Photos

The final destination!


The ferry ride from Aomori to Hakodate. It rained for 3 days straight.Our last ride in Honshu, Japan.
Stumbled upon 4 college students who had the same idea as me. We decided to hitch hike to Aomori together and stay in the park.
My first ride the day after helping out with reconstruction. Konno-san was a two time college wrestling champion, worked for Nike and Nautica for over 20 years, has two twin daughters, and is an avid fly fisherman.

Sango-san is leaning out the window of his aparment, which is leaning far to the right, to toss something down.
Okada-san and his two grand children.
This is a minor example of some of the damage by the earthquake. The statue on the left has sunk into the ground while an archway has toppled. Most of the old houses in this area were built on sandy ground and flattened like a house of cards.
My second ride after leaving Osaka. This is where I met Okada-san and his two grand children. We arranged to leave a 3 in the morning for the epicenter of the earthquake.
My first ride near lake Biwako
Jeremy and Xi in Kyoto
Kinkakuji Kyoto
Himeji Castle
Osaka train station

Sapporo!

I have been in Sapporo, the final city of my sojourn, for two days now. Because of bad weather, I was forced to take a less than epic bus ride from Hakodate to Sapporo. Once I'm back at a permanent location, I'll divulge the details of my trip.

Quick Post!

It has been an amazing trip thus far. I am currently at a free Internet access station in Aomori city, the northern most port of Honshu island, Japan, so I can only give a brief overview of what has happened until now.

1. I spent a few days in Osaka with my friend Jeremy. While staying with Jeremy, I used Osaka as a hub to travel to Himeji Castle, Kyoto, and downtown Osaka.

2. I took a train to Biwako lake and then walked to the freeway, which took much longer than expected in the hot, humid weather. I was able to hitch a ride with 4 girls who were on summer vacation. They took me 2 north where I hitched a ride to Toyama with 2 construction workers who were heading home from a job in Hiroshima.

3. The next stop was the best experience so far. I met a man in his 50's from Okayama who was on his way with his two grand kids to volunteer in Kashiwazaki-shi where an earthquake struck two weeks ago. He offered a ride and asked if I'd like to help volunteer. Of course, I said I'd love to give a hand. The old buildings in the city were either completely destroyed or severely damaged. In all, 15 people were unable to escape the travesty of the quake. Even though two weeks have passed, a lot needs to be done. The military and hundreds of volunteers were helping daily, but the aged population are still in need. We ended up helping a man in his 70's, Sango-san, empty his apartment of his belongings before the city demolished the building. Sango-san has been living in a community shelter and isn't sure where he'll live out the rest of his life. He doesn't have any family or friends and is very frail. Despite being a small city, the destruction was incredible. Even though I'd seen the images on TV, it is one of those events that can not be fully understood until experienced.

3. From Kashiwazaki-shi, I caught 2 rides to the east side of Japan where I slept in a rest area for an evening.

4. Yesterday morning, I was able to catch two rides north where I had a chance meeting with 4 Japanese college students hitch hiking in the same direction. They were the first hitch hikers I've seen and we instantly hit it off. We decided it would be fun to travel together the rest of the way to Aomori, so we broke into two groups and had rides in no time. All 4 guys were well traveled, easy to talk to, and fun to be with. We spent the evening in the park celebrating our journey and sharing our experiences around the world. At 9 o'clock this morning we exchanged information, said our goodbyes, and sadly went our separate ways.

5. Now I'm at Aomori port waiting for a 2 o'clock ferry to Hakodate, Hokkaido. I've yet to decide how I'll get to Sapporo. I would love to hitch hike, but my pack is feeling very heavy, my body is dirty and tired, and I need to get back to Nagoya for my flight to Kagoshima. What to do? I have three hours to weigh my options while on the ferry.

Once in Sapporo, I'll detail my trip and post a lot of photos.

Good News

The typhoon passed through Hiroshima and didn't have much effect in Osaka. It looks like the weather will be nice here. I'll be exploring Osaka the next couple days and heading to Kyoto on Sunday.

Note: Sorry about the typos and clumsy writing. I am at a net cafe, so I have to pay by the minute. Typing fast is a necessity, so I'll have to clean everything up when I get to a permanent connection.

The photo is of a typical net cafe in Japan. They are common places for people to come and get some privacy from their cramped family or city life. There are different size boxes with a selection of PCs or TVs and chairs or sofa beds. All the walls are lined with Manga (Graphic Novels), magazines, and DVDs. The customers help themselves to full service drink bar and curry and rice. The net cafe is a the last place for people to crash when they miss the last trains to the suburbs.

Osaka

Upon purchasing the bus ticket from Hiroshima to Osaka regret and defeat instantly shot to my core. Should I have tried t risk the storm and hitch hiked? My regrets were intensified after the first 30 minutes of the bus ride. I hadn't talked to that many people while trekking around Hiroshima. I was on a mission to see some sights and veered from the bars where people tend to open up, usually too much. It became clear that I wasn't going to meet anyone on the bus either. I was in a single seat in an inconvenient location as most people were taking their chance to rest their eyes on the 4 hour trip.

I missed the thrill of people reaching beyond their comfort zone to interact with a stranger. While hitch hiking it seemed natural and welcome to get to know the person you were traveling with; people on the bus were much more drawn into themselves, distant, far from the present moment.

I did take the time to read a book given to me by my friend Jonathan just before he left Japan for Missouri. After Dark by Haruki Murakami tackles Murakamis usual themes: love, alienation, consciousness/subconsciousness, dualities, history, and chance. Murakami gets back to the basics with this novel, keeping the characters to a minimum and writing a simple plot spiked with surrealist elements. Murakami has a talent at crafting beautiful symbolism and analogy and leaving it up to the reader to make piece together a personal meaning about the novel's mystery.

In the first chapter, Murakami gives his readers a great image, summing up large cities in Japan:

The city looks like a single gigantic creature -- or more like a single collective entity created by many intertwining organisms. Countless arteries stretch to the ends of its elusive body, circulating a continuous supply of fresh blood cells, sending out new data and collecting the old, sending out new contradictions and collecting the old...the basal metabolism that maintains life continues undiminished, producing the basso continuo of the city's moan, a monotonous sound that neither rises nor falls but is pregnant with foreboding...wild electronic sounds; a group of college students spilling out from a bar; teenage girls with brilliant bleached hair, healthy legs thrusting out from microminiskirts; dark-suited men racing across diagonal crossings for the last trains to the suburbs...Two young police men patrol the street with tense expressions, but nobody seems to notice them. The district plays by its own rules...

This is how I remember Tokyo. Will it an accurate account or foreshadow of Osaka?

Hiroshima

Hiroshima is a very flat city built on a bay; and like most cities in Japan, the public transportation is fantastic. There is a cable car system that will take passengers to all corners of the city, making the city easy to navigate.

Being drained from the humidity and traveling, I splet like a log at the Aster Plaza. It is a listed as a hostel, but the rooms are better than many business hotels I've been to at twice the price. After dragging myself out of bed and going down stairs to talk with the friendly staff about getting around town, I walked down to a cafe to drink some joe and plan the rest of my day. My 3 points of interest were the museum, castle, and Miyajima shrine out on an island.

1. The Museum: I wasn't impressed with the museum. It was nothing compared to Nagasaki's museum, although it used similar displays. To me, the layout was poorly designed, lighted, and ineffective. The most impressive element of the museum were two round models of Hiroshima before and after the bomb had exploded. It is beyond belief how much force the bomb had. To think now that we have bombs with exponential force and destructive power is frightening.

The most disturbing thing about the location of the explosion was where it happened. The explosion took place next to a university and elementary school at 8:15 in the morning right as students were starting class. By nothing more than chance and miracle, some people survived the blast and lived to retell their stories.

One man's account is still vivid in my mind who was at the neighboring elmentary school in a class of 40. Just as class started, all the students ran to the window to look at the plane they heard flying over head. He was working on something and remained in his seat. Within moments there was a large flash and the sound of thunder, after which he went blind for a short while. When he came to his senses all he could see were a handful his school mates left in the room among some scattered desks. He and a couple of children, who couldn't move, began to sing the school song in hope that somebody would hear them and come to help, but he doesn't recall anyone ever coming into the building. He had to build up enough energy to leave the building and his friends behind.

2. Hiroshima-jo: This was an impressive castle for me. I've seen about 3 others in Japan, but this is the first I've seen with a full moat. The most enjoyable aspect was the park inside the castle walls. It was an obscenely humid day, so I didn't spend much time walking around. I snapped a couple photo and tried to imagine how soldiers would go about attacking such a monument. I skipped going inside since I'll be seeing a few castles toward the Osaka and Kyoto.

3. Miyajima: I had to take a train 30 minutes north of the city and hop on a ferry to get over to the Miyajima. I decided to go in the evening so I could escape the heat. This is an island just off the coast of Hiroshima. The main attraction is a free standing shrine built in the shallow bay, looking as though it is floating on top of the water when the tide is in. Also on the island are a slew of Japanese Inns and gift shops, all in walking distance.

Exiting the ferry building, to my surprise, I was greeted by some very furry friends. The island is cohabited with extremely tame deer who follow tourists and whine, begging like dogs for handouts. In fact, most deer wait for unsuspecting tourists to put down their snacks so they can run off with them. I watched one male deer eat an island map out of a Japanese guy's hand as he was reading it. Since I didn't feel Styrofoam or plastic straws were good for deer, I decided I'd better pick up as much trash as possible while I walked to Miyajima.

Because of bad timing, the tide was at a very, making the shrine loose much of its awe. The most enjoyable moment was watching a group of American military soldiers. They were playing a game to see who was brave enough to get close to the deer. As the large men threw their peanuts toward the animals, Japanese kids would run over, pick up the nuts that fell short, and hand feed it the lip smacking deer. At one point, a large male walked up to the group and gave a big whine and a stamped it's foot. They looked like a group of elementary school kids running from boogie monster.

Typhoon

I don't have much time to write about my relaxing days in Hiroshima since a typhoon is on my heels. I'll most likely get a bus ticket to Osaka where I'll stay with a friend for a couple days and wait out the stormy weather. I'm a little disappointed that a storm is approaching when I'm in Osaka/Kyoto. They are supposed to be two of the top cities in Japan.

Loving the A-bomb Dome

Hiroshima is one of the two cities that the USA dropped an atomic bomb on in 1945. At first impressions, the city is quite international with a lot of tourists buzzing around. Being tired, dirty, and hungry, I got busy looking for a place to stay. I opted for a cheap hostel near the Peace Park and A-Bomb Dome. With a lot to see, I planed on being in the city for at least 2 days. to give myself time to regroup and energize.

After wolfing down some tsukemen, noodles in spicy sauce with pork, I checked into the hostel at 3, showered, and fell into a deep sleep. I woke around 7 and strolled through Peace Park on my way to an Internet cafe. The A-bomb dome is looms at the north end of the park just to the left of the epicenter of the blast. The park surprisingly flat and has more concrete than plant life and is much different than Nagasaki's, which is a labrynth of hills and greenery.

The flat expanse of concrete and stone has a river bisecting it and park benches and grass toard the periphery. Besides the skelleton structure of the A-bomb domb, the most eye catching landmarks are the love hotels flickering toward the edges of the park. Lovers converge on the river to sit on the benches and hold hands. I found the park to be very romantic and warming at night. The irony of future romance and love making taking place near an epicenter of destructive history was quite uplifting. Like the A-bomb dome, the park is both haunting and heart warming.

I'll take my time tomorrow to go to the museum and catch up on the history of Hiroshima after getting more of those noodles for lunch!

King Kong!

The sun was now above the tree line and beating down on my exposed skin. Sweat beaded up on my skin and my shirt dampened. Standing in a good location near a gas stand and the freeway entrance, quite a few slowed but to read my sign but quickly speed of when considering Hiroshima too far a destination. I was in good spirits, however, and new that someone would eventually come along.

At the gas station across the way, travelers would eye my sign, squinting as they tried to make out the kanji. About the time some green tea and a shade break sounded appealing, a lean and well groomed man in a white Toyota Land Cruiser waved me over. After discussing the destination, he cleared some things in the car making room for my presence.

Indemu-san was a very quite man. It might have been his personality or my lack of Japanese that made for a quite drive. The inside of the newer cruiser was adorned with fishing figurines, car figurines, and some odds and ends. I tried a few different strategies to start conversation, but all I got were vague responses: What do yo do for a living? I work in Kagoshima and travel to Osaka. What are you doing this summer? Going here and there. Where are you going? North.

The only thing that got him talking were the figurines in the car. He liked to fish. There was also a figure of a King Kong with a woman in his fist. I asked if the girl in King Kong's fist was his girlfriend and if he liked the movie...He laughed and said, "Sure...take the figure back to the USA." He told me to open the glove box and he took out another King Kong stamp he had

stashed there.

We stopped once at the bridge linking Kyushu and Honshu islands. I bought a couple souvenirs, and he offered to take my photo with the bridge in the background. Leaving the viewing area and with little conversation, my eye lids turned to lead. I dozed off for the last 3 hours to Hiroshima. I woke once to catch an amazing sight of Mine-shi, Japan. It is an emerald green area of hills, woodland, and rice fields. Spread out among the fields were very large, nice Japanese style houses with orange and shiny clay roof tiles.

At the rest area, he took my bag from the car and gave me a paper fan to keep cool in the heat. I wasn't sure how to thank hims, so I bought him some cold tea he seemed to be enjoying during the drive.

Canned Coffee

It was six in the morning, having a ride in no time. Still wiping the sleep from his eyes, a driver who resembled a cross between my good friend Elmer and his brother Ray, picked me up, telling me he couldn't take me more than an hour up the road.

As I opened the door to my first Japanese delivery truck, a pile of shoes and canned coffee fell out. Takayuki-san grabbed my pack and threw it in the middle of the truck. The odd amount of shoes in the tuck and general garbage, made it difficult to get comfortable. It was obvious he didn't have many passengers. He skipped all the formalities and was interested in my image of Japan before coming and now. I described how, as a kid, I thought the Japanese always wore samurai or geisha attire and played video games for a living. He laughed and launched into baseball, the national sport. He enjoyed hearing about the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, and Seattle Mariners. As he told me about his family, how he should have been a famous soccer star, and that if he weren't married, he'd retire in Okinawa, I was convinced he was the Japanese version of Ray Arana. He seemed very proud of his son, who was the budding star at a university in Kumamoto.

Just before 7 we arrived at a rest area and I nearly down from the truck. He quickly shot off toward the toilet, so I decided to forgo the photo and headed toward the exit to set up.

As I was getting my pack propped up in a shady spot, the honk of his truck startled me. Passing by, he tossed me a canned coffee out the window and waved. I snapped a photo, cracked open the coffee, and felt my spirit begin to lift.

A Long Night

After seeing off Ms. Hino, I headed to the bathroom to wash up and then went into the convenience store to get a snack. I figured I'd have a ride in to time, so I took about an hour to stretch, eat, and walk around for a bit. Boy I was wrong!

As soon as I got the sign out, I had nothing but power walkers. One guy even tripped as he tried to look away from me, catching the first step with awkward timing. Repositioning myself in a few different places didn't produce any results. It was now close to 2:30 am and all the truckers were fast asleep or couldn't be bothered with a traveler at this time.

The best thing to do was catch a little sleep myself. I was very hesitant to just sprawl out in the parking area, but thought I'd better get my practice now. I brought a tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag with me in case of an emergency like this. I opted to find a secluded space and just use my sleeping bag and pad. I found a spot between some hedges and a line of trees in an unlit area and set up my mini camp. I put my pad down, wedged my pack between my body and the hedges, and climbed in my sleeping bag. It was a cool evening and all I could hear were crickets and the running of refrigerated trucks. It would have been a great sleep, except for the mosquitoes and dani (a sort of flea) biting at my wrists and knuckles. I set my cellphone alarm for 6 am and somehow managed to get 4 hours of restless sleep. The wafting smell of dog crap and passing car lights would wake me every hour or so until finally at 5 am an unexpected guest decided it was time I get up. A three legged dog appeared and stood about 5 yards away. He incessantly barked at me, making me nervous. I cautiously stood up and packed my things up. He was quite skittish and ran away as soon as I walked toward the bathroom to wash my face and check my stuff for dog poo that might have been hidden in the grass where I lay.

After stretching and giving my back a good crack, Sapporo seemed a far off place with the sleep and ache remaining in my core. I sat at a table eating an early snack, drinking some veggie juice, and hoping that my good spirit would return. No one wants to pick up a person with a scowl on their face.

As the sun was rising just behind the tree line, the brown, 3 legged mutt stood in the middle of the parking area barking, irritated by everything. The traffic began to pick up and a patrol car cruised the parking lot, sending the mutt off through a hole in the fence.

It was also time for me to get on my way. I wrote out my sign and headed over to the rest stop exit.

Gyu and Uga

I wasn't at the next rest area for more than 10 minutes before I noticed a promising vulture circling where I was sitting. This time it was a middle aged woman walking her two dogs. She wasn't trying to hide the fact that she was reading my sign; it seemed she didn't know how to break the ice, so I did. After telling her good evening in Japanese, she asked me if the Fukuoka was OK. We got into the car and she put her two terriers, Gyu and Uga, in the back with my pack. She told me her dogs were surprisingly quiet for me being a stranger, so I must be I nice guy. I didn't say much at first and was shocked at how brave she was, a woman traveling alone and picking up a foreign traveler.

After the formalities, Ms. Hino broke off into quite a conversation for a one hour drive. We talked about traveling, home brewing, organic food, her daughter, and cooking. She had traveled to America many times and visited Paul Newman's house, falling in love with him and organic food. She was a chef at a restaurant in Fukuoka and had a daughter studying English in Vancouver, Canada. She was literally on the edge of her seat, excited to asking me questions and giving me advice about food in Japan. She was nice enough to offer to make me a reservation at a cheap hotel in Fukuoka and drop me off there. It was around 11 o'clock, I had been traveling fast, so I asked her told her I wanted to shoot for Hiroshima, so a rest stop with a lot of traffic would be best. We stopped at a very large rest stop with a 24 hour convenience store and a lot of long-haul trucks. After she pointed out where each truck was headed, we exchanged goodbyes. I asked her if I could have her photo just before she hopped back into her car. She shyly asked me if I would take one of the dogs instead.

The voyage begins, honestly

Fretting as I walked up to the rest area, I tried to develop a good strategy where safely sit and get the most views. It was now dark, after 7, and there wasn't much traffic at the rest stop. All the food stands that gather traveler's attention were closed, so the only well lit place was in front of the toilets, vending machines, or at a gas station on the other side of the parking area. The exit wasn't lit just after the gas station, so I thought it was too dangerous to stand over there. Though the toilets were getting the heaviest traffic and were bright, I thought it would be a bit suspicious for me to be loitering where people where about to do some private business. The lights were flickering on and off, giving the bathroom entrance a creepy feeling. No other places, so in front of the vending machines it was.

I sat on a bench by the smoking area, propped up my bag, and started flashing my sign. There was a caravan of 3 families in the same area. As I tried to figure which facial expression would work get me a ride the fastest, hopeless traveler, happy go lucky, or super excited happy guy, the children started to play a game to see who could throw something closest to me grab it and run away. The were playing directly behind me, so I couldn't see their faces; but by the sounds of their squeals, they were having a good time. One got brave enough to actually hit me with his sandal.

Sitting there showing my sign, I began to notice some interesting behavior from the people around me. Some would stare at me in curiosity, some would turn into power walkers and try their hardest to not look at me and get by as fast as possible without getting bit, and others would swoop around me like vultures, acting like they were looking at something by my feet or on the light post above my head. I had been sitting there for about 20 minutes when one of the vultures decided to swoop in and ask me if Kumamoto was far enough. It sure was!

His name was Mr. Shiraishi and was traveling with his wife, son, and daughter. They were traveling in a sleek van decked out with all the electronic gizmos: electric doors, DVD screens, cameras for the front and back, and a GPS system. Just as I packed my bag in and hopped in the front, I heard the daughter, around 20 years old, ask her father if it was safe. He didn't answer.

We got in the car, and his wife started off with the usual formalities. Can you speak Japanese? Where are you from? What do you think of Japan? Mr. Shiraishi turned out to be a postman on summer holiday. He and his family had driven down to Kagoshima for the day to go to the beach and see Mt. Sakurajima. After 20 minutes and formalities, everyone seemed to have relaxed. After deciding I wasn't a killer, they began to ask me interesting questions. The moon was orange and full that night, painting the night with an eerie sensation. They asked if I was afraid of hitch hiking, and if I would do it in America. They also wondered if I had ever seen a Japanese ghost. I told them that the only Japanese ghost I had ever seen where in Japanese horror films, such as The Ring and Juon. The dad said I looked tired and encouraged me to take a nap if I'd like. Since they were more like the Brady bunch and less like the Munsters, I took him up on his offer. I chuckled to myself as I dozed of; The mother was giving her recently married son advice on how to get his wife pregnant. He didn't seem to receptive.

We made great time. I woke up after a 2 hour snooze just as we got into the Kumamoto rest area. It was a new rest stop with a lot traffic, giving me high hopes for catching another ride. I got out, had their son snap a photo, and we wished each other luck.

My second ride and first mistake :-(

Mai-chan took me to a convenience store to get some last minute food supplies, green tea and onegiri (rice balls with stuffed with your choice of filling), and dropped me off at the on ramp to the Expressway headed toward northern Kyushu. I decided to loiter just before the highway entrance where travelers in their cars have to grab toll cards.

I stood on a wide shoulder by an emergency parking area just after the north and south bound traffic merged. It was about 6 o'clock and the sun was beginning to set to my back, making it difficult for drivers to read my 'Fukuoka Direction, Please' cardboard sign. The cars were going surprisingly fast and didn't have a lot of time to slow down, which worried me. At the sight of me and trying to read the sign, drivers began to drive erratically, swerve toward and away from me, often forgetting to check for merging traffic. In about 10 minutes, however, 3 cars slowed and almost picked me up, but realized I was going the opposite way. My hopes were still high since it was rush hour, and I had almost caught a ride so quickly. After about 20 minutes, the rush slowed, and I had caught the eye of the safety police. Just as I was starting to panic and worry Fukuoka was too far a destination to ask for, I heard a honk and turned to see a green Volvo parked in the emergency area just behind me.

Yosh! I ran up to the car, placed my stuff in the back seat, and said as many polite things as I could remember in Japanese. As we drove through the toll gate, the conversation started right away and I got busy listening to him and looking for things that might be suspicious (I've seen a lot of horror films). He told me he was a traveling business man and often traveled from Tokyo to Kagoshima. He came off as real genuine and had all this Buddhist imagery in his car, so I started to let the images of an axe murder go. Before I could get his name, I asked what kind of business he would be attending in Fukuoka. He said, "Oh, I don't have any business in Fukuoka. I'm headed toward Kagoshima." I broke into a sweat and his expression went blank. We had made a mistake. I was going the wrong direction on a one way Expressway.

He quickly found a service area where I could exit and get to traffic going the other way. I wanted to take his photo because he was my first real ride, but I was too embarrassed to bother him anymore. I could tell he wanted to get on his way. First lessons learned and note to self: stand in a safe place and make sure you confirm the direction before getting in the car.

Bound for Fukuoka! Thanks Mai-chan

My first ride is cheating a bit because Oyama Mai, known to the ALTs as Mai-chan, gave me a ride from Sata to the Expressway, which is about a two hour drive north. I got a late start tying things up in Sata, so she helped me make up some lost time. She has been a good friend of mine while living in Japan and has always been willing to give ALTs a hand. She speaks English very well, so I didn't get to practice much Japanese. I did, however, learn the Japanese word for cardboard, danboru. She also helped me write the Japanese kanji for the city Fukuoka and word for direction.

On our way to the freeway, she told me that she thought I'd forever live in Japan and start a business somewhere in larger city since I enjoyed living here so much. In the two hours it took to get to the Expressway, we talked about how living abroad is difficult because you develop emotions and ties in both places and learn to love two countries equally. Mai-chan lived in Vancouver, Canada for a year and studied cosmetology. Besides working with horses in some fashion, her main dream was to become a makeup artist for films and work and live in Canada. However, she decided that it would better suit her interests to come home and help her aging parents with their gift shop, Meruhen. She still dreams about having an international life style, so she is studying Chinese with the hope to use it in future business pursuits. I told her that she can become a cosmetologist for horses in movies someday if she really wanted. Ganbatte ne!

One Voyage Ends Another Begins

As most of you have realized, I stopped writing publicly about my feelings and experiences while living in Japan. I couldn't possibly list all the reasons that caused my apathy toward the blog because I don't fully understand why I stopped either. I think it boiled down to issues of privacy, frustrations and insecurities about my writing, and frustrations and insecurities about myself.

In short, I'm going to return to California at the end of August to continue my future in the field of education. To celebrate my great experience here and bring some closer, my final hurrah will be to hitch hike from my hometown, the southern most region of mainland Japan, to Sapporo Japan, which is the largest city on the northern most island of mainland Japan. I am leaving July 30th and hoping to arrive in Sapporo within a week's time. In all, I have given myself two weeks to hitch hike to Sapporo then return to Nagoya where I fly back to Kagoshima. The plan is to keep things as simple as possible, see as many points of interest as I can, travel cheaply, and meet some nice people along the way.