Updated: March 1, 2024, 10:30 a.m. ET: The couriers that inspired Hideo Kojima’s 2019 action game/delivery sim Death Stranding are going viral again and a whole new group of people are getting to know the fascinating Japanese profession.
Bokka or “Step Cargo” carriers are essentially IRL versions of Sam Porter Bridgers from Death Stranding, carrying heavy loads on their backs over mountain passes and narrow valleys inaccessible to vehicles. Your work has has gone viral again on Twitter Thanks to a user named Wrath of Gnon for saying this experienced porters “routinely [test] fitter and healthier than top athletes.” That’s pretty wild.
So it’s not too surprising that this has picked up steam again, especially now that Hideo Kojima has announced it Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be released in 2025 for PlayStation 5. The first trailer was unveiled during The Game Awads 2022 ceremonyand that January 2024 State of Play live streamgave us an even closer look at the wild things we expect from a Kojima game. There were, um, baby octopuses and a guy fighting a samurai with a guitar that shoots lightning bolts.
The following is the original story, first published on December 4th, 2019:
In Japan or anywhere in remote mountainous areas, there are porters who carry supplies and food to areas beyond the reach of vehicles. The Japanese word for it is itself (歩荷) or literally “crotch charge”.
The Asahi news A report from September 2018 shows a 25-year-old carrier named Masato Hagiwara. He weighs 139 pounds but carries fresh food and canned drinks through the high-altitude Ozegahara Marshland National Park.
His stacks reach over 6 feet tall and weigh 220 pounds.
Accordingly Asahi news, it’s important that wearers like Hagiwara don’t overdo it. Carrying the load requires maximum concentration and physical strength, but many breaks are also necessary, especially before your shoulders become numb.
In this respect, these real porters differ from Sam Bridges, who appears to be struggling only with balancing loads rather than with numb shoulders. But carriers like Hagiwara don’t have to contend with fearsome spirits or care for baby pods. Thank God!
