This is an article I wrote at the end of August 2005. It was on my old website which is no longer on-line and I am therefore re-posting it. After reading it again, I found numerous typos, corrected them, and am therefore re-posting it to the home page. I hitchhiked from Niigata City to Matsumoto City in Nagano, then to Tokyo, and then back to Niigata in 3 days, a … Continue reading →
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2My days of hitchhiking in Japan are over. On May 5th, 2018 I will start a brand new life in Guam with my bride! The chart shows the distances I traveled by hitchhiking since I kept records, a total of 258,500 kilometers. I estimate the total distance hitchhiked over 20 years from March 1998 to be 350,000 kilometers. You can see a detailed breakdown of the people who picked me … Continue reading →
This is another adventure I had on my old kt70com/~jamesjpn site which I am reposting. It occurred from April 27 to May 7, 2005. I had two consecutive hitchhiking adventures, the first to Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo, and the second to Nagano. The total distance traveled in the 19 vehicles that picked me up was about 1750 kilometers or 1095 miles. This was during the period called “Golden Week” in … Continue reading →
Another oldie goldie adventure from my old website I am reposting. On April 30, 2004, I hitchhiked 500 kilometers from Niigata city to Nagoya, the 3rd largest metropolis in Japan. It was the second day of “Golden Week.” Below is a brief description of what Golden week is all about: The Golden Week is a collection of several national holidays within seven days in the end of April and beginning … Continue reading →
With another man also hitchhiking! His partner with him took the photo. Due to popular request I have complied a list of tips and lessons I learned over the past several years hitchhiking in Japan. I think the basic tip is to use common sense and have the attitude of, “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Get to the a good intersection of the highway that has a nice … Continue reading →
On September 17th, 2016, I hitchhiked from the crossroads of Route 345 and Route 7 near Gatsugi Station in Murakami City in Niigata Prefecture all the way to Aomori City in a single car! This is a distance of about 400 kilometers or 250 miles. I am 66 years old at the time of this post. The driver’s name is Hiroshi who lives and works in France as a chef … Continue reading →
On March 4th, 2016 I hitchhiked 100 kilometers or about 60 miles to the city of Tokamachi. It is a city in the midst of hills. The Shinano River which is the longest river in Japan flows through Tokamachi. It’s called “Shinano” for that was the old name of Nagano Prefecture which is its source. But in Nagano Prefecture the same river is called Chikuma. The first driver was a … Continue reading →
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 →
