Japanese motorcyclist Shinji Kobayashi, who traveled many countries around the world on his motorcycle, made a trip to Azerbaijan. During this trip, Shinji Kobayashi visited the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF) and met with its president Umud Mirzayev. In his interview to Eurasia Diary, Japanese traveler talked about his first impressions from Azerbaijan.

- Mr.Kobayashi could you introduce yourself? Please tell us about yourself

- My name is Shinji Kobayashi. I am living in Tokyo with my wife and father. I had been working for Mitsubishi for 7 years in computer and telecommunication services before I retired from the job. After my retirement, I decided to travel by motorcycle around the world. Especially, last year in May I started my trip from Tokyo to Russia, Norway, Nordic countries, France and Spain. It took me 6 months to travel all these countries. This year I began my trip from Madrid and ride to England, France, Germany, and Ukraine. And, now I am in Baku, Azerbaijan. When I was young I liked traveling by motorcycle, but unfortunately, there is not enough time for Japanese businessmen to travel around the world. That is the reason why I traveled only domestically in Japan. Generally speaking, Japanese people don’t retire at the age of 60. But, on the other side, my passion to travel is linked with my interest in learning different cultures.  Media and politics in Japan are closely related with the U.S and the Western media outlets that is why Japanese people are not familiarized with the culture of other countries of the World. I have always desired to travel to Russia as well as to Islamic countries. What has incited me to travel? Actually, I can speak 8 foreign languages ( English, Chinese, Russian, Fench, Italian, Spanish, Korean and German). And, the main purpose of my travel is to see a lot of different sightseeing’s, cultural places and learn the customs, languages, and traditions of the countries of the world.

- Please tell us a bit about your trip to Azerbaijan. Is it your first visit to Azerbaijan? 

- Yes, it is my first-time visit to Azerbaijan. I have never been to Baku. It is a very beautiful city with a long history. I like the architecture of the city. I am sure that the beauty of this city lures a lot of tourists from all over the world.  Especially, I liked Azerbaijani people. They are very kind and always hospitable. I have to admit, that the city is very clean and safe. I like it very much.

- Why Azerbaijan attracted you? What is the reason for your trip to Azerbaijan?

- I have been interested in Muslim and Zoroastrian religions for a long time. The main reason why I am here in Azerbaijan is my deep interest in Zoroastrian temples. I visited Zoroastrian Temple located in one of the districts of Baku 2 days ago. I liked it very much. Furthermore, I liked the architecture of Baku. It is a mix of modern Western and ancient Eastern architecture. I would like to underline, that the most beautiful places in Baku, in my opinion, are Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Maiden Tower, and the Flame Towers. What did I like most in Azerbaijan?  As a motorcyclist, I want to notice that the roads of Baku are clean and safe. Moreover, especially for the motorcyclist, it is important to stress that the prices in your country are not expensive. But if to talk about the cons, the only thing frustrated me is the quality of a gasoline, which is not so good as I expected. 

- Do the Japanese familiar with Azerbaijan and its culture? And tell us more about your future plans

- Frankly speaking, the knowledge of Japanese people about Azerbaijan is very limited. If you buy in Japan a touristic guidebook about Azerbaijan you will see that It consists of 2 pages maximum. Only minority of Japanese people know about the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh between Azerbaijan and Armenia. I have made a long research concerning this issue and it is very sad that thousands of Azerbaijani people were exiled from their homes. In my view, we (Azerbaijan and Japan) must establish cultural relations and boost them by mutual cooperation in all spheres. What concerns my future plans, after Azerbaijan, I will travel to Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Spain. To be honest I would like to travel also to Iran, Israel and Arabic countries.  I am leaving Azerbaijan in 5 days, but I am sure I will return here one day.

Interviewed by Akber Bayramov

Eurasia Diary