and everywhere.
Trust the becoming.
If you read that far, thank you for listening to me.
Thank you so much for your comment. It means a lot to me, as I’m always hesitating to write, especially as it is not my native language. I’m in Japan since almost three month and on my journey I also trying to learn about their craftsmanship. As I see you are working with silver and pottery. I visited a pottery town (Bizen) and also a black smith as I’m interested in Japanese swords.
Maybe we are connected somehow?! I wish you a lovely weekend and send you some good energy from Japan. Petra
Thank you for your kind wishes Petra. I am also interested in all kinds of craftsmanship, I flit between all kinds of things to be honest. I'm now discovering I have some artistic talent with painting, so delving into that for the time being. Safe travels and best wishes.
Looks so serene, Solo travel is great, to find your barriers, adventure, testing out and immersing in different cultures. I am so excited to hear about your next book writing adventures, sounds amazing 🥰🥰
That's awesome and Japan is a great destination for solo travel. I think I may have the chance to travel solo next month. I just might. And I'm quite scared but also looking forward to it.
I have never solo travelled; it feels a bit scary, but I dream of taking a silent weekend getaway to start. Just me, my writing journal and nature journal in a little cottage by a river, lake or ocean in the Pacific Northwest. That sounds delightful!
I've travelled solo in the UK but never abroad by myself. I would like to one day and really admire those who do, but not sure if I would have the confidence to go alone.
Thank you for this beautiful postcard from Japan! Last summer I took a day to spend in Rockport, MA. It was very lovely...cafes, shops, a beach, a pond with dancing dragonflies, and beginning at sunset an evening of sea shanties with a celebrated local musician.
Glad you're enjoying a good return to Japan. I could be ready to travel farther alone, if not for research as one way to clear my inner space for writing my book. ~:0)
Enjoy every blissful moment. I’ve only travelled solo for business. Never recreationally, but I think I’d love it. I’m looking forward to Salt + Sky and all the incredible things you offer.
Congratulations on forthcoming book No7!! How amazing to be travelling round Japan to research (again!) I LOVE solo travel. I much prefer it, to be honest! Free to explore my own interests, on my own (non) timetable… I haven’t been anywhere for ages and I miss it.
I do enjoy holidays with family but I also enjoy solo travel - that luxury of being able to take another 5 mins somewhere, as and when I choose, is one of the simple joys that I now really appreciate. One place in Japan I'd really like to visit in Japan is Yanagawa in Kyushu - looks like an industrial Venice but with punting
I've never solo traveled, but based on other times I've been alone, I think I would like it for maybe a day or two, and then would want to meet up with someone.
I’ve travelled alone a fair bit in the past; in a camper van in the UK, to a remote house in France, and now to an isolated house in Scotland in a week or so. I’m a little apprehensive about this, and hoping once I get there I’ll get my confidence back. I travel with my little dog and this has its up sides and downs. She’s old now and can’t always go on the long walks, and I can’t leave her either as she howls from separation anxiety, so I have to be really organised with food plans! I hope in the future to go further afield with even more freedom. The last time I went on holiday with someone else we ended the relationship halfway through the week!
I really felt like I was there with your poetic descriptions. It sounds beautiful. I'll be going to Japan for the first time in November!
I also enjoy solo travel, or meeting with friends of friends in other countries. There is something about being open to the flexibility of recommendations and throwing all plans out the window that I find easier as a solo traveler. Some of my best memories come from these trips.
🔥 3minboost – Awaken Your Purpose
You didn't come into this world to repeat days. You came to transform them.
There's something inside you that never goes out, even if you sometimes silence it. A fire. A voice. A certainty. That thing you feel when everything is calm and you remember: "I'm made for more."
What if today were the first day of the rest of your life? What would you change? What would you choose to stop putting off?
💭 What you put off weighs you down. 💡 What you face frees you.
Your purpose isn't a distant goal. It's a daily practice: being authentic, present, and courageous, even when no one is looking.
It's no longer time to slumber. It's time to live awake.
🎯 If this resonated with you, don't ignore it. Join those who are consciously awakening, one boost at a time:
👉 Subscribe to https://substack.com/@3minboost?r=5zq793&utm_medium=ios and start.
Thanks for your touching postcard Beth 🧡
I’m traveling alone through Japan since the 27th of April 2025.
Now that I read your card I take a break and think about what I’m doing for the first time. I even decided to write a comment here.
I went on this journey because Japan was calling me somehow.
Traveling alone was always something I loved to do, because of the freedom and the opportunity to connect with people and discover new cultures.
But this time it was different. Since my husband died three years ago, I found it hard to enjoy my freedom and to allow myself to have fun, to spend my and his money for my joy. It was hard to gain back strength and confidence and to feel secure just being with me, going away from our house.
Reading your card and the comments I realized, that the reason for traveling alone is different for me. Traveling alone - this time - was not a decision I made. It is fate. So I am not comparing me traveling alone versus traveling together with my husband, my soulmate.
I would have loved to travel here together with him. My husband was a true connoisseur of Japan and Asia in general. But I also liked Japan as long as I can think. I would have loved to discover this country and culture together with him and learn and experience together and handle the challenges, ways, transportation and opportunities together.
So yes, it is still my choice to travel alone. I could have booked a group trip. But I wanted to go on a journey where I follow my heart, trust my instincts and see what life will offer me. How and who am I so far away with just a little knowledge of Japanese language but longing for connecting with people.
I was often asked „What is your plan?“ I always said: „The plan is to have no plan!“ I have to say that’s the best thing I’ve done since a long long time. This journey is flowing, it leads me to places and people I would never even had dreamed of. I trust the becoming and I am being gifted so rich and beautifully. And I’m not only taking I’m even giving.
I thought I would want to write about every day. I thought I would have to compensate my lack and gap of communication. But I don’t need anything but the very moment and I accept what comes my way. And it is more than I can tell and describe in words. So this time I decided to not take notes, to contact people at home just if I have the longing to and to do everything in my own pace.
I’m having such great experiences and the most important one is the one about myself. I can trust myself. And by doing so, I am experiencing, learning, growing, healing and transforming.
I’m so greatfull for having this opportunity. I know it’s a very luxurious situation. But it’s a consequence of a lot of suffering, grieving, leaving, loosing, stopping, struggling and finally deciding to go on, because it is my life. No one can live it for me.
I feel life and joy and I can even embrace the hard times and parts of life now.
I still don’t know where I’m going where this is leading. But I am sure it is good for something and not only for me.
I would like to encourage everyone to „travel „ alone even if it is just a short time, a few hours maybe and even if it is just around the corner. Experience is waiting for you every day and everywhere.
Trust the becoming.
If you read that far, thank you for listening to me.
Such a beautiful comment, thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for your comment. It means a lot to me, as I’m always hesitating to write, especially as it is not my native language. I’m in Japan since almost three month and on my journey I also trying to learn about their craftsmanship. As I see you are working with silver and pottery. I visited a pottery town (Bizen) and also a black smith as I’m interested in Japanese swords.
Maybe we are connected somehow?! I wish you a lovely weekend and send you some good energy from Japan. Petra
Thank you for your kind wishes Petra. I am also interested in all kinds of craftsmanship, I flit between all kinds of things to be honest. I'm now discovering I have some artistic talent with painting, so delving into that for the time being. Safe travels and best wishes.
Looks so serene, Solo travel is great, to find your barriers, adventure, testing out and immersing in different cultures. I am so excited to hear about your next book writing adventures, sounds amazing 🥰🥰
That's awesome and Japan is a great destination for solo travel. I think I may have the chance to travel solo next month. I just might. And I'm quite scared but also looking forward to it.
So exciting you are back in Japan and working on another book! I recently read Kokoro and Wabi Sabi
And now Fearless writer. Wishing there was a companion journal with all the awesome prompts!
I love how writing came out of your transition to motherhood.
Nihon- wa DAI suki! samishi! Reading your experiences, though so much deeper than my 4 years, is natsukashi ❤️ so many amazing memories!
I have never solo travelled; it feels a bit scary, but I dream of taking a silent weekend getaway to start. Just me, my writing journal and nature journal in a little cottage by a river, lake or ocean in the Pacific Northwest. That sounds delightful!
I've travelled solo in the UK but never abroad by myself. I would like to one day and really admire those who do, but not sure if I would have the confidence to go alone.
I LOVE traveling alone! It's such a different experience and opens you up to such diverse encounters and experiences!
Thank you for this beautiful postcard from Japan! Last summer I took a day to spend in Rockport, MA. It was very lovely...cafes, shops, a beach, a pond with dancing dragonflies, and beginning at sunset an evening of sea shanties with a celebrated local musician.
Glad you're enjoying a good return to Japan. I could be ready to travel farther alone, if not for research as one way to clear my inner space for writing my book. ~:0)
Enjoy every blissful moment. I’ve only travelled solo for business. Never recreationally, but I think I’d love it. I’m looking forward to Salt + Sky and all the incredible things you offer.
Congratulations on forthcoming book No7!! How amazing to be travelling round Japan to research (again!) I LOVE solo travel. I much prefer it, to be honest! Free to explore my own interests, on my own (non) timetable… I haven’t been anywhere for ages and I miss it.
Yes, solo trips are so joyfull! Enjoy the rest of your trip 💙
I do enjoy holidays with family but I also enjoy solo travel - that luxury of being able to take another 5 mins somewhere, as and when I choose, is one of the simple joys that I now really appreciate. One place in Japan I'd really like to visit in Japan is Yanagawa in Kyushu - looks like an industrial Venice but with punting
I've never solo traveled, but based on other times I've been alone, I think I would like it for maybe a day or two, and then would want to meet up with someone.