January 22: This morning it snowed constantly, not too hard but enough to make me want to take a train the first part of this 500 kilometer plus journey. My destination was a port town in beautiful warm and usually sunny Shizuoka Prefecture. I knew the enough though it continued to snow in Niigata, on the other side of the mountains separating Niigata and the Kanto Plain, it would be … Continue reading →
On January 9th I hoped to hitchhike from Misawa City in Aomori Prefecture back home to Niigata but I ended the day 130 kilometers short of my goal! The main reason was accepting a ride from Mr. Suzuki,(24) from Kushiro in Hokkaido, who I met at Iwatesan Service area. He asked me if I would mind a stopover in Morioka city so he could do some shopping. Because Mr. Suzuki … Continue reading →
Happy new year to all! Yesterday, December 30th, I returned home after a very fruitful 12 day trip to the Kanto and Kansai areas of Japan. Kanto includes Tokyo and Kansai is all of the area of Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and surrounding towns and cities. The total distance hitchhiked in Japan this year was 15800 kilometers. The graph below shows a comparison of the distance I hitchhiked this year compared … Continue reading →
Today in only two cars and a short 260 yen train ride, I made it from Tokyo to Osaka, right to the location of my destination, in only 5 hours and 45 minutes! This is very good time considering the distance of 500 some kilometers. Normally when going to Osaka I”ll arrive after 8PM, but today 4:15PM. If traveling from Niigata it would take me normally from 10 to 12 … Continue reading →
Today is the first day of another extended road trip. I hope to use this Christmas season to tell the Japanese people about Christ, and the best way I know how to do that is by hitchhiking when traveling and talking to the drivers individually. I hitchhiked nearly 300 kilometers in three cars to the Kanto area which includes Tokyo and vicinity. My destination was Noda city in Chiba prefecture. … Continue reading →
Nov. 14, 2010: Today I hitchhiked back home from Misawa city in Aomori, a distance of 570 kilometers, in only 8.5 hours and 3 cars! This was probably one of the quickest and easiest days ever hitchhiking such a distance. Misawa is home to a large US Air Force base. Many of the people of the city can speak English. I’m sure they benefit economically from the base. The first … Continue reading →
I needed to travel from Niigata to Aomori city for important business the following day. If I hitchhike, I like to give myself two days to be on the safe side to be on time for such matters. Aomori city is 470 kilometers from home and mostly by regular highway. I often can only get as far as Akita city – a little over half way – where I spend … Continue reading →
Nov. 6, 2010: Today my destination was Konosu city in Saitama Prefecture, some 250 kilometers from home. I got to Okabe station on the Takasaki line in 4 cars. The third vehicle was Mr. Mrs. Noda, dentists who live in Kamo City in Niigata Prefecture. Every time I meet a dentist, I always show them my teeth and they exclaim how nice they are. I inherited exceptionally strong teeth from my … Continue reading →
October 24 to Nov. 3, 2010: I hitchhiked 1390 kilometers in 18 vehicles to cities in the Kanto plain (Tokyo and vicinity), Osaka, and then returned home by a different route along the Sea of Japan. As you can see from the map, I didn’t hitchhike the entire distance. On two occasions friends happened to be going toward my destination and gave me a lift, and several times I had … Continue reading →
October 15, 2010: Today was cloudy with light showers from time to time. I needed be in the city of Kumagaya in Saitama Prefecture by 10:30AM the next day for important business. My destination was Noda city in Chiba Prefecture, about 300 kilometers from home. Noda is close to Tokyo to the northeast. From there I would make it in two trains to Kumagaya in plenty of time if I … Continue reading →
On October 8th, 2010, from Sendai, the largest city in the northeastern area of Japan, I hitchhiked in 8 vehicles to the city of Misawa in Aomori Prefecture. Misawa city is host to a US Air Force military base. Yours truly served the Air Force and the government of the United States of America from February 10, 1970, to February 9, 1974. I appreciated the discipline of military life, and … Continue reading →
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1Oct. 6, 2010: Today was one of those “as good as it gets” experiences when hitchhiking in Japan. I traveled on a rainy day in 6 cars some 250 kilometers from Niigata to Sendai, the largest city in the Tohoku area. It was ALL on normal highway! Usually I try to catch cars that are going on the expressway, but I learned from experience that it’s not easy to do … Continue reading →
Oct. 3, 2010: Today I hitchhiked from Sayama City just north of Tokyo back home to Niigata in 6 cars. At first, I had to walk about 45 minutes to get to the highway that goes to the Kan’etsu expressway. After that, a driver in a sports car took me to Kawagoe Interchange. He said his dream was to become an F-10 jet fighter pilot but couldn’t because he would have … Continue reading →
Oct. 1, 2010: Today I hitchhiked from Niigata city to Sayama city, a distance of about 280 kilometers, in only 3 cars. There was very little waiting time for the first two cars, but I had to wait 2 hours for the third and final ride. The driver was only 19 years old and has been driving for only one year. It was very interesting to talk to such a … Continue reading →
September 20, 2010: Today I was in Noshiro City, a town in northern Akita Prefecture, northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. My goal was to hitchhike as much a possible the 330 kilometers back home to Niigata. I ended up hitchhiking nearly a 1/3 of the distance, and this brought me just over the 100,000 kilometer mark since keeping statistics from August 2, 2003! I had hoped to hitchhike … Continue reading →
Today I traveled back home from Toride city in Ibaragi prefecture. At first I took three trains to get to Fujimino station on the Tobu line, the station that is closest to Miyoshi parking area on the Kan’etsu expressway. Normally I would take a bus from the station to get to an even closer point, but I got tired of waiting for the bus and decided to hoof it. It … Continue reading →
Yesterday I had a very smooth trip hitchhiking to Tokyo from Niigata in only two cars. This was an encouragement to me because the previous 3 trips were difficult and caused me considerable discomfort. The first driver was a lady with a 7 week old baby in the car seat in the back. She took me to the Sanjo-Tsubame interchange of the Hokuriku expressway. From there I took a 180 … Continue reading →
Tuesday, August 10, 2010: Today I had another relatively hard experience hitchhiking. The root of the word “hitchhike” comes from “hitch” (to ride) and “hike” (to walk) and today I did a whole lot of walking, more than yesterday. In the beginning it went very well. A lady going to Nagano said she will take me to the Kamisato service area, but as we approached Hanazono, we faced a big … Continue reading →
Monday, August 9, 2010: After an unsuccessful attempt to hitchhike from Suita service area in central Osaka yesterday, today I thought to make it easier on myself by taking a train to Ostsu city in Shiga Prefecture, just on the other side of Kyoto. The Hankyu line is the cheapest train in Japan and it only cost 390 yen to get as far as Kyoto. After searching more than an … Continue reading →
It took me nearly 14 hours today to hitchhike 560 kilometers to Osaka! I got stuck for a period of time at the halfway point in the city of Kanazawa. A parking attendant at Fudoji parking area on the Hokuriku expressway asked me to leave. I walked down to the regular road, hitchhiked to the next big interchange, and got back on the expressway two hours later. The highlight of … Continue reading →
