A 32-year-old Japanese man completed his walk around the world Sunday in which he covered around 40,000 km with a two-wheeled cart, returning to Shanghai where he started the journey about four and a half years ago.

Masahito Yoshida, from the city of Tottori on the Sea of Japan coast, left Shanghai on New Year’s Day 2009, heading west with around 50 kg of luggage, including a sleeping bag, in his cart.

Yoshida said he hoped to visit small towns that he would bypass if he traveled by train or bus.

He spent a year and eight months covering around 16,000 km from Central Asia to the western tip of Portugal’s Cape Roca, where he arrived in August 2010 via Istanbul.

He then flew to the east coast of the United States and started his 6,000-km walk from Atlantic City in New Jersey, reaching Vancouver in Canada in October 2011.

Yoshida spent eight months traversing Australia from Melbourne in the south to Darwin in the north via Alice Springs, completing his 5,000-km walk across the continent in June 2012.

He took up part-time work in Canada and Australia to meet his daily needs.

In Asia, he started from the southern part of Southeast Asia, visiting such countries as Singapore and Vietnam.

In Vietnam, Yoshida suffered heat stroke before reaching China but continued to walk 30 km a day as his visa was expiring.

Yoshida plans to walk another 500 km in Taiwan before returning to Japan in August.

He said he hopes to convey his experiences to Japanese children after returning home.