Again, after converting the old VHS tapes to DVD, here is part 4 of our hitch hiking trip across Japan. (See also Parts 1, 2, and 3).
As you can see in the video, at this point we arrive at the bridge crossing over between Honshu and Kyushu. (Honshu is the big long island. Kyushu is the Southern most island. If you're not familiar with Japan, you can always look at a map.)
I had gone back and forth between Kyushu and Honshu several times by this point, but never by car. And I had never had the opportunity to actually look at the distance dividing them. And quite frankly, as I say on the video, I was surprised by how small it was. I was expecting some big divide like the English channel, but it was barely even a river separating them. I was surprised it even shows up on the map.
Up until now we had been using a hitch hiking sign that said, "Honshu". I suggested that it might be time to get to work on a new sign, since Honshu was now walking distance across the bridge.
Greg had these signs down to a bit of a fine art. He figured that if we had a destination that was too far away, nobody would pick us up, so he always tried to estimate a good distance to aim for.
We decided that Hiroshima was a good city to aim for, so Greg set to work on making a sign. It had already been decided early in the trip that my attempts at making signs were artistically lacking. Greg believed that if you put a lot of work and care into the sign, it would show you were serious about hitch-hiking, and people would be more likely to give you a ride. (After all, who wants to pick up a hitch-hiker with a shabby sign?)
Greg set down to work on his sign, giving it his usual careful attention to detail. "You know," he remarked as he put on the finishing touches, "I'm actually going to be a bit upset if someone gives us a ride all the way to Hiroshima in one go after all the work I put into this sign."
While he was still putting on the finishing touches, before he had even gotten the sign out to use it once, a girl passed by and offered us a ride all the way to Hiroshima (and in fact a bit beyond). I got a good laugh out of that.
The girl was from the Hiroshima area, and worked as a nurse, if I remember right. She was driving back from a weekend surfing trip down in Miyazaki.
It was several hours up to Hiroshima (6? 8? I forget exactly) so we stopped at one point to get something to eat, and Greg and I switched places..
The rest of the drive up I was in the passenger seat.
She, I think, was happy to have company for the long drive up to Hiroshima, and Greg and I did our best to be good hitch-hikers by keeping up a lively conversation and trying to make her laugh.
As you can see in the video, at this point we arrive at the bridge crossing over between Honshu and Kyushu. (Honshu is the big long island. Kyushu is the Southern most island. If you're not familiar with Japan, you can always look at a map.)
I had gone back and forth between Kyushu and Honshu several times by this point, but never by car. And I had never had the opportunity to actually look at the distance dividing them. And quite frankly, as I say on the video, I was surprised by how small it was. I was expecting some big divide like the English channel, but it was barely even a river separating them. I was surprised it even shows up on the map.
Up until now we had been using a hitch hiking sign that said, "Honshu". I suggested that it might be time to get to work on a new sign, since Honshu was now walking distance across the bridge.
Greg had these signs down to a bit of a fine art. He figured that if we had a destination that was too far away, nobody would pick us up, so he always tried to estimate a good distance to aim for.
We decided that Hiroshima was a good city to aim for, so Greg set to work on making a sign. It had already been decided early in the trip that my attempts at making signs were artistically lacking. Greg believed that if you put a lot of work and care into the sign, it would show you were serious about hitch-hiking, and people would be more likely to give you a ride. (After all, who wants to pick up a hitch-hiker with a shabby sign?)
Greg set down to work on his sign, giving it his usual careful attention to detail. "You know," he remarked as he put on the finishing touches, "I'm actually going to be a bit upset if someone gives us a ride all the way to Hiroshima in one go after all the work I put into this sign."
While he was still putting on the finishing touches, before he had even gotten the sign out to use it once, a girl passed by and offered us a ride all the way to Hiroshima (and in fact a bit beyond). I got a good laugh out of that.
The girl was from the Hiroshima area, and worked as a nurse, if I remember right. She was driving back from a weekend surfing trip down in Miyazaki.
It was several hours up to Hiroshima (6? 8? I forget exactly) so we stopped at one point to get something to eat, and Greg and I switched places..
The rest of the drive up I was in the passenger seat.
She, I think, was happy to have company for the long drive up to Hiroshima, and Greg and I did our best to be good hitch-hikers by keeping up a lively conversation and trying to make her laugh.
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