The Traits of Those Who Can Enjoy Traveling Alone

In my previous essay, I wrote that to enjoy traveling alone, one must step away from questions of “meaning” and “usefulness.”

Yet I also believe that whether a person can truly enjoy solo travel depends on temperament and disposition. Here, I will set down, in my own view, the traits of those who can.

Those Who Are Moved by Scenery

For someone unmoved by everyday scenery, any place not shaped into a tourist attraction may seem to hold “nothing, nothing worth seeing.”

People indifferent to landscapes rarely bother to photograph them. I, on the other hand, take far too many pictures for no reason at all. Eventually, my phone no longer satisfied me, and I bought a camera. To spend that money, and carry the extra weight, just to capture a scene—such people have the makings of a solo traveler.

Those Who Enjoy Observing a Town

Solo travel is, in many ways, like fieldwork. Even in streets that are not tourist destinations, if one walks and observes, differences appear—contrasts with one’s own city, or with other towns visited before.

These differences are usually small, and if you mention them to someone else, they respond with a disinterested “I see.” It is natural enough; the knowledge is useless.

But those who remain curious about such details, even when others dismiss them, are suited for solo travel.

Those Who Can Taste a Place Through Its Food

Many people enjoy eating out. But now, with preservation and distribution so advanced, anything can be eaten in the cities. Why then travel far into the countryside just to eat?

Travel teaches that there are, in fact, things one can only eat on the spot. Little-known fish that spoil quickly rarely appear outside their home waters. In Nagano, soba restaurants are abundant, and each has its own style—diversity that can only be felt there.

Some local specialties can be ordered online, but eating them where the food culture lives, with the air of that place around you, carries a depth found nowhere else. Those who can savor both the meal and the atmosphere have the qualities of a solo traveler.

Those Who Can Enjoy a Chance Conversation

Cities have many bars, and many regulars. But for some, walking into a new bar is intimidating—especially when traveling, far from familiar ground.

As for me, I almost always visit a bar on the road. I’m used to it now, and often end up talking at length with the bartender, even on a first visit. In bars with counter seats, conversation is part of the service; few places treat first-time guests coldly. The counter itself is meant for talk.

Some grow close to a bartender and become regulars. I, however, avoid going back to the same place too soon; I prefer to leave space between visits.

I enjoy talking with people, but I want each time to be with someone new. It keeps things fresh, and there is always another story to hear. That is why bar-hopping is one of the pleasures of travel. Those who can enjoy chance encounters with strangers have the traits of a solo traveler.

Those Who Do Not Mind Walking

What all these traits share is walking. To observe a town at leisure, to sample its food, to move from one bar to another—walking is the best way.

Liking to walk for its own sake: this is the most basic trait of all for those who can enjoy traveling alone.

Everything I have written comes down to this: these are pleasures that cannot be measured by efficiency or usefulness. Those who can enjoy solo travel carry with them the richness of savoring life in their own way.