Everyone has a story to tell, and we heard quite a lot of them throughout the 30 years we were hostel hosts in Danhostel Ribe in Ribe, Denmark. Yet our recent guests, the world travellers Yoshihiro and Yuko Ishizawa from Japan, had a rather unusual travel story to tell.
( This blog post in Danish: Amazingcars.dk: Verden rundt i bil. Pitstop i Ribe )
40.000 km in a Mazda Scrum from Japan to Ribe
Yoshi and Yuko started their world tour from Tokyo in August 2015 in this Mazda Scrum 660cc, and a year and a month later they arrived to Ribe and stayed a couple of nights in our hostel.
They have driven about 40.000 km and visited all these countries on their way: Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Holland and now Denmark.
From Ribe they went to Hirtshals to catch the ferry to Island, though travelling north is really out of their way, since their plan is after Iceland to go to Morocco through France and Spain and end in South Africa around May 2017.
Looking for a home abroad
Yoshi and Yuko tell they want to live abroad, so where they go, they are always looking for a house. They want to stay in a house that “has a good view, is cheap and quiet. If wild bears walk in the garden, it’s perfect!”
It seems to have been very difficult for them to find a home that fulfils all these wished, since Yoshi and Yuko have been around the world since April 2005.
If you can recommend any places, please write it in the comments 
In Ribe we have no bears walking around, but from the hostel we have the most amazing view of Ribe medieval town and Ribe River. The meadow, named “the Head Meadow” outside the hostel is part of the Wadden Sea National Park and has a horrifying history of beheaded pirates, whose heads were put on stake in Medieval times.
Black Sun – Starlings
Instead of bears Yoshi and Yuko enjoyed Denmark’s most famous natural phenomenon “Black Sun – Starlings” in Ribe. This photo is one of the photos, they took of this natural phenomenon. See more photos in their photo gallery of their travel blog.
Visiting Ribe because they love old towns
When Yoshi and Yuko visited Ribe, it was the first town/city they visited in Denmark. They choose to visit Ribe, because it is the oldest town in Denmark. They say “We love old towns. Ribe is beautiful, clean and quiet – very much. The hostel is clean, too, and a good place. We like Ribe and the hostel. We found the hostel using Maps.me (application).”
In their photo gallery you’ll notice that they not only love old towns but also old cars and motorcycles, since they took a lot of photos Tuesday evening on the meadow outside the hostel, when Ribe Classic had their weekly get-together. You can often see several hundred old cars these evenings. (See also: 10 things to do for free in Ribe – Denmark )
Working while travelling
Like many other round the world travellers Yoshi and Yuko are working while travelling to help fund their adventures. As a Graphic designer Yoshi gets orders from Japanese clients by Email. Yuko used be an architect in Tokyo and is now a macrame jewellery designer.
Travelling around the world since 2005
Yoshi and Yuko: “Actually, we’ve been traveling around the world since April 2005.
First of all, we bought a scooter in Los Angels and drove from the Northern tip of Alaska to the South tip of Argentine.
And from Vancouver to the east tip of Canada by another scooter.
From Nordkapp of Norway to South Europe by another scooter.
Around New Zealand by another scooter.
Around Australia by a car.
Around Southeast Asia counties by bus or something….”
If you want to know more about Ribe
- Wadden Sea National Park UNESCO World Heritage. Year round adventures
- Old Ribe is a lived-in old town: Roses and hollyhocks in the cobbled alleys of the Viking town
- Photos from Ribe Classic – amazingcars.dk : Biler på Hovedengen i Ribe
- Ribe at the festive season: Christmas and winter in Ribe is special. 30 photos from Ribe in Denmark