"Therefore, wander!"

Presuming you have loads of free time, that is. So if you've recently lost your job or have large amounts of free time for some other reason, such as laziness, now is the time for you to go on pilgrimage. Hit the road Jack, and don't you come back for five or six weeks.

Pilgrimage, perhaps Japan's first form of travel, is a chance to reconnect with those fundamental Japanese values of yore — simplicity, austerity and nature (or if you prefer, hiking, camping and insects). It's about detachment: leaving behind the Japan of shopping malls, Kobe beef and, egads, Disney!