Craig Mod Returns — Epic Walks, The Art of Slowness, and More

Craig Mod is a writer, photographer, and walker living in Tokyo and Kamakura, Japan. He is the author of Things Become Other Things and Kissa by Kissa. He also writes the newsletters Roden and Ridgeline and has contributed to The New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired, and more. Sponsors: Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: https://shopify.com/tim (one-dollar-per-month trial period) Momentous high-quality supplements: https://livemomentous.com/tim (code TIM for 20% off) Helix Sleep premium mattresses: https://HelixSleep.com/Tim (Between 20% and 27% off all mattress orders and two free pillows) More Craig Mod: https://craigmod.com/ Things Become Other Things: https://www.amazon.com/Things-Become-Other-Walking-Memoir/dp/0593732545/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20 Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 900 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running. Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's free weekly email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Follow the Tim Ferriss Podcast: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss Blog: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/ [00:00] Start. [00:33] More than a decade of Perfect Days in a six-tatami mat room. [03:51] The first steps of Craig’s huge walks: exploring Tokyo’s nightlife. [10:07] Discovering pilgrimage trails with John McBride. [15:28] What’s so appealing about pilgrimage trails? [22:17] Learning politeness and language in Japan. [30:31] An invitation from Kevin Kelly. [31:34] The birth of a photo book. [33:05] The big solo walks begin. [34:03] Launching a membership program. [34:59] The Nakasendō experience. [39:42] Craig’s rules for walking. [40:42] The Vipassana influence. [50:22] Logistics of walking in Japan. [58:16] Depopulation and pizza toast. [1:02:59] How Kissa by Kissa came to be (and its unexpected success). [1:05:39] Kicking off Craigstarter. [1:06:49] The pièce de résistance membership strategy. [1:07:43] Finding product-market fit. [1:08:11] The importance of sustainable scale. [1:08:42] Membership community rules. [1:16:11] Navigating the publishing world. [1:27:35] Promoting midsize cities in Japan as a wild and strange celebrity. [1:41:31] The economic and cultural effects of this promotion. [1:43:28] Hidden gems and walks in Japan. [1:45:42] Walking beyond Japan. [1:48:39] Craig was a Mod before you was a mod. [1:49:41] How Craig reconnected with his birth family. [2:08:45] Reflections and future plans. [2:12:08] Parting thoughts.

Craig ModguestTim Ferrisshost

Mar 28, 20252h 13mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: March 28, 2025
Duration: 2h 13m
Channel: Tim Ferriss
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Craig Mod is a writer, photographer, and walker living in Tokyo and Kamakura, Japan. He is the author of Things Become Other Things and Kissa by Kissa. He also writes the newsletters Roden and Ridgeline and has contributed to The New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired, and more. Sponsors: Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: https://shopify.com/tim (one-dollar-per-month trial period) Momentous high-quality supplements: https://livemomentous.com/tim (code TIM for 20% off) Helix Sleep premium mattresses: https://HelixSleep.com/Tim (Between 20% and 27% off all mattress orders and two free pillows) More Craig Mod: https://craigmod.com/ Things Become Other Things: https://www.amazon.com/Things-Become-Other-Walking-Memoir/dp/0593732545/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20 Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 900 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running. Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's free weekly email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Follow the Tim Ferriss Podcast: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss Blog: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/ [00:00] Start. [00:33] More than a decade of Perfect Days in a six-tatami mat room. [03:51] The first steps of Craig’s huge walks: exploring Tokyo’s nightlife. [10:07] Discovering pilgrimage trails with John McBride. [15:28] What’s so appealing about pilgrimage trails? [22:17] Learning politeness and language in Japan. [30:31] An invitation from Kevin Kelly. [31:34] The birth of a photo book. [33:05] The big solo walks begin. [34:03] Launching a membership program. [34:59] The Nakasendō experience. [39:42] Craig’s rules for walking. [40:42] The Vipassana influence. [50:22] Logistics of walking in Japan. [58:16] Depopulation and pizza toast. [1:02:59] How Kissa by Kissa came to be (and its unexpected success). [1:05:39] Kicking off Craigstarter. [1:06:49] The pièce de résistance membership strategy. [1:07:43] Finding product-market fit. [1:08:11] The importance of sustainable scale. [1:08:42] Membership community rules. [1:16:11] Navigating the publishing world. [1:27:35] Promoting midsize cities in Japan as a wild and strange celebrity. [1:41:31] The economic and cultural effects of this promotion. [1:43:28] Hidden gems and walks in Japan. [1:45:42] Walking beyond Japan. [1:48:39] Craig was a Mod before you was a mod. [1:49:41] How Craig reconnected with his birth family. [2:08:45] Reflections and future plans. [2:12:08] Parting thoughts.

SPEAKERS

Craig Mod
guest
Writer and photographer based in Japan known for long-distance walks and books such as "Things Become Other Things."
Tim Ferriss
host
Author and podcast host of The Tim Ferriss Show.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Tim Ferriss, featuring Craig Mod and Tim Ferriss, Craig Mod Returns — Epic Walks, The Art of Slowness, and More explores craig Mod on huge walks, boredom, publishing, and belonging Craig Mod and Tim Ferriss trace how Craig’s “Huge Walks” grew from late-night Tokyo wandering into multi-week solo walking-and-writing projects built around strict attention rules and repetition.

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