On January 31, 2016 I hitchhiked from the Hanawa service area in Akita Prefecture on the Tohoku Expressway back home to Niigata city. My friend Keiji who is from Akita Prefecture was amazed that I made the 505 kilometer (316 miles) trip in a single day. To be honest I myself am amazed! It’s only because of the good Hand of my Creator Who provides all my needs. His Name … Continue reading →
The chart shows how many kilometers I hitchhiked every year for the last 10 years. Only the first year of 2005 doesn’t show accurately how far I hitchhiked that year for I started keeping records from August 2, 2005. The total distance to date is 223,042 kilometers. over a period of exactly 925 days in 3587 vehicles. The latter two figures should be exact but the distance traveled may have … Continue reading →
On November 21, 2015, I hitchhiked in 9 cars from Gatsugi in Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture, to Hirosaki in Aomori, a distance of 330 kilometers of about 206 miles. This trip was so unusual that I feel compelled to document it in this post. The first car was from Murakami city at the intersection of Route 345 and Route 7. Two ladies with two little boys 3 and 4 years … Continue reading →
Dear friends and followers of this website, On April 6th I left my home in Niigata City and traveled to Noda city in Chiba prefecture which is just to the northeast of Tokyo. It was the first day of an extended trip which will last till the end of April. But only a few days later on May 2th, I’m off again on the road! The red line starting at … Continue reading →
My hitchhiking adventure to Aomori on March 6, 2015 was both wonderful and traumatic! Wonderful in that it was on a day of good warm weather with relatively little waiting for the next car. Traumatic in that I left my suitcase in car number 7, and my tablet PC in car number 9! This is Miki who lives in the city of Noshiro. She was driving from Tokyo and had … Continue reading →
January 16, 2015: I had been intending for months to visit my good American friend from the State of Arkansas, Roger. I’ve especially been meaning to tell him about my new understanding of the 70th Week of Daniel! He lives in the big city of Osaka, Japanese second largest city. Though Osaka is 550 kilometers (344 miles) from home which is 125 kilometers (75 milers) further than Hirosaki in Aomori … Continue reading →
The graph shows distances hitchhiked from 2005 to the present. In 2014 I hitchhiked 28,352 kilometers (17,720 miles). That’s 4304 kilometers or 2690 miles more than year 2013– a record to date! The older I get, the easier it is to catch a ride! 🙂
Continue reading →Today for the first time instead of hitchhiking on lonely Route 345 along the Sea of Japan, I took the train 25 kilometers further to Gatsugi station so I could hitchhike on Route 7 which has more traffic. It was cold but it wasn’t raining or snowing as it was the previous week. Five drivers took me to Hachiryu which is the beginning of a free expressway. I opted to … Continue reading →
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3I wore my warmest coat, hat and gloves for another adventure to Aomori on a cold rainy day. I stood again for more than an hour showing passing drivers my A4 paper sign that says “Tsuruoka”. The place was on Route 345 which runs along the now turbulent Sea of Japan. For some reason there was a lot of trash on the road and sidewalk where I stood. Workers arrived … Continue reading →
October 13, 2014: Today is the first day of a major change in my life. I returned home from my trip to Aomori prefecture to an empty house. My beloved spouse has gone to America to help her daughter’s large family of 7 children. Our dog, Lady, was also not in the house but I retrieved her from the lady who is caring for her when I am not home, … Continue reading →
I left Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture just after 7:00 a.m. and got home in Niigata city by 2:04 p.m.! This is about as good as it gets to travel 600 km or 400 miles in only 7 hours in 5 cars with very little waiting. What’s more, the folks that picked me up made the trip really fun! It’s 200 kilometers further to take the Tohoku Expressway rather than Route … Continue reading →
In order to save a bit more money, rather than take a train from Niigata city to Murakami, I decided to take that train only as far as Shibata. This placed me directly on Route 7 rather than Route 345 on the Sea of Japan. The last two times hitchhiking on Route 345, I had to wait over an hour to catch the first ride. I thought perhaps my chances … Continue reading →
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2February 28, Day 1 It’s the first day of a one week adventure traveling mainly by hitchhiking! I’m on my way to Kansai of which the principle cities are Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. Today’s destination was Osaka. I hitchhiked again from Niigata City to Osaka. This time I made it in record time arriving directly at my friend’s house at 4:50 P.M.! And it was totally void of any cost … Continue reading →
Today was partially overcast with dark snow clouds. It snowed from time to time. Nevertheless I made it as far as Odate City in 8 vehicles. Car #2 was Mr. Kawahara who works with Honda motor company selling car parts. I may see him again at the local Home Center in March. He took me to Tsuruoka city. From there a lady took me a bit further to the Route … Continue reading →
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1February 15, 2014 According to yesterday’s weather forecast, I expected it to snow all day and was prepared to take a train from Niigata City to Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture. But at 7:30 a.m. because the weather was fair, I decided to get off the train at Majima station and hitchhike. The traffic was sparse. After 30 minutes waiting at the spot on the road which you see in the … Continue reading →
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2On a snowy morning of January 17, after a 5 minute bike ride to the local train station where I park my bicycle and from where I walk to the highway, just a few meters away from the station my right foot slipped on the snow, hit a rock in the road, and my ankle twisted badly with excruciating pain! January 17th was to be the first long hitchhike trip … Continue reading →
This year I hitchhiked 24.048 kilometers (15,030 miles) which is 4518 kilometers more than my previous record of 19,530 kilometers in 2009! The chart below shows the years from 2005 to 2013 the distances in kilometers traveled by hitchhiking. At 15.4088 yen per kilometer on a local train, it means I saved 370,551 yen this year.
Continue reading →October 25, 2013: My destination was Aomori City, 470 kilometers from home. I hitchhiked from Murakami City as far as Sakata City in Yamagata Prefecture, a distance about 90 kilometers. After that I had to abort due to rain. It was worth the effort! Mrs. Fujiwara picked me up for the 6th time and she seemed happier than ever to do so. After her a young doctor who works as … Continue reading →
From October 4th to 6th over three days I traveled in 15 cars 1358 kilometers or 849 miles passing through Tokyo to Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture, and then to Osaka, and then back home to Niigata. Total transportation costs was 590 yen, about $6.00. The trip was one of the most fun ever! You can be the judge of that by seeing the photos. The hardest part of the … Continue reading →
The other day, (September 13, 2013) I ran into a man at a park who said he picked me up hitchhiking during Spring this year! HIs name is Katsuhiro Itoh. He took me from Sakae parking near Sanjo City to Echigokawaguchi SA. He told me he checked out this website but didn’t see the photo I took of him! Apparently I promised him I would post it. I felt bad … Continue reading →
