Zero To Travel Podcast

Can you be culturally religious without being religiously religious? What if happiness had less to do with what you believe and more to do with what you notice?

Hiroko Yoda is a Tokyo-born author, translator and folklorist who first came to the US at 17 as an exchange student in rural Indiana. She went on to earn a master's degree in international peace and conflict resolution and co-founded AltJapan, a localization company, with her husband. A former Tokyo editor for CNN Go and a certified Shinto cultural historian, she has coauthored several books on Japanese folklore and is the author of Eight Million Ways to Happiness: Wisdom for Inspiration and Healing from the Heart of Japan.

In this conversation, Hiroko and I talk about the Japanese idea of 8 million kami, how spirituality became part of everyday culture in Japan, and how travelers can visit Japan's shrines and temples with more understanding.

Most of us grew up with the idea that you either believe or you don't. Hiroko offers a different way of seeing it, where Japanese spirituality and happiness grow out of a worldview that treats the sun, the wind, and even the words we speak with quiet respect. It's a worldview that shapes everything from how people eat to how they relate to nature, and it's hiding in plain sight for anyone traveling through Japan. Hiroko is honest that none of this makes life easy, which is exactly what makes her perspective feel useful.

What's one small thing in your everyday life you could start noticing, and appreciating, a little more often? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn:

How an exchange year in rural Indiana in the 1980s sparked a lifelong mission to build bridges between cultures

What the ancient concept of 8 million kami reveals about the Japanese worldview

Why most Japanese people struggle to answer the question "Are you religious?"

How a Shinto priest's definition of kami turns gratitude into a daily practice

How losing her mother led Hiroko back to Japan's spiritual traditions

What Japan's mountain ascetics, the yamabushi, can teach us about our place in nature

Why the Japanese words for seafood and vegetables say so much about happiness

How the Seven Gods of Happiness reflect Japan's radical inclusivity

Advice for visiting shrines and temples respectfully, plus one major Tokyo spot Hiroko calls a textbook example of Japanese spirituality

What a 107-year-old calligraphy master taught Hiroko about happiness and perspective

Resources:

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Eight Million Ways to Happiness

HirokoYoda.com

Japan Happiness Newsletter

Hiroko Yoda Instagram

AltJapan

Youth For Understanding

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Norway is already known for its fjords, Northern Lights, and wide-open nature, so what makes Northern Norway an even better place to have it all to yourself?

Joël Schwalenstöcker is a Northern Norway native who grew up in Tromsø with a German father and a French mother. For about 15 years, he has worked as a music agent, booking tours and shows for artists across Norway and Scandinavia. He is also the founder of Noraventura, which designs tailor-made trips through Norway for travelers who want to see the country beyond the usual tourist stops.

Joël shares seven hidden gems in Northern Norway that most visitors miss, and why the region’s best-known spots have become so crowded. We also share Northern Norway travel tips on renting a car, packing for changing weather, and choosing when to go.

Northern Norway is bigger, emptier, and wilder than most people expect, with the midnight sun in summer and the northern lights in winter shaping the rhythm of life there. It’s also a region where a short drive can change the entire feel of a trip. If you’re planning a visit, or you like the idea of seeing Northern Norway off the beaten path, this conversation gives you plenty to think about.

Have you ever skipped the famous stop on a trip and found something you liked even better? I’d love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you’ll share by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn:

Why a sailing trip toward the Arctic ended with Joël’s parents settling in Northern Norway for good

How Northern Norway’s light, milder-than-expected climate, and freedom-to-roam traditions set it apart from the rest of the country

Why the same few places dominate every search and social feed, and what that does to the travel experience

Why the stretch of coast most people just drive through might offer the best mix of beaches and mountains in the country

Where you can catch a concert inside a natural cave on a remote island community that has been inhabited for thousands of years

What you’ll find when you turn right instead of left on a famous island chain

How locals near the region’s biggest city escape to sandy beaches when the sun finally comes out

How to trek the far northeast by following reindeer trails, close to the Russian border

Advice on getting around, packing for weather that changes by the hour, and timing a summer trek to avoid the region’s fiercest insects

How to get a real shot at the northern lights, plus one Lofoten stop worth adding to any itinerary

Resources:

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Noraventura

Unlisted Cheat Sheet (use code ZERO)

Instagram

Trænafestivalen

Ytri Island Retreat

Hov Gård

Varangerhalvøya National Park

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What happens when the way you were taught to read stops working the moment you step outside your own culture?

Ann Morgan is a UK-based author, speaker, and editor best known for reading a book from every country in the world in a single year, a project she chronicled on her blog A Year of Reading the World and in her book Reading the World (published in the US as The World Between Two Covers). In her newest book, Relearning to Read: Adventures in Not-Knowing, she looks at what it actually takes to read well across cultural and linguistic lines.

Ann returns to walk through five techniques for relearning how to read, covering how to notice your own hidden bias, why every reader fills in a story's gaps differently, what a book's assumptions reveal about who it expects you to be, and why this should all matter to us curious travelers.

This conversation gets into something bigger than books: what it actually means to sit with not knowing, and why that discomfort might be exactly where the growth happens. Ann pushes back on the idea that understanding everything is the goal, and the reframe she offers reaches well beyond the page. If you've ever wondered what it actually looks like to get better at reading books from other cultures, this episode lays it out step by step.

What's one time you filled in a story's gaps completely differently than the writer intended? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn:

Why the way Ann was taught to read stopped working once she started reading internationally

How growing up in a culture that caters to you can hide how much of reading has been made easy for you

Why she encourages readers to hold onto their questions instead of rushing to answer them

How paying attention to what annoys you while reading can reveal a hidden bias

Advice on knowing when to push through a challenging book and when to just put it down

How noticing what a book explains, and what it assumes you already know, tells you who it was written for

Why every reader fills in a story's gaps differently, and what that reveals about you

How AI and shrinking attention spans are reshaping the future of reading and storytelling

A story from Ann's recent trip to Greenland with her friend Tété-Michel Kpomassi, sixty years after his first journey there

Resources:

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Relearning to Read: Adventures in Not-Knowing

A Year of Reading the World

Ann on Instagram

Reading a Book from Every Country in the World with Ann Morgan

Michel the Giant: An African in Greenland

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With centuries of layered history and some of Europe's most uncrowded natural beauty, why isn't Bosnia and Herzegovina on more travelers' radars yet?

Nermin Numic grew up in Sarajevo and spent over a decade living and working abroad in South Africa and Europe, where he met his wife Kathrin, who is originally from Germany. In 2020, the couple returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina during the pandemic and decided to stay. They went on to found .Cheyf, a boutique travel agency built around the Bosnian concept of ćejf, showing travelers the local side of Sarajevo and the country beyond it.

Nermin and Kathrin share seven hidden gems in Sarajevo, Bosnia, that most visitors miss, along with the history behind the city's mix of Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, and Yugoslav influences. They also talk about day trips into the surrounding mountains, must-try local food, and starting a travel business together as a couple.

Sarajevo is a city where four major religions have lived side by side for centuries, where the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand helped ignite World War I, and where the Bosnian War left scars that are still part of daily conversation decades later. Nermin and Kathrin don't shy away from any of that history, but they also refuse to let it be the only story visitors hear. By the end of this episode, you'll understand why they believe this is exactly the right moment to experience it for yourself.

What's a place you discovered by accident that ended up being the highlight of your trip? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn:

Why Nermin and Kathrin decided to build their life and business in Bosnia after meeting abroad

What the Bosnian concept of ćejf means and how it shapes the way they run their tours

How Sarajevo's layout reveals itself once you leave the old town behind

Why a quiet riverside walkway just outside the old town is worth the detour

How a centuries-old bridge and a Viennese-style coffeehouse capture the city's cultural blend

A thousand years of Sarajevo history, from the Bosnian kingdom through Ottoman rule, Austro-Hungarian rule, and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that helped spark World War I

Why Nermin and Kathrin built their tours around food and culture instead of the Bosnian War, and how that decision paid off

Why a mountaintop observatory and a rooftop terrace offer some of the best views in the city

How to see one of the world's most valuable religious artifacts during a narrow weekly window

Advice for exploring the mountains, canyons, and villages just outside Sarajevo

Resources:

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.Cheyf

Insgram

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What does it take to become the first person ever to complete a full source-to-sea kayaking trip down Madagascar's longest river?

Oscar Scafidi is a history teacher, travel writer, and expedition leader who has lived and worked across more than 30 African countries since 2006. He has written guidebooks to Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Tunisia, and holds a Guinness World Record for the first source-to-sea kayak expedition along Angola's Kwanza River. In 2022, he and a fellow expedition partner completed the first source-to-sea kayak trip along Madagascar's longest river, the Mangoky, an adventure now documented in his book and film.

In this episode, I talk with Oscar about his years living and working across Africa, and the story behind his recent Madagascar kayaking adventure.

This conversation moves between two very different worlds: the classroom, where Oscar spends his days teaching, and the wild, unmapped stretches of Africa where he pushes himself to the edge. There's a real thread of humility running through it, a reminder that no expedition succeeds without the people who make it possible along the way. It's also a great reminder that a regular person with a full-time job can still build a life full of big, audacious adventures. If you're drawn to stories of grit, humor under pressure, and what it feels like when a plan falls apart in real time, this one's for you.

Have you ever pushed yourself into a situation where you genuinely weren't sure how things would turn out? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn:

How a string of rejected job applications accidentally launched a two-decade career in Africa

What it was really like moving straight from Western Europe into a country facing serious political instability

How teaching and travel writing compete for Oscar's time and attention

Why staying humble matters when writing about places that aren't your own

What it takes to prepare for a multi-week kayaking expedition with almost no prior experience

How a mountain range with no water nearly ended the trip

Advice for handling corrupt officials and checkpoint shakedowns without losing your cool

Why local guides and communities deserve more credit than the explorers themselves

What's next for Oscar's expedition career

Resources:

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Watch the documentary

Scafidi Travels YouTube

Kayak the Mangoky

Our Kids, Our Future Madagascar

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