Failed Attempts
I try for an hour to hitchhike but no one shows me any love. Eventually one of the locals pulls up...but only to tell me to try hitchhiking somewhere else.
Hmmm.....I walk a little bit up the road right at the entrance of the highway directly. Bad spot here too. You have to give people enough time to see you. No luck again. I go eat.
Third Try
I walk again to the next town. There is a proper highway rest stop here. This is my best bet. I finally arrive but realize I have to hop the fence and make my way through some bamboo forest. The Interchange (highway) is blocked off from allowing pedestrians and cyclists, so to get to its rest stops I have to generally hop some kind of fence. This is quite annoying when only one of your arms is fully functional and one of your feet hurt.
Regardless, I make it out of that small bamboo forest. I get in the middle of the parking lot and open up my "please give me a ride to Kyoto" sign.
Nothing. 2 hours pass. I even start listening to music on my phone and jamming to it, using my sign like an air guitar. The locals are not amused. I sort of give up and go sit down.
On to Kameyama!
Finally, a young Japanese guy comes up to me and tells me he is going somewhat in the same direction. He can drop me off half way somewhere. I think about it....and say yes. It's a risk as I might not find a hotel in that town or even be able to get off the expressway, but at this point all I want to do is get away from this general area.
Koji is his name. He tells me he has been traveling by car from Hokkaido! We share some stories and he tells me I look Indonesian. Yay, another nationality I have been mistaken for! He tells me he is going to be near Sata around the 29th. That's when I will arrive! So we promise to see each other there.
Warp-Speed to Kyoto!
At the second rest area, Koji tries to help me hitchhike...but with no luck. I ask truckers, families, and random people. As usual, I get people smiling, laughing, odd looks and outright fearful looks.
The sun sets and night falls. Finally, a young girl named Mai picks me up. She is going to Kyoto and I later find out she lives right near by my destination.
Meeting an Old Friend
Mai drops me off. I wait and wait, then finally I see her. It's Yui! The girl I met on DAY 3 way back in Hokkaido! We hug as soon as we see each other! It is so good to see someone from your travels. It is a very meaningful experience to meet someone by chance out there in the open and then meeting them somewhere further down the long road. We hit up a local restaurants Yui recommends, and we enjoy our meal. I am tired from trying to hitch a ride all day so we go to her place and pass out.
I can't believe I made it to Kyoto. Kansai, the region I am in is Japan's historical center and the prefecture I have been looking forward to the most other than Tokyo. Osaka is here....the Fun capital of Japan. I cannot wait to see how the next few days play out!
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