A LOCAL couple will set off on an 11,000 mile drive from Tokyo to Frome this summer as they move back home after five years living and working in Japan.
Clare Simmons and Mark Barton will set off on the once-in-a-lifetime journey in July and hope to take two years travelling through numerous countries across Asia and Europe.
Clare and Mark moved to Frome in 2004 and their daughter attended Selwood Academy and Frome College. Their five-year stay working as a teacher and a computer programmer in Tokyo comes to an end this summer and they’ll be taking the long way home.
Clare said, “We are so excited, especially now it’s tangibly close! We have always dreamed of doing a long distance drive but what with children, mortgages and jobs it never really happened. Since we were both leaving our jobs here we thought why not? It’s now or never.
“We’ve never done anything like this before and chucking in our jobs and security is pretty daunting.”
Taking a 1989 Toyota Landcruiser named Totty – in ode to cult anime film ‘My Neighbour Totoro’ – they will take a ferry to Vladivostok, Russia, and drive to Greece via Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey.
“We are most excited about not going to work, spending time with each other, meeting new friends, and travelling around ‘on the ground’ as it were,” Clare continued.
“At the moment our only real fear is whether we’ll manage to take our time.
“With modern-day life we are so programmed into always rushing, so we will probably have to actively try to slow down. We aren’t getting any visas in advance, apart from Russia and Mongolia, so we will be forced to bide our time and enjoy the moment.
“We’re not too worried about travelling through the Middle East. We will obviously keep a close eye on the Foreign Office website and exchange information with other travellers, but I absolutely believe in the generosity and love of people on the ground going about their daily business.”
The couple will then stay in Greece before embarking across Europe towards the finish line in Frome.
“We miss the creativity and sense of home about Frome, where you can just chat to people in the coffee shop and charity shops. It’s hard to feel the same in Japan because of the language barrier.
“If we could bring two things back with us they would be the food and the organisation! The food in Japan is utterly amazing no matter what it is – from Ramen and sushi to pizza. It’s also an incredibly easy and well organised place to live that functions really well.
“Tokyo is the best city ever but we love Frome and spent seven happy years there; we can’t wait to be home!”
Clare and Mark have already started documenting their trip online at www.fromewardbound.com and on their ‘Fromeward Bound’ Facebook page.
