I was invited to do some work for a hotel in the city of Ajigasawa on the northern coast of the Sea of Japan in Aomori Prefecture. The hotel people treated me like a king and served me a dinner … Continue reading →
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1children of a couple who took me to a parking area on the Hokuriku Expressway. Trip 1: From Niigata to Osaka Japan enjoys a string of holidays from April 29 to May 5th known as Golden Week. I took advantage … Continue reading →
April 19, 2010: I had intended to hitchhike back home on Sunday morning but stayed in Aomori city in northern Honshu an extra day to deal with a friend’s PC problem. Hitchhiking on a weekend or a holiday is always … Continue reading →
April 6, 2010: Today is the 11th and last day of my trip. The highlight was to meet Tsutomu and Keiko who took me from Gunma prefecture to the Miyoko parking area in Niigata. They are a married couple in … Continue reading →
Muslims praying just after sunset at Fujikawa Service area on the Tomei expressway in Shizuoka prefecture. The cherry blossoms over their heads are in full bloom. April 3, 2010: Osaka was still cold but sunny when I arrived at the … Continue reading →
March 27, 2010: Today is the first day of an extended hitchhiking adventure to southern Japan. I left home at 7:30AM. The weather was unusually fair for normally-cloudy Niigata. The first stop was Kariwa, a village next to Kashiwazaki city … Continue reading →
Mr. and Mrs. Ii who went out of their way to take me to Niigata City March 22, 2010: It was unusually windy with a few snow flurries, and the temperature was just one degree above freezing when I left … Continue reading →
A couple soon to be married who took me from Murakami city toward Yamagata Princess, the Shih Tsu dog that I have been caring for since December is now with new owners. I’m now free to continue to travel Japan, … Continue reading →
Hitomi (27) who took me back home Princess the little Shih Tsu dog I am temporally taking care of was taken to be shampooed, and this set me free from caring for her to do other things. It’s a beautiful … Continue reading →
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1Kevin and Yuriko Jan. 10: I had to make an emergency trip to Oyama city in Tochigi prefecture to fix a PC. Oyama city is a good 270 kilometers from home. It was snowing this morning, not a particularly good … Continue reading →
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2The year is almost over and I probably won’t be going on the road again this month. Last night I added up the distances hitchhiked this year and they totaled to 19,530 kilometers. This is nearly 1000 more kilometers traveled … Continue reading →
The red line shows my trip. From November 30th to December 5th, I circled central Japan and reached my year-end goal of 90,000 kilometers distance hitchhiked from August 2003. In 16 vehicles I covered 1420 kilometers passing through Tokyo, Nagoya, … Continue reading →
University professor Dr. A. Kusumi who took me to Niigata from Hirosaki city in Aomori Prefecture Again I went to Aomori city and back, 1060 kilometers, this time in 12 vehicles which includes two trucks. The highlight of the trip … Continue reading →
November 29, 2009: While hitchhiking to town I noticed a lady walking toward me from a distance with what appeared to be her car parked by the side of the road behind her. I correctly assumed she was going to … Continue reading →
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1A man who took me to Murakami City in Niigata Prefecture October 30, 2009: I needed to be in Odate City in Akita Prefecture on November 1st for an appointment at 9:00 AM. Odate is the birthplace of Hachiko, the … Continue reading →
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1Asari Toru who drove me a distance of 200 kilometers October 25: I’m in Aomori city and on the way back home to Niigata. Rather than go back the way I came along National Route #7, I decided to try … Continue reading →
The good Lord blessed my efforts and a man driving a truck, Mr. Kawamoto, picked me up after only a few minutes and took me all the way to the door of my destination! At first Mr. Kawamoto said he … Continue reading →
Route 49 by Lake Inawashiro, Fukushima Prefecture October 14, 2009: Today I went to Sendai via the same route I took on my adventure to Aomori via Fukushima on Sept. 17, 2009. I thought it would be a piece of … Continue reading →
Northern Honshu, Japan October 11, 2009: I was in Mutsu City in the Shimokita peninsula in Aomori prefecture of northern Japan. As you can see on the map, the top of the red line was my starting point and the … Continue reading →
A mother and daughter who went out of the way to take me to my destination. Oct. 3, 2009: It rained hard during the evening and early morning, but by 9 AM the rain subsided. I needed to go to … Continue reading →
