I went a little wild the last few days. Japan is expensive and I want to travel it but things like the $240 bullet train ride I took today are death to my budget (thought I did go a few hundred kilometers in 2 hours, awesome!). So I thought about hitchhiking. Japanese and travelers alike told me I would not get picked up, and I believed it. But my hunt for cheapness kept me going so I looked it up on wiki travel, and built the courage to give it a shot. 

That was the hardest part getting the nerve. The second hardest part was getting to a place to hold up my sign. I went to a service area, or a rest stop in the U.S. Maps are basically the hardest part of my travel so far. I have internet at my hostel, where I draw a map and hope I don’t get lost. Sometimes I have local city maps but not for obscure areas. And why the fuck doesn’t my iPhone map thing tell me where north is!!!!!    Anyways I got there and got picked up within a half hour. Some nice business man who works for fluke, a U.S. company…never heard of it. But only about an hour of the way, so I get dropped off and picked up again in like 10 minutes. This man, Tetsuo, was so nice. He spoke very bad English and my japanese sucks but we still communicated. He had a very good heart. He used to teach karate to kids but now works too much, he has no kids of his own but would love some. I think he is either too poor or he and his wife can’t, I don’t know. Tetsuo is poor, he works 7 days a week, smokes and has become fat. He bought me a present and a coffee, and drove me way out of his way to a train station. He warmed my heart and saddened it at the same time, because I wanted more for him. Anyways I made it to this island that I wanted to go to around 10 pm, took the last ferry, and the hostel was full! Japanese travel a lot in Japan because all hostels are full, which sucks for me who doesnt make reservations! But the owners called around the city and one person picked up and had a room, a 75 dollar room. Oh well money saved, money lost. The town was cool a little art island. I read on the beach and got a sunburn on my face. I thought about leaving the island because once again no hostel the second night either but decided to stick around for an onsen, hot bath house, and sleep of the beach. It was wonderful, the sound of waves, the stars, anouther country all alone on a beach going to sleep. But it got cold, and my 1 pound sleeping bag didn’t cut it. Rough night but I made it,and today threw bunch of money into a fast train instead of more hitchhiking or slow trains and overnight busses. I was and am exhausted. But once I got to where I am now, Asakusa, around Tokyo, I felt great. I was met with a big smile from the people at my  first hostel, and they found me a room at one that wasn’t full. I went and bought dinner to make from the supermarket and a cold beer which I drank illegally by a river in town. It’s releasing to somewhat know a town and to know you have a warm bed to sleep in.