Zatsu Tabi: That's Journey

Chika Suzugamori, an 18-year-old newcomer manga artist, has just had three of her drafts rejected in a single day. Her editor suggests incorporating her interests into her work, but Chika is an indoor person who only thinks about manga day and night. At a loss, she feels a sudden desire to get away from everything and go on a journey somewhere.

Due to the results of an online poll that she posted on a whim, Chika hops on a train and heads north from Tokyo on an impromptu solo trip. When she ends up at the top of Mount Haguro in Aizu-Wakamatsu, she realizes she feels refreshed and more motivated than before. Even if her projects get turned down again in the future, Chika plans to journey around Japan with friends old and new.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Suzugamori, Chika Main

Tsukishiro, Hika Japanese

Hasunuma, Koyomi Supporting

Suzushiro, Sayumi Japanese

Tenkuubashi, Riri Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Koujiya, Fuyune Supporting

Satou, Satomi Japanese

Unoki, Yui Supporting

Hiratsuka, Sae Japanese

Yoshimoto-san Supporting

Kobayashi, Yuu Japanese

Takahashi Supporting

Kuramochi, Wakana Japanese

Narrator Supporting

Kubota, Hitoshi Japanese

Sakamoto Supporting

Youmiya, Hina Japanese

Iizuka, Aya Producer

Nemoto, Yuuka Producer

Sawahata, Kouji Producer

Yoshioka, Naoki Producer

Reviews

Jun 23, 2025

Stark700

Recommended

Zatsu Tabi That's Journey, a show that chronicles the journey of Chika Suzugamori who was rejected by the manga industry. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as she ventures on a journey to discover the world around her. They say life can be filled with surprises, and Zatsu Tabi That's Journey tipify exactly just that.

Chika is an indoor girl. This is made obvious from the first few episodes but that doesn't stop the show from giving her the chance to explore. By explore, it doesn't just mean discovering new places but also discovering herself. The first episode sparks a new curiousity and ... goal in her life: to go on a journey. There's really no set destination because at the heart of this show, it's about the experience. Throughout this journey, Chika explores the culture of places shes visit, finding common interests with people she meets, and experiencing new inspirations for her work. It's not hard to say this anime has near infinite potential. But as a 12-episode series, the anime focuses on Japan than traveling around the world.

From the start, Chika is seen as an ordinary girl who hasn't established a reputation for herself. She has big dreams but those dreams seemed impossible to reach. Initially, she uses her journey as a way to escape the harsh reality of the real world. It begins when Chika takes a trip to Aizuwakamatsu. It's from there that Chika learns the joy of tourism and wonders the world can bring. Among other locations Chika visits include Matsushima, the Shikoku region, Kyoto, Aomori. Every episode offers a new experience for Chika and she learns about the cultural aspects of these locations. She's not always alone either when other characters such as Koyomi, Yui, Fuyune, and Riri. While there's very limited character development among them, there's no doubt that Chika's journey becomes more fun with friends by her side. The enjoyment of sharing a traveling experience brings out the best in this show. And it helps too, that the anime remains authentic to its settings. There's care put into crafting these tourist locations from the serene natural looks to the cultural influences.

With each episode being a standalone, there's no complex plot or deeper meaning from Chika's journey. At the end of each episode, she experiences something new whether it's cultural or something simple as trying a new gourmet. Truly, this anime isn't here for a deeper meaning than expressing itself as a youthful journey. Chika's journey shows that the adventuring can change themselves, whether as a person or their career.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Stark700 (741)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Jul 4, 2025

ATP_Synthase

Mixed Feelings

Zatsu Tabi is another travel/adventure anime this season alongside Mono, but honestly… it’s kind of lacking. I was really glad to see another university student as the main character (we need more of that!), but the show just didn’t click for me.

Most of the time, the main character is solo traveling and just talking to herself the whole way through. I usually love laid-back anime, but this one felt too slow and, honestly, kind of boring. The few times she actually travels with friends? Way more fun. The group dynamic adds a lot, and I wish there was more of that.

Don’t get me wrong—I like ... the idea of solo travel. It's spontaneous, and the anime does capture that aspect well. But turning solo wandering into a full anime… just doesn’t really work for me. It’s hard to stay engaged when most of the screen time is just one character narrating their own thoughts in empty spaces.

Another thing that didn’t sit right was how hard the show leans into being "informative." I get that it's trying to showcase real travel destinations, but it ends up feeling more like a tourism ad than a story. Mono and Yuru Camp also highlight real places, but they blend it into the narrative way more naturally. In Zatsu Tabi, it’s like, “Here’s this town, here’s a fun fact,” and then… that’s it.

Overall, I appreciate what it tries to do, but it just doesn’t land for me the way other travel-themed anime do.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by ATP_Synthase (13)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Jun 23, 2025

SuperAdventure

Not Recommended

YuruCamp, Encouragement of Climb, Houkago Teibou Nishi; some anime about cute girls doing activities for fun and adventure. All involve some amount of travel; buying gear; practicing with beginner levels; then adding friends. Zatsu Tabi is in the same category. 
These kind of anime broadly fit the description ‘iyashikei’ for healing. I am a big fan of shows like this, so choosing to watch it was a given. Unfortunately it was not nearly as fulfilling or as well made as those other shows.

There are only a few characters- Chika, this blue haired girl on the cover with red beanie; and her friend Koyomi who ... has purple hair. At one point they give their ages as 19. They’re presented as independent adults- at 19?? Okay, just roll with it. Chika needs inspiration for her manga as she’s hit a wall (understandable for someone so inexperienced) so she decides to take a journey, I think at the suggestion of her publisher. 
She chooses a place by randomly grabbing a brochure at the train station- that’s kinda cool actually- I’m envious you can go to a train station and just go anywhere in the country in a couple hours in Japan. The rest of the anime has her roping in Koyomi first, then some of her girlfriends to travel with her. This had a very similar vibe and setup to YuruCamp. But something is missing…

Well the problems begin with the places they visit. The first is a temple- which is wonderful; Chika walking up all those steps through woods on a mountainside. But everywhere else is the kind of flat, dull, boxy modern sprawl landscape- you know wide roads, tons of concrete and guardrails; power lines, and the architecture of the convenience store.
Not what I would call inspiring to look at. And they never wander far from the pavement.

The second issue is the biggest I had with the whole show: absolutely NONE OF IT is drawn. Every scene, and almost everything you see, especially if there are cars or houses in view, even most of the temples- are ALL PHOTOGRAPHS. Yes they are- look closely. Some of the scenes are filtered; some have the crowds traced over with still anime characters but some aren’t even filtered at all and it’s very obvious! Some of the scenes didn’t even bother with filters!

This DOESN’T look good- it looks like Who Framed Roger fucking Rabbit at times, with very flat 2D anime girls walking around against photographed backgrounds and they are not integrated at all. The worst part about this is people watch this thinking they’re seeing High Art- oh look how the animators knocked it out of the park! NO!! They haven’t animated anything! They ran some photos through photoshop filters- in every damn scene. It’s CHEAP and LAZY.
And in a way this is me spoiling it for you and I make no apologies: if you can’t tell the difference between a photo and an anime then I’m just going to point it out to you! 
That brings me back to the first issue because, if you’re just going to animate a couple of characters and nothing else- why not show us something more inspiring? 
Despite that so many anime take place in cities (Tokyo usually) when they travel, in all the shows I mentioned and this one- they go outside the cities. I know for a fact Japan has lots of beautiful places to visit. But just as in YuruCamp- the creators of this show are content taking us through dull, barren hilly landscapes and never stray far from the pavement. Why not go to Okinawa? Why not go to KYOTO? They actually went to Hiroshima at one point- in one of the early episodes. HIROSHIMA!! And did they visit the memorial? No.
Did they see the city? No. Did they do anything interesting? They sat at a cafe in the train station because the train was delayed.

This didn’t even feel like an anime- it felt more like a bad Japan Tourism Board commercial. It feels like this was made to show segments during NHK regular programming. Nobody outside Japan would even care about any of these locations; everything is so mundane and pedestrian that even most Japanese probably wouldn’t care unless they were planning a low-cost weekend holiday. None of these places are even good for long term stays.

I usually review anime based on the visual, sound and emotional experience. Well, the visuals are N/A because it’s almost all photography; the places they went to were bland, the music did not stand out to me, and it made me feel not much emotion- just a mild smile. It’s a neat idea, but I couldn’t really relate to the characters- all of whom are female (nearly every speaking character everywhere they go); and couldn’t really connect with the surroundings because it looked so uninteresting. Hopefully this studio will put some effort into animating and illustrating on their next project. This felt like a cheaply made promotional video for tourism. It was mildly pleasant but dull and not very entertaining. I can’t recommend it for casual anime audiences.
This got attention because it’s a seasonal, but once the season’s over it will be forgotten. With a subject with as much exciting potential as TRAVEL, this anime turns it into something as boring as grocery shopping. If you go to your local bus station and buy a Greyhound ticket to the next city over- no matter where you're from I guarantee you will have far more interesting experiences than anything shown in this anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by SuperAdventure (50)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Animes in which AL STUDIO has participated

by Shakitonu31

24 Entries · 7 Restacks

Animes in which Kaiser Animation has participated

by Shakitonu31

15 Entries · 1 Restacks

Animes in which Koeda Animation has participated

by Shakitonu31

43 Entries · 11 Restacks

Spring 2025 Simulcast List [Update 4/7]

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of television anime acquired for simulcast release during the Spring 2025 season. Anime series licensed for hom...read more

Mar 25, 2025 4:48 PM by Snow | Discuss (17 comments)

Spring 2025 Preview

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of Spring 2025 titles with an accompanying promotional video, commercial, teaser, or trailer. This post will be...read more

Mar 19, 2025 9:44 AM by Snow | Discuss (8 comments)

	Poll: Zatsu Tabi: That's Journey Episode 10 Discussion Stark700 - Jun 9, 2025	33 replies	by Pitto_ »» Mar 8, 5:24 PM
	Poll: Zatsu Tabi: That's Journey Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Jun 23, 2025	63 replies	by Gippy »» Feb 18, 1:36 AM
	Poll: Zatsu Tabi: That's Journey Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Apr 7, 2025	107 replies	by aleinam »» Dec 5, 2025 2:18 PM
	Poll: Zatsu Tabi: That's Journey Episode 11 Discussion Stark700 - Jun 16, 2025	32 replies	by Spast1c »» Dec 5, 2025 7:07 AM
	Poll: Zatsu Tabi: That's Journey Episode 9 Discussion Stark700 - Jun 2, 2025	33 replies	by Spast1c »» Dec 2, 2025 6:12 AM