It’s becoming increasingly common in downtown Sapulpa to see unusual characters, usually checking out the Christmas Chute. In the last two weeks alone, we’ve spotted KFC icon Colonel Sanders, a T-Rex, and a “Yule Goat”—part of a Scandinavian tradition dating back centuries.
As of Tuesday, we can add a rickshaw to that list.
Yuji Suzuki, 32, was seen making his way west down East Hobson Avenue, pulling a rickshaw that was mostly empty, except for a water pack and a large cardboard sign that had “Crazy Journey” scrawled across its top.
And a “crazy journey” is just what it sounded like: Suzuki says he’s traveling from New York City to Los Angeles by foot, pulling the rickshaw the whole way. His reasoning? “For fun,” he said, laughing.
Suzuki, who is from Japan, said he’s been on a journey similar to this at least twice. “In 2019, I was traveling, and I made it to Texas,” he said. “Then I had to return to Japan because of COVID.” For two years, he’s been working on getting back out on the street. He finally started his trip again in August. In that amount of time, he’s made it from New York City to Sapulpa, Oklahoma.
On Tuesday, a bright day that would turn into a chilly December night, Suzuki was planning to stop in Kellyville. He says he gets about 25 miles a day, “depending on the weather.” In the best conditions, he can complete the trip in six months or less.
Suzuki said he loves walking, and that he had a job as a tour guide in Tokyo, which is how he got the money to buy the rickshaw. He says it’s great for this sort of thing, despite how unorthodox it might be. “It’s very light,” he says. “Can go almost anywhere.”
He says he receives a lot of support back home and documents his journey on social media under the handle “gumpsuzuki”—so chosen because of another runner who became famous by crossing the country several times: Forrest Gump.
His parents are supportive, but he admits that his mother has not always been on board. “Oh, she says I’m crazy,” he said. As he turned off Hobson to finish this portion of his journey down Dewey Avenue, his eyes lit up when he saw the Christmas Chute. “Whoa, Christmas!” he said. He pulled out his phone and immediately started shooting video, showing his 58,000 followers on Instagram everything that the Route 66 Christmas Chute had to offer.
He says it sounds crazy, but it’s been worth it. “I meet lots of people. They’re very nice, a lot of them invite me into their home to stay the night.”
He wanted to stay longer, but he had some miles to go. He picked up his rickshaw, said goodbye to the handful of people admiring it, and with a handshake and a wave, trotted off towards Main Street, heading west down Route 66 towards Los Angeles, another addition to the list of firsts we’ve seen this Christmas season.
