was a Japanese

adventurer An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

, best known for circling Japan on bicycle, and traveling to the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

. He was born in the town of Ikata, Ehime,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Kōno died in 2001 while attempting to walk from the North Pole back to his hometown. Kono went missing in the Canadian Arctic, and was found in the Arctic Ocean. A memorial display entitled "Reaching Home" was erected at the Seto Agriculture Park in Ikata to honor him. It includes a signpost noting the names, dates, and distances of locations he traveled to. It reads as follows:

References

1958 births 2001 deaths Japanese explorers People from Ehime Prefecture {{Explorer-stub