2026 Around-the-World Trip: 'Planned in Two Parts' - A Senior's Exciting Overseas Journey

Following last year, I will be setting off on another trip around the world in 2026.

Last year, I went on a 10-country visit over 2 months trip around the world, but by the second half, I was running out of steam and ended up spending a lot of time relaxing in my room.

This time, I planned the trip around the world based on the lessons learned from last year's trip.

Airfare and Route

Just like last time, I purchased an ANA around-the-world ticket.
The difference from last time is that I have split the trip around the world into two parts.

There are various rules for ANA's around-the-world tickets.

One of them is that if you complete your trip around the world within one year, you can return to Japan as many times as you like along the way.
However, for departures from Japan from the second time onwards, you must depart from the location where you previously returned.

Based on this rule, we split our trip around the world into two parts.

The first part departs from Narita and travels through Europe and Canada, then returns to New Chitose in Hokkaido. It is a 4-country visit.
The trip I am departing for now is this first part, scheduled from mid-May to mid-July.

The second part departs from New Chitose and travels through the Oceania region, then returns to Narita.
It is scheduled for mid-January to the end of March next year, and is a 4-country visit.

Both the airfare and accommodation costs for the first and second parts have already been paid in full.

I had intended to go to Jordan from Turkey, but I changed the route.

The situation in the Middle East seems to have calmed down a little, but the unstable conditions continue.
Instead, I will extend my trip to Azerbaijan.

I have chosen business class for the flights.
As a senior, just moving around consumes a lot of energy, so it is a necessary expense.

Around-the-world tickets offer great value even in business class.

Depending on the route, the cost is not much different from a round-trip business class ticket to Europe, despite traveling around the entire world.

We like the 'Blue Team' ANA, so we buy ANA around-the-world tickets, but
if you choose the 'Red Team' JAL, you can travel around the world even more cheaply than with ANA.

Staying at Airbnb

For this trip as well, we are using Airbnb apartments for most of our stays.

I will only write about the benefits of Airbnb.

You can stay in much larger rooms than at a hotel.
If you choose a place with a kitchen, you can cook your own meals in the room.
If you choose a place with a washing machine, you can do your laundry in the room.

We basically cook for ourselves and do not eat out.
Since we can do laundry in the room, we can keep our luggage to a minimum.

Airbnb apartments are also attractive because they cost significantly less than hotels.

There are some downsides, but in my experience, if you choose a 'Superhost', you will almost never have a bad experience.

How to approach travel planning

We stay at Airbnb accommodations for at least five consecutive nights.
For one or two-night stays, we choose hotels.

Since we cook with local ingredients, we choose accommodations close to supermarkets.
Cooking for ourselves is not only cheaper, but we can also eat healthier food.

We do not schedule any sightseeing on the days we arrive at or depart from our destination.
This is because traveling itself is quite a burden.

We use public transportation as much as possible for getting around locally.
Not only is it cheaper, but we also enjoy riding trains and other public transit.
It takes some effort to look up information, but recently, the accuracy of AI has improved, making it much easier to research.

While traveling in Penang, Malaysia, I suffered a life-threatening illness.
Since this illness has become a chronic condition, I have planned our itinerary to include plenty of days to take it easy.

Why I am able to travel

The main reason is that our regular living expenses are covered by our pension alone.

I had a private pension plan.
I also converted a significant portion of my retirement bonus into a pension.
Starting at age 60, I also began asset management, albeit a bit late.

I receive my pension from four sources: National Pension + Employees' Pension + Retirement bonus converted to a pension + Private pension. It is a four-tiered pension.

Travel expenses are accounted for separately from living expenses.

Travel costs are covered by drawing down savings and using the growth from asset management.
If the performance of our asset management is poor, it simply means the quality of our travel will be lower.

I had always wanted to travel freely once I retired, so I have been preparing little by little.

The fable of 'The Ant and the Grasshopper' is a story where the ant works hard during the summer and then spends its savings during the winter.

To travel around once I retired, I have been an ant for 38 years.

Of course, you never know what will happen in life.
Sometimes things do not go as planned.

It is not a matter of whether the ant's or the grasshopper's way of thinking is better or worse.
I simply chose the ant's way of thinking.

Business class and long-term stays might look like luxuries.
Even so, for us, it feels like we are gradually realizing the 'retirement travel' we had envisioned.

While we will have to consult with our physical stamina, we intend to travel the world at our own pace this time as well, without pushing ourselves too hard.