MONTHLY NEWS
August 1997

Fourth Grader Embarks on a 5,000-km Unicycle Trek

A fourth grader attending a Tokyo elementary school is traveling around Japan on a unicycle this summer.

Ken Ichiyama began his journey from Yamagata Prefecture in late June. He's expected to cover a distance of 5,000 kilometers (around 3,000 miles) on a voyage that will take him through all 47 prefectures in Japan--from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south.

Ken's challenge is 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) longer than a unicycle trek he made last year, when he pedaled the 3,600-kilometer (2,240-mile) length of the Japanese archipelago in 49 days.

His unicycle has a 28 inch-wheel and can reach speeds of 30 kilometers (19 miles) per hour. On his current trip, Ken is traveling around 100 kilometers (62 miles) a day by pedaling for 12 hours, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Ken is being accompanied by his father Nozomu, who is driving alongside his son, and his 4-year-old brother Jo, who's planning to ride his bicycle alongside Ken for about 500 kilometers (312 miles) during the trip.

The fourth grader began riding unicycles when he was just five years old. The motive for his trip last year was to raise funds for poverty-stricken children in Haiti. He solicited donations for every kilometer traveled and donated the entire sum--even the money passers-by gave him to buy soft drinks--to charity.

Before he began his current trip, he cycled three hours a day between his home in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward and the city of Yokohama.

In February this year, he entered a unicycle marathon in Osaka, and came in first place in the category for adults.

After pedaling through the Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku, and San-in regions, he is expected to continue his journey in Kyushu and Okinawa, then to return north to cycle through the Shikoku, Kinki, Tokai, and Kanto regions before returning to his starting point in early September.

Photos: (Top) Ken pedals near the starting point of his trip with his brother, Jo; (above) at the northenmost point of Japan with his father and Jo. (Nozomu Ichiyama)