Adventures in Hitchhiking
I had some couchsurfers, Hannah and Jason, stay at my place Friday night. They were college students studying abroad in Kyoto. For the past two months, they’ve been traveling around Hokkaido, staying with couchsurfers and WWOOFing. They’ve been hitchhiking the entire time. So basically, they’ve had zero accommodation expenses and zero transportation expenses. That can allow even poor college students to really stretch their budgets.
Eating some Pop Rocks with Hannah and Jason
I had heard about hitchhiking in Japan before. Japan is supposed to be perfect for it because it’s so safe here and people are so welcoming to guests. Their story got me so excited that I had to try it out immediately. When they left on Saturday morning, I decided to hitchhike to Yakumo, where I had been invited to participate in a festival that night. Round trip on the train would have cost almost $100.
I felt foolish at first, standing on the side of the road with my thumb up. Everybody who drove by stared at me, and most of them gave me looks of incredulity. But eventually, someone stopped for me. That first ride only got me 20 minutes closer to my destination, but it gave me faith that it could be done.
Mrs. Hasebe and her daughter Miho
Next, I got a couple short rides with elderly people. I was only with them for a short while, but they were incredibly friendly. They were both in a hurry and used that as an excuse for why I couldn’t take their picture. I’m not sure what they were so shy about.
My next ride took me over halfway to my destination. I rode with Mr. Nakamoto and Chihiro for well over an hour from Date to Oshamambe. I was a little worried before they picked me up that I wouldn’t make it in time for the festival. I had a bit of a rough start. But I was confident after their ride; Yakumo is only about 30 km from Oshamambe.
Mr. Nakamoto and Chihiro
They dropped me off in front of a Lawson which was across from a gas station. I went in to use the restroom and get a sandwich. As soon as I stuck my thumb up, a man yelled at me from the gas station across the street. Mr. Goto ended up driving me the rest of the way there. He was driving a trailer of sorts. Of all my rides up to that point, he was by far the roughest-looking character. He’s a very working-class man with grease-stained hands and one of the most interesting Japanese dialects I’ve heard so far. At first, I could barely understand a word he said. But he told me all about his 23-year-old son who works in a pachinko parlor, and all was well.
Mr. Goto
The festival itself was great. I marched through the streets dragging a float made by Ross, the JET in Yakumo. Our group was the designated international group; we had people from the US, Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, and of course Japan.
Yosakoi dancing
Shamisen players
A float
Taiko drums
Cute girls playing with balloons
A proud team after the parade ended
Some of Ross’s high school students
I stayed in a cabin with some other JETs. I set off again to hitchhike my way back home. I ended up being picked up by some other JETs who had been camping. They drove me into town, so I got some lunch and a drink at the grocery store.
The cabin
After leaving the grocery store, I got my first ride with people who don’t live in Hokkaido. I got picked up by three 27-year-old women from Tokyo who were on vacation here. They were driving to Sapporo in their rental car, taking a break from their jobs at Mizuho Bank and blasting some Destiny’s Child. Because they were going all the way to Sapporo, I was able to ride about 75% of the way home with them. We stopped at a rest stop and everyone got their cameras out. Here’s a picture taken using their tripod sitting on top of the car:
Rie, Yuka, and Mayo
They drove me all the way to Toyako before changing highways and making the rest of the trip to Sapporo. From there, I didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes before Hiroyuki stopped for me. He was driving a tow truck, transporting a vehicle from Hakodate to Muroran. Muroran just happens to be the town right next to mine, so everything worked out perfectly.
Hiroyuki
Hiroyuki is also 27, and he’s from Hakodate. He likes to play soccer and snowboard in the winter. We talked about the different ski hills we’ve visited, and I insisted he snowboard in Niseko when he gets a chance.
From there, I saw that a bus to my town was coming in 5 minutes. I could have hitchhiked that last 20 minutes, but I didn’t really feel like waiting around for a ride. I was also pretty mentally exhausted from hours of speaking Japanese. So I paid my $3 and rode the rest of the way home the way normal people get around here.
This has been by far one of the most fulfilling weekends I’ve had here. It’s not every day your whole outlook on life changes. Hosting Hannah and Jason was really great. Not only did they inspire me to try out this whole hitchhiking thing, they also made recommendations about people to stay with in Korea. They had countless stories of the adventures they’ve been on, traveling over three continents.
They, along with the extremely friendly and generous Japanese people I hitched rides with, made me realize how lucky I am to be alive. The kinds of people who welcome strangers into their homes and vehicles are really the best kinds of people there are. If everyone were to do the same, the world would be a much better place. Imagine a world full of compassion. No matter where you are, you can be treated like a valued guest rather than a cheesy tourist. There really are some amazing people out there; all you have to do is look for them.
So, to recap, here are just a few of the advantages of couchsurfing and hitchhiking: free accommodation, free transportation, insider knowledge on any area you could consider visiting (restaurant/bar recommendations etc.), meeting new (very interesting) people, and foreign language practice (I think my Japanese could be a lot better now but I speak English all day at work…).
If even a socially awkward introvert like me can pull this off successfully in a foreign language, I don’t see why anyone else couldn’t as well. Go out there and meet some new people.
Eating some Pop Rocks with Hannah and Jason
I had heard about hitchhiking in Japan before. Japan is supposed to be perfect for it because it’s so safe here and people are so welcoming to guests. Their story got me so excited that I had to try it out immediately. When they left on Saturday morning, I decided to hitchhike to Yakumo, where I had been invited to participate in a festival that night. Round trip on the train would have cost almost $100.
I felt foolish at first, standing on the side of the road with my thumb up. Everybody who drove by stared at me, and most of them gave me looks of incredulity. But eventually, someone stopped for me. That first ride only got me 20 minutes closer to my destination, but it gave me faith that it could be done.
Mrs. Hasebe and her daughter Miho
Next, I got a couple short rides with elderly people. I was only with them for a short while, but they were incredibly friendly. They were both in a hurry and used that as an excuse for why I couldn’t take their picture. I’m not sure what they were so shy about.
My next ride took me over halfway to my destination. I rode with Mr. Nakamoto and Chihiro for well over an hour from Date to Oshamambe. I was a little worried before they picked me up that I wouldn’t make it in time for the festival. I had a bit of a rough start. But I was confident after their ride; Yakumo is only about 30 km from Oshamambe.
Mr. Nakamoto and Chihiro
They dropped me off in front of a Lawson which was across from a gas station. I went in to use the restroom and get a sandwich. As soon as I stuck my thumb up, a man yelled at me from the gas station across the street. Mr. Goto ended up driving me the rest of the way there. He was driving a trailer of sorts. Of all my rides up to that point, he was by far the roughest-looking character. He’s a very working-class man with grease-stained hands and one of the most interesting Japanese dialects I’ve heard so far. At first, I could barely understand a word he said. But he told me all about his 23-year-old son who works in a pachinko parlor, and all was well.
Mr. Goto
The festival itself was great. I marched through the streets dragging a float made by Ross, the JET in Yakumo. Our group was the designated international group; we had people from the US, Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, and of course Japan.
Yosakoi dancing
Shamisen players
A float
Taiko drums
Cute girls playing with balloons
A proud team after the parade ended
Some of Ross’s high school students
I stayed in a cabin with some other JETs. I set off again to hitchhike my way back home. I ended up being picked up by some other JETs who had been camping. They drove me into town, so I got some lunch and a drink at the grocery store.
The cabin
After leaving the grocery store, I got my first ride with people who don’t live in Hokkaido. I got picked up by three 27-year-old women from Tokyo who were on vacation here. They were driving to Sapporo in their rental car, taking a break from their jobs at Mizuho Bank and blasting some Destiny’s Child. Because they were going all the way to Sapporo, I was able to ride about 75% of the way home with them. We stopped at a rest stop and everyone got their cameras out. Here’s a picture taken using their tripod sitting on top of the car:
Rie, Yuka, and Mayo
They drove me all the way to Toyako before changing highways and making the rest of the trip to Sapporo. From there, I didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes before Hiroyuki stopped for me. He was driving a tow truck, transporting a vehicle from Hakodate to Muroran. Muroran just happens to be the town right next to mine, so everything worked out perfectly.
Hiroyuki
Hiroyuki is also 27, and he’s from Hakodate. He likes to play soccer and snowboard in the winter. We talked about the different ski hills we’ve visited, and I insisted he snowboard in Niseko when he gets a chance.
From there, I saw that a bus to my town was coming in 5 minutes. I could have hitchhiked that last 20 minutes, but I didn’t really feel like waiting around for a ride. I was also pretty mentally exhausted from hours of speaking Japanese. So I paid my $3 and rode the rest of the way home the way normal people get around here.
This has been by far one of the most fulfilling weekends I’ve had here. It’s not every day your whole outlook on life changes. Hosting Hannah and Jason was really great. Not only did they inspire me to try out this whole hitchhiking thing, they also made recommendations about people to stay with in Korea. They had countless stories of the adventures they’ve been on, traveling over three continents.
They, along with the extremely friendly and generous Japanese people I hitched rides with, made me realize how lucky I am to be alive. The kinds of people who welcome strangers into their homes and vehicles are really the best kinds of people there are. If everyone were to do the same, the world would be a much better place. Imagine a world full of compassion. No matter where you are, you can be treated like a valued guest rather than a cheesy tourist. There really are some amazing people out there; all you have to do is look for them.
So, to recap, here are just a few of the advantages of couchsurfing and hitchhiking: free accommodation, free transportation, insider knowledge on any area you could consider visiting (restaurant/bar recommendations etc.), meeting new (very interesting) people, and foreign language practice (I think my Japanese could be a lot better now but I speak English all day at work…).
If even a socially awkward introvert like me can pull this off successfully in a foreign language, I don’t see why anyone else couldn’t as well. Go out there and meet some new people.