Epic Walks, Slow Living, and Finding Family: Craig Mod's Journey Through Japan and Life

Writer and photographer Craig Mod returns to discuss his transformative multi-week solo walks across Japan, unexpected celebrity status promoting mid-size cities, and the profound experience of reconnecting with his birth mother after decades.

From living in a six-tatami room to becoming Japan's unofficial ambassador for overlooked destinations, Craig reveals how radical boredom, structured wandering, and authentic human connection shaped both his creative work and personal transformation.

Key Takeaways

• Epic walking adventures require strict rules: no social media, no news, radical presence, and saying hello to every person encountered
• Walking 20-50km daily while writing 3,000+ words nightly creates a unique form of "aesthetic training" that transforms both body and mind
• Pre-planning all logistics removes cognitive burden and allows complete presence during walks, enabling deeper creative and human connections
• Self-publishing expensive art books ($100+ price point) can generate substantial revenue when combined with membership communities offering insider access
• Mid-size cities in Japan offer incredible quality of life but struggle with self-promotion, creating opportunities for authentic storytelling and cultural bridge-building
• Adoption reunification in adulthood works best when approached from a place of abundance rather than need, allowing genuine connection without pressure
• Traditional publishing can complement rather than replace independent publishing when structured to preserve creative control and independence
• Walking serves as moving meditation, breaking social media addiction cycles while cultivating the productive boredom necessary for deep creative work

Timeline Overview

• Early 2000s — Arrives in Tokyo at 19, begins late-night walks discovering the city's intimate urban landscape
• 2013 — First major pilgrimage walk on Kumano Kodo with mentor John McBride, discovering Japan's spiritual trail networks
• 2019 — Completes first epic solo walk: 600km Nakasendo route over 30 days while launching membership program
• 2020 — Publishes "Kissa by Kissa" art book during COVID, sells 1,000 copies in 36 hours at $100 each
• 2023 — Recommends Morioka as #2 destination for New York Times, becomes unexpected Japanese TV celebrity
• 2024 — Reconnects with birth mother through DNA matching, meets family for first time after 50+ years

From Tokyo Night Walks to Spiritual Pilgrimage Discovery

• Craig's walking obsession began at age 19 wandering Tokyo's streets late at night, mesmerized by the safety and intimacy of urban Japan where you could hear families drawing baths and smell cigarettes from kitchen windows. These early explorations during his drinking phase at Golden Gai established walking as his primary mode of discovery and connection.
• The transformation from casual city wandering to epic pilgrimage walks occurred through meeting John McBride, a mentor 20 years older who had been walking Japan's historical routes since his teenage scholarship years. John's encyclopedic knowledge and extraordinary Japanese language skills opened Craig's eyes to the rich network of spiritual and historical trails.
• Kumano Kodo became the gateway drug to serious walking, representing a UNESCO World Heritage pilgrimage network that maintains the rare syncretic relationship between Buddhism and Shinto that was forcibly separated elsewhere during the Meiji Restoration. The peninsula's extreme rainfall creates Amazon-level humidity and lushness.
• John's mastery of imperial-level Japanese, learned through 40 years of tea ceremony practice and CEO-level business interactions, demonstrated how language could transform every human encounter. Watching John elevate farmers and locals through respectful, curious conversation became Craig's masterclass in cultural bridge-building.
• The apprenticeship phase lasted roughly three years of traveling together, with Craig estimating the learning breakdown as 80% interaction technique and 20% route knowledge. This foundation proved essential for later solo adventures where human connection became the primary source of stories and meaning.
• Getting sober during his Palo Alto period aligned perfectly with the walking obsession, replacing alcohol-fueled wandering with intentional, structured exploration that generated abundance rather than escapism. The physical and mental discipline required for multi-week walks provided ideal scaffolding for sustained creative work.

The Architecture of Epic Walks: Rules and Rituals

• Craig's walking methodology follows strict non-negotiable rules designed to cultivate radical boredom and presence: absolutely no social media, no news consumption, no podcasts or music, and mandatory interaction with every person encountered. These constraints force deep engagement with immediate surroundings rather than digital distraction.
• The daily structure operates like aesthetic training: wake at 8am, walk 20-50km carrying full pack and multiple cameras, constantly dictate notes using iOS shortcuts, photograph portraits before 10am deadline, arrive at accommodations by 4-5pm, then write and edit photos for 4-5 hours producing 2,000-4,000 words nightly.
• Pre-planning every detail eliminates decision fatigue during walks, with Craig spending entire weeks booking accommodations, researching routes, and preparing detailed spreadsheets. This front-loaded logistics work creates freedom for spontaneous human encounters without operational stress about basic survival needs.
• The arbitrary rules like "photograph someone before 10am" create beneficial constraints that force interaction and discovery. These self-imposed deadlines generate urgency that opens unexpected conversations and experiences that wouldn't occur through passive observation.
• After 20-25 days of sustained daily walking, Craig describes entering a "bobbing consciousness" state where powerful leg muscles create a VR-like floating sensation down roads. This physical transformation parallels mental shifts toward heightened awareness and creative output.
• The walking serves as moving meditation similar to extended Vipassana retreats, requiring 3-4 days to overcome information withdrawal and achieve the productive boredom necessary for deep creative work. The repetitive daily structure mirrors meditation retreat scaffolding that enables profound mental shifts.

Publishing Revolution: From Rejection to Independence

• Craig's publishing journey illustrates the power of building audience before products, with his membership program funding creative freedom to pursue unconventional projects. The model operates as subscription-based patronage allowing supporters to invest in the work they want to see exist rather than market-driven content.
• "Kissa by Kissa" represents a masterclass in premium positioning, selling a $100 art book about Japanese pizza toast and disappearing cafes. The book generated $600,000 in sales across multiple print runs, proving that niche subjects can support sustainable creative careers when executed with uncompromising quality.
• The breakthrough insight involved offering membership discounts that converted 30% of book buyers into ongoing subscribers, creating a dual revenue stream where customers could spend $130 for just the book or $200 for both membership and discounted book access. This pricing architecture aligned customer incentives with creator sustainability.
• Traditional publishing with Random House complemented rather than replaced independent publishing through careful contract negotiation that preserved Fine Art rights, established minimum pricing floors, and capped production quantities while maintaining creative control over premium editions.
• The editorial collaboration with Random House editor Molly improved the manuscript dramatically through 800 targeted questions that unlocked deeper layers of storytelling Craig couldn't access alone. This demonstrates how the right editorial relationships enhance rather than compromise creative vision.
• Craig's "Craig Starter" platform cloned Kickstarter functionality using Shopify, providing complete control over the customer experience, data management, and pricing strategies while avoiding platform fees and limitations. This technical independence supports long-term creative sustainability.

Accidental Celebrity: The Mid-Size Cities Phenomenon

• Craig's unexpected Japanese celebrity status began with a simple New York Times recommendation of Morioka as #2 global destination, creating a media firestorm when this unknown northern city was ranked above major international destinations. The recommendation sparked national conversation about regional pride and tourism potential.
• The celebrity status escalated when Craig appeared on television with Tamori, Japan's most beloved TV personality who has appeared daily for 55 years. Walking through Morioka with Tamori created Beatles-level crowd reactions, with construction workers screaming, cars stopping, and elderly women crying with joy.
• Craig's approach to media interviews involved "judo-ing" typical questions about local food into deeper conversations about universal healthcare, infrastructure quality, and the social foundations that enable mid-size cities to thrive. This reframing elevated discussions beyond tourism marketing toward societal commentary.
• The economic impact has been substantial, with studies estimating Morioka alone generated nearly $100 million in economic activity over two years following Craig's recommendation. This represents hundreds of thousands of dollars of impact per word written, demonstrating the amplification power of authentic storytelling.
• Craig's media strategy prioritized civic pride over tourism promotion, particularly targeting local high school students with messages about their city's unique advantages and encouraging them to consider returning after university rather than permanently migrating to Tokyo.
• The phenomenon created a new brand identity as "Moto-san's picks" with cities across Japan requesting visits and recommendations. Craig now batches media appearances and city visits to maintain focus on primary creative work while fulfilling what he sees as civic duty to communities that welcomed him.

The DNA Discovery: Rewriting the Genesis Story

• Craig's adoption story took a dramatic turn when DNA testing through Ancestry.com connected him with his birth mother after 50+ years, completely upending the narrative he'd carried about his origins. The official adoption records claimed his birth father was murdered in a car accident, creating a mythology of trauma and tragedy.
• The initial contact proved awkward, with his birth mother sending cryptic messages that triggered Craig's frustration with adults avoiding emotional responsibility. Her simple "hi I think we're related" message to someone sharing 50% DNA felt emotionally immature and evasive.
• The breakthrough came through Craig's detailed anonymous letter describing his life achievements and expressing gratitude for her difficult decision, which prompted two 5,000-word responses revealing her emotional intelligence, life circumstances, and detailed family history going back generations.
• The actual origin story proved dramatically different from the adoption mythology: his birth mother was an entrepreneurial 13-year-old working at a sandwich shop, his birth father was 22 and still alive, and the pregnancy was handled with family support rather than trauma and abandonment.
• Their first meeting in Chicago involved two hours of intense conversation before ordering drinks, with his birth mother revealing she'd carried his baby photo for 50 years and thought about him daily. She had lied about the father's death to avoid statutory rape complications given their age difference.
• The reunion succeeded because Craig approached it from abundance rather than need, having developed strong self-worth through his relationship with his stepdaughter and creative success. This allowed genuine connection without pressure for either party to fulfill unmet emotional needs.

Creative Methodology: Walking as Writing Boot Camp

• Craig's walking practice serves as intensive writing training, combining physical endurance with creative output requirements that mirror historical journalism deadlines. The daily pressure to produce quality essays while physically exhausted creates optimal conditions for breaking through creative barriers.
• The documentation process involves constant dictation using iOS shortcuts that append to notes without requiring phone interaction, allowing uninterrupted walking while capturing thoughts and observations. This hands-free technology enables seamless integration of walking and writing activities.
• Craig estimates that 5-6 hours of daily creative work following 8 hours of walking and human interaction creates his maximum sustainable output level. This intensive schedule produces 2,000-4,000 words nightly along with photo editing and narrative construction.
• The walking methodology generates abundant raw material through mandatory human interaction, with every person encountered becoming a potential story subject. The arbitrary rules force engagement that wouldn't occur through passive observation or planned interviews.
• Craig's printing and reading habits reflect Japanese influence, with strong preference for physical media over digital consumption. This extends to his publishing philosophy of creating beautiful physical objects that justify premium pricing and long-term value retention.
• The aesthetic training concept draws from Japanese yamabushi mountain asceticism, using controlled suffering and sensory deprivation to achieve heightened awareness and creative breakthrough. The walking practice adapts ancient spiritual training methods for contemporary creative work.

Common Questions

Q: How long does it take to adjust to the walking rhythm and mental state?
A: 3-4 days to overcome information withdrawal, 20-25 days to achieve the "bobbing consciousness" state where physical and mental transformation peaks.

Q: What's the most important rule for epic walking adventures?
A: Complete disconnection from news and social media to achieve radical boredom and presence necessary for deep creative work.

Q: How does Craig fund his walking adventures and creative projects?
A: Membership program subscribers provide steady income that funds creative freedom, supplemented by high-value book sales and occasional traditional publishing.

Q: What makes Japanese pilgrimage trails special compared to other walking routes?
A: The preserved syncretic relationship between Buddhism and Shinto, plus the density of human encounters in rural areas that create storytelling opportunities.

Q: How did Craig become famous for promoting Japanese cities?
A: New York Times travel recommendations elevated unknown mid-size cities to international attention, creating unexpected media celebrity status in Japan.

Craig Mod's journey demonstrates how structured constraints enable creative freedom, with walking serving as both physical practice and creative methodology. His approach to independence publishing, cultural bridge-building, and personal transformation offers a blueprint for building sustainable creative careers while maintaining authentic human connection.

The intersection of movement, storytelling, and community building creates possibilities for meaningful work that serves both personal fulfillment and broader cultural understanding.