Japan is full of quirks that make Americans scream with delight and squirm with discomfort. However, some of these quirks aren’t cultural, but geographical; Japan is a land with rolling hills and seemingly endless mountain ranges, challenges that make building infrastructure in certain parts of the country difficult.
As a result of these challenges, the country has come up with some interesting solutions. For example, bokkas — people who hike up hills wearing hundreds of pounds of goods.
Maybe one of the oddest professions in Japan is that of the bokka (??). Porters who carry supplies to remote mountain guesthouses inaccessible to vehicles. A bokka uses customized wooden ladder frames to carry 100-165kg of supplies on day long marches (walk up, run down). pic.twitter.com/JmD1iGBv7Y
— Wrath Of Gnon (@wrathofgnon) February 29, 2024
These mountain porters will stack boxes upon boxes into specially-made packs designed to be worn on their backs. These things aren’t light, either — while the average bokka carries anywhere from 60 to 70 kilograms (approximately 130 to 150 pounds), some choose to take on much heavier loads. For example, one bokka interviewed by The Asahi Shimbun says he carries around 140 kilograms, or around 300 pounds.
The job is popular: not surprisingly veteran bokka routinely tests as fitter and healthier than elite athletes. Both men and women take on the job, the average weight of a bokka is 60-70kg. pic.twitter.com/tUhclZ26eO
— Wrath Of Gnon (@wrathofgnon) February 29, 2024
Bokkas are tasked with carrying these heavy loads up to mountain huts along a set route. Over the course of a single season, one bokka could carry as much as 10 tons on their back.
And before you ask, yes, this is what Death Stranding was based on.
I never knew death stranding was inspired by a genuine trade, and it paints the entire game in such a beautifully different light https://t.co/YDjH6ZDtpO
— demi (@cuddlepuunk) February 29, 2024
That said, the pay ain’t great. The Asahi Shimbun article notes, “Depending on the weight of goods carried and the distance to the huts, a bokka’s daily wage ranges from 10,000 yen ($74) to 15,000 yen.” As a result, bokkas often have to get other jobs in their off-seasons, which presumably also gives their backs a much-needed break. Lord knows their chiropractor budget must be through the roof!
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