Solo Female Travel Safety: UK Trip & Theft Prevention

Kumako (43) lives in Yokohama. I am a freelance worker for an international relations NGO. When I studied abroad in England twice during my university days, my friend started a solo trip to test my courage. We asked Kumako, who still loves to travel, about her style and memories of her travels. (Asahi Shimbun withnews Editorial Department, Kawamura Sakura)

Bear was born and raised in western Kanagawa Prefecture. As a child, I experienced camping in nature with my father, a teacher.

The university I went to was required to study in the UK for one year, and from September 2000 to August 2001 I studied abroad in Canterbury, southeastern England.

“York, think again!”

However, there are students from both the university and the dormitory, who come from the same Japanese universities.

Kumako, who wasn’t good at English, is also in her English conversation class, “it’s faster to count from the bottom.” My close friends were in higher class.

Additionally, Kumako is shy. Whenever I go out into town, I always follow my friends, and even order food in English, I ask for friends.

One night, I was surrounded by the dining table in my dorm when my friend exploded.

“I’ve always wanted to say it! Relying too much on us!” “If you can accomplish something yourself!” “Come on a trip somewhere!”

The next day, the table was a bus ticket with a note attached.

“Rethink it carefully! Your destination is York!”

“Surprisingly it turned out to be a problem.”

This is how he decided to travel alone for the first time in his life. It was a 2 night, 3 day trip to York.

I happened to meet a Japanese clergyman at a beautiful cathedral, and while being guided, he said to me, “It’s sure to be a great trip.”

Later, I met some clergy colleagues on the street and were told, “You! I’m listening,” and “It’s rare for the weather to be nice without raining so much.”

While I feel so lazy that I sometimes miss out on a meal without getting into a restaurant, I learned about the appeal of solo travel, where you can interact with local people only because you are alone.

“I felt that I was ‘unsurprisingly able to do it on my own’ and was surprised at how I felt that way. I also felt a desire to go again, and after I returned, I was able to make up with my friends.”

“A test of courage”

When I was a fourth year university student, I studied abroad in London from 2003 to 2004. During my two study abroad periods, I actively visited the UK and went to Belgium and the Netherlands.

He says that his journey was to be exposed to the local history and culture, and most importantly, “test courage.”

I also found it fun to plan my own and make my journey a reality.

“There were a lot of people around me traveling alone, and everyone was enjoying themselves without getting inns or tickets, but I definitely bought that.”

Protect yourself

As I continued to travel, I also acquired my own “skills.”

“September 11 took place in 2001 when I was a sophomore, and when I was in fourth, the Iraq War began. In the midst of nowhere, there was a strong sense that ‘I have to protect myself’.”

There are six wallets to ensure that even if it is stolen, there is little damage. It was a total of a backpack and a pocket of clothes.

If you walk while looking at the map, you will be more likely to be targeted, so memorize the map as much as possible. When opening the map, I tried to make sure I chose places that were not visible, such as inside the store.

A tough trip

Even if you are careful, you may experience danger or feel sad.

I was walking alone around the city at night to get on a night bus and almost got snatched by my bag, or I was not allowed to ride it because I was Asian.

Not only is it fun, but it’s also the realities of travel when you encounter painful events.

The best part is encounter

After graduating from university, I started working at an international cooperation NGO, but I have been going to Thailand and Cambodia in conjunction with Golden Week and business trips.

In 2017, I also visited the nostalgic York again. In recent years, he has often gone on domestic travel.

Over the past 20 years, I feel that the way I travel has changed.

“When I was staying in hostels overseas, there were elderly people and some people cooked for themselves, so I was able to see diversity with my own eyes.”

“When I went to York for the first time in a while, I was surprised to see an increase in cheap AirBnBs. There are also more cheap business hotels in Japan too.”

“In the past, we would look up information using a paper guide, call, book a hotel, and interact with people at the hotel, but now we have the internet so I feel that the journey can be completed without having to interact with people.”

“I think the appeal of solo travel is that it gives you a chance to talk to many different people. You can go wherever you want to go, and meet people. I still love traveling, and I want to continue.”