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.
Visit to Hirosaki Park during Cherry Blossom Time
Reading Time: 2 minutes Visit Hirosaki Park in Aomori Japan to see beautiful cherry blossoms.
Continue reading →Spring hitchhike adventure: Nagano, Osaka, Tokyo
Reading Time: 7 minutes On Wednesday, April 18th, I began another week long hitchhike adventure. This time I hitchhiked 1430 kilometers (894 miles) in … Continue reading →
Hitchhike adventure to Hirosaki
Reading Time: 2 minutes March 2, 2012: It’s been nearly two months since my last trip. Sometimes I wonder if getting older will discourage … Continue reading →
First hitchhike adventure of 2012 – Kobe and back via Tokyo
Reading Time: < 1 minute From January 4 to January 8, I traveled to Osaka, Kobe, Hamamatsu (Shizuoka Prefecture), Tokyo, and back home to Niigata … Continue reading →
End of year 2011 hitchhike analysis
Reading Time: < 1 minute The graph shows the distances I traveled over the past 7 years in Japan by hitchhiking. Since I’ve been keeping … Continue reading →
Final hitchhike adventure of 2011
Reading Time: 2 minutes December 22, 2011: I was invited to attend a meeting in Tokyo of the NPO Leap High, 300 kilometes from … Continue reading →
Traumatic trip to Aomori city
Reading Time: 4 minutes September 19: Today was warm, bright and sunny, a very good day to travel by hitchhiking. I was on my … Continue reading →
Attempt to hitchhike to the Fukushima Pacific coastline
Reading Time: 3 minutes An attempt to visit the damaged nuclear power plants in Fukushima, Japan.
Continue reading →July 31 hitchhike adventure from Aomori city
Reading Time: 5 minutes July 31: I was on my way back home from Aomori city to Niigata. I decided to take the Tohoku … Continue reading →
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