I Sang on the Streets in Switzerland 🇨🇭 During My World Tour!

I Sang on the Streets in Switzerland 🇨🇭 During My World Tour!

Yasaka! 🍻!!!

This is Hajime Takigawa.

Wow, the "World Tour: Switzerland 🇨🇭 Edition" video has been released on YouTube.

How was it? Make sure to leave your thoughts and comments on YouTube.

Thanks as always!

Today, I want to share some behind-the-scenes stories about the Switzerland 🇨🇭 edition with you.

Before coming to Geneva, Switzerland 🇨🇭, I was in a town called Siena, Italy 🇮🇹.

It's a beautiful town. I cried when I saw the scenery for the first time...

Oh, by the way, I've uploaded the Italy 🇮🇹 edition on YouTube too, so make sure to check it out!

The 13-hour journey to Geneva 🇨🇭 by FlixBus was breathtakingly beautiful...

You know the famous Mont Blanc cake in Japan?

I got to see Mont Blanc, the mountain that inspired the cake's name, from the bus window.

As I was swaying on the mountain roads, I thought, "If it were a year ago, I would’ve been feeling sick from motion sickness," and kept taking deep breaths.

Then suddenly, the view opened up, and I saw the beautiful, snow-covered mountains stretching outside the window.

Their overwhelming presence made me so excited I forgot to start filming.

I somehow managed to take some pictures while swaying on the bus.

It was a surprise since I didn’t expect to see it, and I felt like I got lucky.

When the bus arrived, I walked about 15 minutes to my hotel.

There was almost no trash on the streets, and everything was so clean, it reminded me of Japan.

Finally, I arrived at the hotel! Well, it’s actually a guesthouse.

This time, it was a triple room for one night at 6,500 yen! Expensive!!!

In Naples, Italy 🇮🇹, I stayed in a guesthouse for 3,500 yen, so this felt pricey.

Even at the cheapest guesthouse in Geneva, it’s this expensive. That's Switzerland, the country with the highest cost of living.

The room didn’t have a shower or toilet, so I had to go out into the hallway, walk a bit, and use the shared shower and toilet.

The shower was so strong, I wondered if this is what it feels like to stand under a waterfall.

And speaking of Geneva!!

There’s Lake Geneva!!!

A beautiful expanse of aqua-blue freshwater, and on the other side, an unbelievably huge fountain was shooting up into the sky with far more power than the shower.

Above the fountain, there was a small rainbow 🌈. You could hear the cheerful voices of children and see gentlemen and ladies waiting for tour boats.

This is Switzerland 🇨🇭!!!

As a Japanese person, my image of Switzerland was Heidi, the Girl of the Alps (the anime) and cheese fondue, but this completely changed my view.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the lake.

Before I knew it, it was evening.

On my way back to the hotel, feeling hungry, I looked for a place to eat, but everything was expensive.

Even a panino or kebab was 12 CHF 🥙. Oh, the currency here isn’t euros, but CHF (Swiss francs).

If 1 euro is about 160 yen, then 1 CHF is about 170 yen.

The design of Swiss coins and bills is incredibly stylish!!!

They are artistically cool, and the material is so solid that I don’t think they’ll tear.

It’s exciting to see different currencies while traveling.

Let me talk about the cost of living in Switzerland 🇨🇭.

Very roughly, it’s about 1.7 to 2.5 times that of Japan.

Even bread, which should be cheap, is about 1.3 times more expensive than in neighboring countries.

That’s why some people work in Switzerland and live in France or Germany.

Still, I’d love to live in Geneva 🇨🇭.

By the time I’m writing this, I’ve been to about ten countries, but in terms of scenery and cityscapes, Geneva is my favorite—especially Lake Geneva.

If I had the time, I could spend hours relaxing there.

It’s such a beautiful lake!

Basel in Switzerland 🇨🇭 is right next to France and Germany, and in 15 or 20 minutes by train, you can cross into another country.

When I was in Basel, I took a 30-minute train ride to a campsite in Germany, where I set up a tent and slept.

It cost about 3,500 yen per night.

Even campsites are expensive.

But having my own space to sleep in makes me happy.

I even cooked my own food and ate outside—it’s such a joy, something I’ve only realized after coming to Europe.

Since coming to Europe, I’ve tried sleeping outside for the first time. I’d rather do that than pay a lot of money to stay in a shared room with six strangers.

Camping, breathing fresh air, and eating ramen—it’s perfect.

That’s how I’ve been traveling on a budget.

I often get asked:

“Why did you decide to travel around the world?”

Exactly one year ago, I went abroad for the first time to Taiwan 🇹🇼, where I sang nervously.

In a country where I didn’t speak the language, in a place with a different culture, I was filled with anxiety.

But I sang.

I fought against my weaknesses and sang.

I’ll never forget it. The person in front of me shed tears.

My heart trembled. Tears welled up in my eyes.

I realized that this is what I’ve been doing it for all this time.

My true happiness was here.

By taking action, I was able to give someone a small spark.

That was the happiest thing for me.

Seeing the person in front of me moved by what I did moved me the most.

I want to travel to countries with different languages and cultures and connect with people through music, even though we’ve grown up in different environments and have different values.

I’m going to travel the world with just my guitar!

I’m going to stop being human!!

Hajime Takigawa

Thank you for reading till the end.

I’m sincerely looking for people to support my journey. You can support me through this article. I want to sing in as many cities as possible!!

Please support me!!