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.