c199b88e_Hitchhiking_in_Japan_Log__Highlights_of_trip
[Date] 08/11/06 [Destination] Tokyo [Distance] 415KM [# Vehicles] 10 [Highlights of trip] 
I started this hitchhiking adventure an hour later than planned because I was asked to do a job to clean out a drainage ditch. I requested it be done on another day but then felt so selfish for refusing, I did it anyway. It was true that my schedule was not that tight. I just didn't want to have to hitchhike under the hot mid day August sun! The first 2 cars picked me up with very little waiting time and took me as far as the expressway entrance, but I ended up waiting nearly 2 hours under the hot afternoon sun waiting for a car to take me on the expressway! Four cars did stop and offered to take me, but because they were going in the opposite direction, I turned down their offer. However I decided to grab the 5th vehicle even if was going in the opposite direction knowing that there is a parking area 20 kilometers away and I could walk to the other side. I did this before on occasion. And this is exactly what happened. By the time I got to the expressway parking, it was after 3PM and I was still 300 kilometers or several hours travel from Tokyo. A man going to Kashiwazaki picked me up. Kashiwazaki is a small city on the Sea of Japan and is not on the way to Tokyo, but because I knew of another parking area just past the point of entrance to the expressway where I first was waiting for a ride, I asked him to take me to that parking area. But that would mean only about about 5 kilometers further toward Tokyo though nearly 3 hours had elapsed! I nearly wanted to abort my trip that day and return home, and had the opportunity to do so because the previous driver was actually going near my home, but to do so would be admitting failure and defeat. I knew that God's delays are not necessarily His denials and that sometimes when I have to wait a long time it just means that He has somebody special prepared for me! And He had! The driver on the way to Kashiwazaki turned out to be a wealthy real estate broker and asked me to come spend the night at his house and help his son with his English teaching. He said that if I came and helped his son, he would pay for my fare to Tokyo the next day! I accepted. And so I made some new friends. The man wants me to come regularly to Kashiwazaki from now on. The next day I rode the super fast "Bullet" train to Tokyo. Normally unless I'm in a real hurry, I don't want to spend the money to ride on a bullet train because the fare is rather expensive. But my new friend bought the ticket for me. Part of this trip took me a little north of Tokyo to Tochigi Prefecture. Two ladies picked me up, one middle aged and the other her elderly mother. The younger lady spoke to her mother in sign language. "Clever Kazu", Airi, and "Crazy Kazu" After that two young men around 21 years old picked me up. They said they could take me as far as the next town of Koga city, but ended up taking me nearly twice the distance as far as Kasukabe city. Both of their names are Kazuhiro. The driver said for me to call him "Crazy Kazu" and his friend said to call him "Clever Kazu." Clever Kazu used his cellphone to call his girlfriend, Airi, and arranged to pick her up. Airi lived 3 years in NYC with her parents when she was younger, and spoke good English. I had a great time talking to these young people about who Jesus is and they all prayed with me to receive Him as their Savior! Hasegawa Satomi and her husband Hiroshi On the way back home 5 days later a young married couple, Mr and Mrs. Hasegawa, picked me up and asked me why I was hitchhiking. I told them that hitchhiking is one of my hobbies and that I post my adventures on my web site. The driver, Mr Hasegawa, pulled over to the side of the road a minute later and brought out his laptop computer with a wireless Internet connection and accessed my Japanese web page! They saw the photos of other people who pick me up and the things I wrote about them and knew I was telling the truth. I tell you, having your own web site is a great resource to prove your credibility! :-) Mr. and Mrs. Okabe who took me from Nagano to Niigata on June 4, 2006, saw me hitchhiking near Sanjo IC and offered me a ride. I knew I met them somewhere before but couldn't quite remember. It's not too often I run into the same people twice when hitchhiking.
Hitchhiking in Japan Log
Highlights of trip