Japanese adventurer and content creator Gump Suzuki is touring the Philippines using a traditional Japanese rickshaw in the next six weeks.

The Department of Tourism's National Capital Region office held a send-off ceremony for Suzuki at the Kilometer Zero landmark in Rizal Park on Thursday morning.

Suzuki said that he is excited to discover the Philippines and eat a lot of good food while he travels from Manila to Davao.

"I love balut, Jollibee, San Miguel, I can't wait to try more Filipino food while traveling," Suzuki said during an interview.

From Manila, Suzuki will be travelling on foot going to Laguna down to Masbate before taking a boat to Cebu, Bohol, and onwards to Mindanao.

Suzuki plans to reach Davao City, the last stop of his Philippine tour by May 22 before flying back to Japan.

Tourism Assistant NCR Director Catherine Agustin said that Suzuki's travels and video content in the Philippines will be a big boost in promoting the country to Japanese tourists, who ranked as the top three visitors of the country next to South Korea (top one) and United States (top two).

"We hope that Gump Suzuki's vlogs can help promote the Philippines to our Japanese tourists," Agustin said.

When asked about the logistics of his travels to the Philippines, Suzuki said that it was not easy planning his travels because the Philippines is an archipelagic country.

"I have to ride my rickshaw on boats to cross the islands of the Philippines, it's difficult but I'm excited to try it," Suzuki said.

Suzuki has travelled to China, India, Europe, America, and Africa with his traditional Japanese rickshaw in the past nine years, earning a large following on social media where he posts vlogs about his travels.

"I was inspired by the movie Forest Gump, where the main character travels a lot and learns a lot of lessons. I want to learn a lot of lessons too while I travel," Suzuki said.

On the days when he is not travelling the world, Suzuki is a tour guide based in Tokyo who gives cultural tours to tourists who ride his rickshaw. Yzabela Velez-White/DMS