c199b88e_Hitchhiking_in_Japan_Log__Highlights_of_trip
[Date] 08/09/08 to 08/21/08 [Destination] Kyoto, Kyushu (Fukuoka, Oita and Kitakyushu), Osaka, Kobe (Mt. Rokko), Gifu and Chiba (Tokyo area) [Distance] 2500KM [# Vehicles] 53 [Highlights of trip] 
Trip to Kyushu - August 2008 All photos in this section are will enlarge when clicked. A young single couple who took me from Sanjo city to Tsubame city in Niigata Prefecture the first day From August 9 to August 21, 2008 I hitchhiked approximately 2500 kilometers (1560 miles) from Niigata to Kyushu and back! This is the second time I went to Kyushu from Niigata but this trip is perhaps longer than the first one because I took a detour on the way back all the way to the other side of Tokyo before returning home. (Please see map) Because the middle of August in Japan is a holiday season known as Obon the drivers who stop to pick me up are often with their entire family, their wife and children and sometimes their parents as well. They go back to their birthplace to honor their departed ancestors. It is relatively easy to hitchhike long distances during this time. Of the 53 cars that picked me up, 18 were entire families. Of these 9 cars had small children and two even had with them the family dog! (Click on the image to see an enlargement) The main problem hitchhiking in August is the summer heat. I pray for quick rides but sometimes have to endure standing under the noonday sun at an expressway entrance for periods up to an hour or more. There is usually no source of water nearby. I try to carry a plastic bottle of water with me during summer travels. August 9, Day 1: I went to the city of Kashiwazaki, home of the largest nuclear power plant The production of electricity came to an immediate halt in July 16, 2007 due to a major earthquake just off shore in the Sea of Japan. The power plant is still under repair since the earthquake, but because it supplies electricity to Tokyo 300 kilometers away, the local prefecture of Niigata is not affected by power loses. Kashiwazaki is only 60 kilometers (40 miles) and only took 3 vehicles on regular roads. The last man who said he is a worker at the plant took me way out of his way to my destination. I asked him how many power work there and he replied around 3000. When I asked him what 3000 people are doing all day, he replied, "They're busy". A young couple who took me part way to Kyoto August 10, Day 2: I hitchhiked to Kyoto and spent the evening with members of The Family International. It took me 10 rides to get to Kyoto, approximately 550 kilometers further down the road. Normally I try to hitchhike long distances via expressways as much as possible, but it took me 3 rides just to get on the expressway. My friend Nobuo took me to the Yoneyama IC of the Hokuriku expressway which runs along the Sea of Japan, but because there were relatively few cars entering the expressway at that point, I decided to hitchhike a bit further on the regular road to get to a parking area. The third driver took me along back roads to the Nadachitanihama SA. From there it was relatively easy to continue on to Tokyo. Today 4 married couples picked me up. I got to Kyoto at 4:30PM, a very good time considering the distance traveled. August 11, Day 3: After standing only a few minutes at the Katsuragawa SA in Kyoto, a car with a man and his wife pulled up. The man asked me my destination and I said I was heading to Kyushu, the southern main island of Japan. I looked at his wife and saw she had a worried fearful look on her face! I told the man that I am a Christian, a missionary for Christ in Japan, and mean them no harm. Nevertheless he continued to ask me doubtful questions in spite of the fact that I gave him my business card. His wife continued to look worried and so I told him that I would look for another car to travel in. I do not beg people to pick me up! I don't even like to ride with people who are reluctant to take me! It is extremely rare to encounter such situations as this. The vast majority of rides I catch are from those who willingly want to help take me closer to my destination. Because the driver continued talking to me I could tell he really did want to take me and was really trying to convince his wife of the same. He invited me to get in the car, but immediately asked me for more identification as soon as I did. I showed him my Alien Registration Card - a document required by Japanese law for all foreigners to carry with them at all times. That seemed to satisfy the man. They took me to the the Miki SA of the Sanyo expressway in Gunma Prefecture just past Osaka and Kobe - a two hour trip due to heavy traffic passing Osaka. The wife who was silent all during this time later bought me a beverage and we exchanged a few words. Satoshi who took me 300KM to a SA just before Hiroshima The second car today was a young man named Satoshi who took me close to Hiroshima - quite a good distance from Gunma - around 300 kilometers or about half the distance I needed to travel that day! He played Jimi Hendrix music on his IPOD. While I was impressed that a young Japanese boy would be interested in music from the time I was only a teenager, I told him that rock music is related to witchcraft. The third car today was a married couple with a female friend who took me on the Sanyo expressway all the way to Shimonoseki, the city on the southern tip of Honshu. Shimonoseki is connected by both a bridge and an undersea tunnel to the next island of Kyushu. I remember when I hitchhiked to Kyushu in 1981 before the Sanyo expressway was built, it took me two whole days to hitchhike the 600 some kilometers from Osaka to Shimonoseki on regular roads. The ladies where constantly studying the road maps as we drove past small islands just off shore in the Inland Sea (body of ocean between Honshu and Shikoku) close to Hiroshima. I commented that women usually aren't very good in reading maps. :-) I wish I could describe to you the scenic beauty of the coast along Hiroshima with all the small island in the Inland Sea. I have an elderly Japanese friend who was born on one of these islands, and was 7 years old when she saw the light of the first atomic bomb explosion. Couple from Saga who took me to Kyushu just before Fukuoka city. It was about 5:45 PM when they dropped me off at a parking area just before getting off the expressway at Shimonoseki. From there I had hoped to go all the way to Oita city which was my main destination during this trip. However the shortest way to Oita is by regular roads along the eastern side of Kyushu. At first I was told by a driver it would take only 2 hours, but my friends in Oita said it would be probably more like 4 or 5. The latter turned out to be true. Hitchhiking in the dark on unknown lonely roads is something I like to avoid, and so I decided then to first go to Fukuoka city where I knew at least two different Family International members who were welcoming me to come visit. As I always say and firmly believe, "Where God guides, He provides." Within 5 minutes after changing plans a young couple who were on their way to Saga Prefecture picked me up and took me to the Koga parking area just before Fukuoka city. From there an older couple took me all the way to Hakata station in Fukuoka from where I spent 560 yen to get to my destination. I arrived around 9PM. Aug. 13, 2008: A father and his daughter who took me down the Kyushu expressway to a parking area just before the Oita junction. Aug. 13, day 5: I spent the previous day in Fukuoka working on fixing computers for my friends. I left their home at 8:40AM and walked about 10 minutes to get to a highway. My destination is now Oita city on the east side of Kyushu on the Inland Sea. Within the first half minute of hitchhiking, a man and his son who were on their way to Kurume City took me to the Chikushino Interchange of the Kyushu expressway -- a good 1.5 hour drive from Fukuoka city! This was much better than I expected. The mother and daughter of the same car in the previous photo. However I had to wait a whole hour under the hot sun at the expressway entrance before getting my next ride. A married couple stopped, but they were going the opposite way of my destination. However I opted to go with them anyway because I knew there was a parking area called Sue located about 10 minutes up the road from where I could walk to the other side to get traffic going toward my destination. I was pretty thirsty after waiting so long at Chikushino and was glad to get to a parking area where there is water available to drink. After waiting only a few minutes at Sue, a family on their way to Kumamoto took me to a parking area just before the junction that goes to Oita. From Kyushu expressway to Oita expressway: Grandmother holding her grandson. The mother of the baby in the previous photo. She is sitting very uncomfortably in the small child seat in order to make room for me! The father of the baby. Map in a PA on the Oita Expressway. Children in a car that took me to Oita Station. The father meant to get off at Beppu, the city just before Oita, but missed the exit being unfamiliar with the area. This family is from Hiroshima. My friends Caleb, Hisako and children in Kitakyushu. The bridge spanning Kyushu and Honshu. You may notice from the sign that I am now heading back home. On top of Rokko Yama with a scene of Kobe in the background. A mother and daughter who took me close to Tokyo. Ms. Miki, a mother with her son on the way to a spa in Yuzawa. There are many more interesting things I can write about this trip. Maybe I will if you ask me about it.
Hitchhiking in Japan Log
Highlights of trip