Hitchhiking to Kurashiki (part. 4)

Part four:

Day two: I woke up at 5:30 AM to start preparing for my journey. Since I failed the previous day, I decided that I had to make better, bigger signs; search for hitchhiking spots in advance; and eat a big breakfast. Still in a daze, I had second thoughts about hitchhiking: would I make it to Kurashiki? If not, where would I end up this time? Would someone pick me up? And most important, would I be able to make it out of the service area?!

Would I go by hitchhiking or by train? I was unable to toss off my fear of the unknown -the worst emotion to have during hitchhiking – and it was battling my sense of adventure. However, I started to think of the unpredictability of hitchhiking, the advice from those who picked me up, the good conversations I had (with the custodian at the service area and the man from Shizuoka). Not to forget the joy I felt after being picked up; stress of not being picked up; the techniques, objects, and the many subsequent changes to both.

Thinking about the positive and negative of continuing, I came to a conclusion: I’d come to far to quit, and I would regret giving up now. In a way, by giving up, I would be letting all the people who helped me down. I would disappoint the three people who picked me up, and my English friend who’d fed me, encouraged my idea of hitchhiking, and had let me stay at his house.

Regaining my adventurous spirit, I got up, stretched, and then ventured off to the living room. Luckily, my friend – who’d just moved in his new house less than a month ago – had many big cardboard boxes. My new sign, 4 times bigger than the last helped to even further my confidence and excitement. After, we examined the maps, searching for a strategic route to help me reach the target point. With target in site and my Miki Service Area sign in hand, we left his home in search of a good site – or at least one that would get me a ride to the service area.

20 minutes later and feeling refreshed after a nice drive through the Kobe Mountains, we arrived at the interchange (5-10 minutes from Miki SA). Giving my gratitude and getting my mini suitcase from the trunk, I head off to find a suitable place to hitchhike. Of the four places I hitchhiked from, this way by far the hardest to penetrate. Unfortunately, the interchange, the perfect place to find a ride with many cars, slow traffic, and 100% of all cars heading for the express highway was a lost option: it is illegal to hitchhike from an interchange in Japan. My second best option was to find a nearby area with many slow-moving cars headed for the highway.

Hitchhiking to Kurashiki (part. 3)

Please click for part 1 and part 2

The clock was approaching four-thirty in the afternoon. The fear of not being picked up started flooding my mind. And with it the fear of what to do if someone didn’t pick me up. Would I be allowed to sleep on one of the many benches and tables scattered around? Would I be kicked out? Or would the road police drop me off at the nearest exit? All the articles I read on hitchhiking in Japan did not discuss what to do when no one picks you up. Getting desperate I changed my sign to say Osaka and Kobe – although at this point I would have taken a ride anywhere just to get out of the service area. Luckily, I avoided this fate of the unknown through the kindness of a Japanese knight in modern Japanese steel armor (car). Yes! Time to get off the highway.

My third pick up was from a man who lived near Mt. Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture, a good trip from Nara, who was on his way to Osaka. He told me that he often picks up hitchhikers – very rare, and interesting because he spoke almost no English – near Mt. Fuji. I asked him about why and when did he start picking up hitchhikers; and he told me, “One day I was driving around Mt. Fuji and I saw two hitchhikers waiting on the side of the road. On my way home two hours later, the same two hitchhikers were waiting in the same area. I felt sorry for them, so I picked them up. Although we had much difficulty in communicating, we had a good time, and from them on, I started to pick up hitchhikers.”

We continued to chat – while listening an Ayumi Hamasaki techno remix – as we headed into Osaka. He told me a bit about himself and how glad he was for the decrease in highway toll to $10 (one-way) – a major decrease compared to the $50+ toll he was paying to travel from Shizuoka to Osaka before it was reduced. We continued to talk about various topics until we finally reached the exit out of the highway. I felt relieved to be free from my highway dungeon, but at the same time a bit sad that my first long conversation was coming to an end – especially because we had quite a lot in common.

The fates, refusing to let a good chat come to an end blessed us in getting lost for a good 15 minutes after leaving the highway. Following various signs, we arrived at a Nankai station (a private Train Company in the Kansai area). Reaching Nankai, I was a bit disappointed, having to resort to public transportation on my first day. And it didn’t help that the station was equally far from Himeji as my apartment. But on the other hand I was very grateful for the ride and the chance to talk to him. Moreover, if he hadn’t come, I might have had to spend the night at the service area. So I must say thank you; to the man in modern Japanese armor.

I arrived in Kobe at six, much later than my expected time of arrival to Himeji (a good hour from Kobe). Unfortunately, Himeji closes at four, so I was unable to make it and my Japanese friend had to go alone. I called him to tell him what happened, apologizing several times, but he understood the unpredictable nature of hitchhiking and said it was ok. Next, we talked about going to Kurashiki; he asked me if I would go to Kurashiki with him by train. I told him that the whole purpose of my trip was to go by hitchhiking and catching the train would defeat the whole purpose of this trip. He said he understood and we set a rough time of arrival for Kurashiki – emphasizing that if I didn’t make it by three, go alone.

That night, I met and stayed with my English buddy and his wife in their new house in Kobe.

Hitchhiking to Kurashiki (part. 2)

Please click for part 1 and part 3

After a grueling 90-minute wait at point two: a sympathetic couple stopped and asked if I needed a ride. Fortunately, the service area I wanted to go to was on the way they were headed – which turned out to be a three-minute drive! Although, I had little time to converse with the couple, I did find out that the man was Korean – the first non-zainichi Korean I’ve met without a Korean accent when speaking Japanese – and the woman, a zainichi Korean, who spoke with a Korean accent. Interesting world.

After two rides, I achieved my goal of making it to Kashiba Service Area. Having completed the – supposed – difficult task of making it to the service area, I expected the rest of the trip to go smoothly. However, expectations can be deceiving: the easiest part of my journey soon became the most exhausting.

Being the beginner hitchhiker I am, I had no clue of where to set camp in the service area. I could wait at the entrance; hold up my sign and flick a big gentle smile – giving the potential ride-givers a chance to think about it while eating or relaxing. And if they’re alright with it, track me down before heading to the highway. Option two, I could wait in front of the service area building or toilet entrance; holding my sign, being a spectacle and a source of surprise, laughter, or amazement for the passing travelers. Option three, I could wait at the exit flagging cars on their way out.

I employed the first and third method, relying mainly on method three – although unsuccessful – to get to Himeji. Breaking it down to figures: I spent about three to three and a half hours waiting at the exit and one hour at the entrance for a ride. Next, an average of two or three cars passed by every minute. Calculating the amount of cars that turned me down every hour: 150 cars (2.5 x 60 minutes) and then multiply that by three and a half hours (150 x 3.5 = 525), you get 525 cars. About 525 cars denied my sorry soul a ride!

- Was I waiting at the wrong area?

- Did I miss a potential pick up by waiting at another area?

- Was my smile wide enough?

- Was I wearing the right clothes?

- Was my sign big enough and could people read it?

- Should I have waited there or move several feet from my present spot to a different spot?

These are common questions you will ask yourself when hitchhiking – especially when no one comes.

Hitchhiking to Kurashiki (part. 1)

Hitchhiking to Kurashiki (part. 1)

Please click here for part 2.

From my apartment in historical Nara Prefecture, I set off on a journey, although short, towards the tourist filled Himeji and equally crowded central part of Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture – known for its preservation of Edo period architecture. Unlike all of my other trips in Japan, I ventured off with the hope of arriving without the use of public transportation – well, at least as little as possible.

Full of optimism and excitement, I left my house with a Japanese friend to find a good place to start hitchhiking. He recommended a spot near a train station about 20 minutes from my apartment: because of its proximity to the interchange, and a lot of the traffic passing through heads to the interchange. After finding the spot, we chatted for a bit, set an estimated time of arrival at Himeji, and said our temporary farewell (my Japanese friend initially planned to go hitchhiking with me but later chickened out and went by train).

My first pickup happened unbelievably fast: within one minute of starting – my Japanese friend’s back still in view – a kind man in a tiny Suzuki car stopped to help me through the first part of my journey. Surprisingly, he lived about 5 minutes from me and was on his way to work. We started talking about what elementary school he attended (I taught at every elementary school in the city for two years) and what teachers were still around. Although a short trip, he gave me some good advice on where to hitchhike from and recommended Najiro service area as the prime place to go.

Feeling on a high after a great start, I ventured toward the konbini (convenience store) to find my second ride. Feeling a bit hungry and thirsty, I went in to get some food and drinks. While there, I asked the konbini staff to write the Kanji characters for Kobe and Najiro – despite passing 1 Kyuu, the highest level of the Japanese proficiency test, I am still unable to write more than 100 characters. With my food, drinks, white board, and pen I set off to find my second ride. From this moment, however, my luck took a turn for the worst.

20 minutes later and still no luck, I stood holding my whiteboard with my right; waving with my left; and a black pen in my front pocket – my food and sports drink being long gone. Giving up on the konbini, I decided to change locations, the shaded area in front of the local cafe seeming the most viable place to find my next ride on a hot day – giving the five bored Japanese gas station attendants across the street something to laugh about for the next 50 minutes.

While waiting, I tried various tricks, maneuvers, positions, and poses – though ineffective – to lure potential rides, but unfortunately, I still have no clue as to what is most effective. Also, different things attract different people, so what works for one car won’t work for another; and this makes hitchhiking tough because it is very easy to get impatient with hitchhiking. It’s like waiting for a friend who’s late: the longer you wait the more restless and impatient you get. The more impatient you get, the more tricks, maneuvers, and changes you make.

The road after 1 Kyuu:

Last December, I took and passed level one of the 2008 JLPT (Japanese Language and Proficiency Test). To be honest, I barely passed, but as they say, passing is still passing, and I am feeling quite good with the culmination of three years of hard work.

Before taking the exam, I expected, by just passing the exam, I would be able to find work easily and understand almost everything in Japanese; but after passing, I found out that it was not the case. Even though I passed, there are a ton of things I am still unable to do.

I think I am the type of person who will never be satisfied with my language ability: with there being no end to goals and objectives; and no finish line. It is this never-ending room for improvement that makes learning languages fun. With this attitude in mind, I am studying kanji, vocabulary, grammar, and practicing pronunciation, listening, reading, and conversation – although mainly focusing on vocabulary, conversation, reading, and pronunciation.

Since everything I studied last year was to pass level 1, in a change of approach, I am now focusing on improving my conversation and pronunciation abilities. Luckily, at my job at a JHS, I can hear Japanese all the time from various sources. Using this chance, I want to absorb as much Japanese as possible, and improve my speaking skills.

Unfortunately, there was one side effect of studying Japanese intensely: my English writing abilities deteriorated – one of the three main qualities for doing good Japanese to English translation. In an attempt to improve my writing abilities, I have been blogging (posting 2 entries per week since December) on cross-cultural differences between America and Japan. Additionally, I’ve been translating posts – those that I felt were worth translating – from Japanese bloggers into English

I have also been interning at a law firm in Osaka, doing translation once a week; have translated the website of the Japanese NPO Chautary into English; have passed the translation test from two translation companies that distribute work to freelance translators (although I plan to accept work from next March); have taken an on-line writing course – way more useful than expected. My current goals are to take one more English writing course and an on-line translation course.

I have an endless list of challenges to complete, but rock on!