At a young age Iwata Konno embarked on a world tour, starting from Hokkaido. After passing through Siberia, Persia, Mongolia, China and India he reached Annam, just at the time when the Annamese were fighting the French in 1884. It is said Iwata Konno joined the Annamese army as a major-general and helped them attack the French army successfully. After that history loses touch with him.
Iwata Konno was a great friend of Sei Arao and they both made a pact to devote themselves for the development of Asia.