Hokkaido-based adventurer Yasunaga Ogita started his latest solo walking expedition on Friday, dragging a 100-kg sledge on a 1,130-km slog to the South Pole without any plans to resupply or use motorized assistance.

Ogita left the Union Glacier Camp at Hercules Inlet on Antarctica’s Ronne ice shelf, facing the Weddell Sea south of South America, at 3:30 p.m., his office said on its website.

He plans to reach the South Pole by mid-January. If he succeeds, he will be the first Japanese to walk to the South Pole without resupplying, according to his site.

Ogita, 40, is an explorer who has traveled more than 9,000 km over the past 18 years within the Arctic Circle. He recently has become well known among the public by being featured on the popular TBS television show “Crazy Journey.”

“I walked 5.5 km over 2½ hours by 6 p.m. I just started pushing forward on the frozen ground. The slope is rather steep,” Ogita said in a message posted on his website.