Japan is a great country for sightseeing and travel — if you can afford it. Transportation costs are at least double that of the USA. It costs around US $85 just to travel 300 KM (about 190 miles) by the “bullet train” (Shinkansen in Japanese). Want to save some doe and meet people? Try hitchhiking! I do and I love it!
I first came to Japan in 1972 while in the US military stationed near Tokyo. A couple years later I decided to become a missionary to the Japanese people and tell them about Jesus Christ. Missionaries need to “live by faith”. This also means to live within one’s income. I needed to travel the country to “preach the Gospel” but could not always afford public transportation. My partner and I often opted to hitchhike. We usually got to our destination that day, and if we didn’t, often the person that picked us up took us to their home where we spent the night and sometimes several days.
I wish I had kept a record of all my adventures hitchhiking in Japan. If I had, I would have a book by now which might have even been a best seller. LOL! At the very least, it would have made interesting reading for me in my old age. I will be 67 in June this year of 2017.
I define hitchhiking as getting rides from total strangers. Therefore it does not include rides from associates, friends or family.
What kind of people pick me up?
Kind people, unselfish people, people who care about others. Some are fond of Westerners, some study English and want to practice using it, some lived in the USA and want to repay the kindness they received from Americans, some have hitchhiked in their university days and understand people who do, some have broken hearts (often marital problems or broken love relationships) and wish to pour out their hearts to somebody, some are lonely, and some know they are prone to be sleepy driving on the expressway and wish to have someone to talk with in order to help them stay awake! Some drivers have correctly identified me as a Christian missionary even before I tell them so! They are usually the most open to hearing the Message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the Bible than most Japanese. To meet such people and have an opportunity to share the Truth with them makes it worth all the discomfort of the hot sun, rain, wind and snow I sometimes face while hitchhiking.
How do I hitchhike? Read a page of tips I compiled!
Since August of 2003 I have been keeping statistics of my travels.
Hitchhiking stats compared
Reading Time: < 1 minute The year is almost over and I probably won’t be going on the road again this month. Last night I … Continue reading →
December 2009 hitchhike adventure in central Japan
Reading Time: 3 minutes The red line shows my trip. From November 30th to December 5th, I circled central Japan and reached my year-end … Continue reading →
November Hitchhike Adventure to Aomori
Reading Time: 2 minutes University professor Dr. A. Kusumi who took me to Niigata from Hirosaki city in Aomori Prefecture Again I went to … Continue reading →
Picked up by two Nichiren ladies
Reading Time: 2 minutes November 29, 2009: While hitchhiking to town I noticed a lady walking toward me from a distance with what appeared … Continue reading →
October Adventure to Aomori
Reading Time: 2 minutes A man who took me to Murakami City in Niigata Prefecture October 30, 2009: I needed to be in Odate … Continue reading →
A driver’s mistake helps me to get home
Reading Time: 2 minutes Asari Toru who drove me a distance of 200 kilometers October 25: I’m in Aomori city and on the way … Continue reading →
Adventure hitchhiking to Aomori city on Route 7
Reading Time: < 1 minute The good Lord blessed my efforts and a man driving a truck, Mr. Kawamoto, picked me up after only a … Continue reading →
Adventure to Sendai
Reading Time: 3 minutes Route 49 by Lake Inawashiro, Fukushima Prefecture October 14, 2009: Today I went to Sendai via the same route I … Continue reading →
Race against the clock to Hirosaki city
Reading Time: 2 minutes Northern Honshu, Japan October 11, 2009: I was in Mutsu City in the Shimokita peninsula in Aomori prefecture of northern … Continue reading →
Discussion With a Nuclear Physicist on the way to Kanazawa
Reading Time: 3 minutes A mother and daughter who went out of the way to take me to my destination. Oct. 3, 2009: It … Continue reading →
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