Sept 14, 2010 Tourist Rickshawing From Coast-To-Coast

On September 14, 2010 an article was written about Sokichi Takashita by Dave Rogers of the Postmedia News. The article was entitled "Tourist Rickshawing from Coast-To-Coast, Man walking from B.C. to Halifax". The article has been found in a few newspapers on the internet. It was found on the Vancouver Sun website at http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Tourist+rickshawing+from+coast+coast/3522277/story.html, the Edmonton Journal site at http://www.edmontonjournal.com/travel/news/Tourist+rickshawing+from+coast+coast/3522277/story.html, the Windsor Star site at http://www.windsorstar.com/Tourist+rickshawing+from+coast+coast/3520330/story.html and the Global Maritimes website at http://www.globalmaritimes.com/story.html?id=3523618. The article is as follows:

Tourist rickshawing from coast-to-coast

Man walking from B.C. to Halifax

Dave Rogers, Postmedia News: Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Grinning broadly as he pulls his homebuilt rickshaw in Gatineau on Monday, Sokichi Takashita explains he is crossing Canada "old style" because he loves nature.
After more than 20 years as a bookstore owner near Niigata on Japan's west coast, the 62-year-old man is fulfilling a dream he has had since 1974 of walking across North America. He started in Vancouver on May 10 and hopes to finish his 6,300-kilometre trek in Halifax in November.
Takashita says the trip has been an adventure that has made him love Canadians.
Takashita walked carrying a backpack until a family in Moonbeam -- a community in northern Ontario --spent three days building him a rickshaw out of angle iron, steel tubing, old bicycle wheels and foam panels.
The rickshaw bears two Canadian and two Japanese flags signed by the people he meets on the road. The vehicle holds Japanese straw sandals, a tent, sleeping bag, foam pad, raincoat, rubber boots and groceries.
He usually sleeps and eats beside the road after walking about 35 kilometres each day.
"In Jasper (Alberta), when I was asleep beside the highway, a bear pushed my tent over and over," Takashita said, mimicking the rolling motion. "I hope there will be no more bears and no more storms."

Canadians have been giving Takashita food, money and equipment along the way. He had raised $2,000 for UNICEF by the time he reached Gatineau and expects the total will reach $3,000 by Halifax.