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Published: December 13th 2004
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It all started early Thursday morning around 5:30 am when the sky was still dark and the
air crisp. My destination was Nagano Prefecture, but I didn’t know when I would
get there or if I would even make it at all. I left the doubters asleep in their
beds and with my close friend Michele or journey began. Our supplies included a
bilingual map, hand made cardboard signs, and pockets full of souvenirs. From my
dormitory to Kyoto takes under 30 minutes by train, but it wasn’t public transportation
we were seeking, it was a ride from a total stranger that we wanted. It took Michele
and I three hours to make it to Kyoto. After walking all morning in the direction
of what we thought was correct we met our first trucker who took us about 15 miles.
While this seems like only a short distance keep in mind that this is an enormous amount
of time when compared to walking. All we asked is that he take us from the highway to
the toll interstate. After emptying 3 loads of trash from his passenger seat we jumped
Winnie the Pooh San
What?? There isn't anything wrong for a grown man to have Winnie the Pooh on his dashboard. in feeling satisfied that even if Kyoto was as far as we made it that we still hadn’t
failed in our efforts at hitchhiking. He was very interested in American hip hop and
rap. Together, we sang along to the words of Nelly, Usher, DMX, and other pop culture
icons from the Western World. As we parted, eagerly he opened his wallet to show us the
picture of L.L. Cool J that safely kept inside. As we waved goodbye and gave him a
souvenir we were ready for the next and most difficult part of our trip which was getting
the first ride onto the highway. Our strategy was simple - smile, wave, look lost
but not pathetic, hold our signs written in Japanese which read “Can you please give us
a ride?”, “We love speaking Japanese!”, “Nagoya”, and lastly “Nagano.”
For one hour we waited by the side of the interstate and we weren’t successful.
Trying to remain positive we decided that a lunch break was necessary. Walking down the
interstate ramp back towards the highway we came across a GUSTO Restaurant which serves
my personal
My new best friend
This little dog was the sweetest little guy I have ever met. It was sad to leave him behind. favorite dish, the Gusto Burger and fries for only 500 yen. With a full
stomach and a new sense of hope we went back into the world to win the hearts of anyone
who would give us a ride. Soon after, our second driver pulled over. Much like the
first driver, he had his own uniqueness. He was married with 3 children and he had the
cutest puppy dog that kept him company on the road. We told stories in broken
Japanese and he even stopped to buy us snacks at the convenient stop even after we
told him that we were neither hungry nor thirsty. This driver drove us for about 2
hours until he dropped us at a service area a few kilometers shy of Nagoya. Before
leaving he gave us advice on who to ask and how to for the next ride. The best part
about being dropped off at the service area is that there are several people all
resting, snaking, using the restroom, etc. This is very helpful because rather than
pointing to a sign and smiling instead we were able to go up
Okay so he doesn't look so scary when he smiles
This is the guy that we were afraid to ask for a ride, but we are certainly glad we did. and ask. Every time,
within 15 minutes we had another ride for the next leg of our trip. The driver that
took us onwards was my personal favorite. The cab of his truck was pimped out with
refrigerator, DVD player, television, and even a fuzzy bed in the back for resting.
As we were riding we asked him if he had ever given a ride to a hitchhiker and his
answer was no. We asked why he had picked us up and his response was, “Because you
look like nice people.” Flattered, with his response we knew that we had to give him the
best souvenir that we had brought with us which was a bootleg version of Alien vs.
Predator. The gift was a huge success in that he happened to be a huge Alien vs.
Predator fan. He even went out of his way to take us towards the Nagano split on the
interstate so that we could catch our next ride even though he was bound for Tokyo. As
he let us out of the car at the next service area we said our good byes
I don't want to leave Michele out of the pictures
This is Michele smiling for the camera in Nagano. I didn't want all the pictures to be of me. and tried again
for another ride. By this time the sun had gone down and we knew that as the hours
moved later into the night, it would become more challenging to get a ride. The next
man we asked said he’d take us, but said that he wanted to finish his cigarette
first. Soon after he finished, we followed him to his car and waited for his body
language to let us know that he was ready for us to get into his car. We stood and
watched him pull away not looking at us once. Laughing, we had no idea what had
just happened, but we didn’t let that discourage us. We asked another man and
then another and even another and no truckers were going our direction until we
met the man that took us the last 3 hours of the trip. At first we were skeptical of
asking him for a ride because (and I hate to say that I thought this) he looked a little
like an escape convict. We went to scope out the situation and it turns out he was
very funny. He said in very loud Japanese, “Do you speak Japanese?” We
answered “of course!” Then he asked, “Are you sure you speak Japanese?’ Again, we
answered “Yes!” Lastly, he asked “Where are you going?” We answered, “Matsumoto.”
Lastly, he said, “Okay then let’s go!” We jumped in the car, he apologized that it
smelled of cigarette smoke, and we were on our way. Our conversations with him were
fantastic. He told us how he loved The Carpenters, Tom Jones, and the Beatles. We
talked about crime in Japan and also in America. He told Michele and I that we
should get married and live happily together. We told him we were just friends
and he couldn’t believe it. He offered us fruit and bought us coffee and we offered
him candies and peanuts that the previous trucker had given to us. Finally, when we
reached Matsumoto, said our goodbye’s, took some pictures, and offered him souvenirs.
Michele and I are not sure, but we don’t even think he was going towards Nagano. We
think it was Tokyo instead. Lastly, after a 15 minute walk to the nearest train station
and a one hour train ride to my sisters in house our trip was complete. The total cost
for the day was under 1000 yen (10 dollars). Would I do it again?
Absolutely! There’s something exhilarating about putting all your trust into the
kindness of someone that you know nothing about. Perhaps it is because anything is
possible when you leave your journey within the hands of fate.
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