Hitchhiking in Japan: way to Hiroshima
3rd of May, 2025.
Miles and I start playing a game, where we bet the profile of the person, or people, who will stop for us. He gets (partially) right this first time.
Yamamoto is a lawyer going to work in Kyoto, even though it’s Saturday, and his English is very good. We tell him about our individual journeys, and also about what are we planning to see in Japan. Soon enough we arrive at the McDonald’s just outside Kyoto.
It takes some time for someone finally stop, which is quite a surprise. It’s only after two hours that we get our first lift. Is that because of the distance from here to Hiroshima? It’s a little over four hours driving, so it’s not really that much. Anyway…
Chisa (9) and Ruki’s (7) parents are going only half way to Hiroshima, into a town called Onomichi, but as we are waiting here for too long already, the best strategy right now is to go. We think it’s hilarious how, as the family was entering Mcdonald’s, the parents send Chisa, this lovely and adorable girl, out of the car to come and say to us: “It’s OK for you to come to Hiroshima with us” – while they started parking. Laugh.
After all the introductions, we start a small journey of fixing the back seats of the car so we could have a place to sit. They really want to help, as I can see in their faces no traces of irritation or regret, only a strong will to make this happen. The kids are also helping, which is so cute, and after calling someone, we finally figure out how to get the seats up. We get a bit crowded with our backpacks with us in the back seat, but it’s all good and all part of the adventure. Chisa is the translator between us and her parents, and her adorable little brother can also speak a bit of English. They are watching cartoons, and she is also doing some drawings in her Ipad from time to time.
We ask for them to drop us off in a big Service Area as close as possible from Onomichi, and that’s where get off. After taking a photograph with this lovely and super helpful family, we continue our journey of hitchhiking to Hiroshima.
Surprisingly enough, we arrive to this place a bit before six in the evening, so we decide it’s better just finding a place to camp, as close as possible to Hiroshima, and carry on towards there tomorrow, because there’s no point in arriving to the city today, as we cannot camp there.
In only a few minutes, a mother and her daughter offer to take us to Hiroshima.
As we get in the car, we explain to them not only our travel journeys (people always get surprised about that) but also our plan of camping tonight. In Japan, there are a lot of free camping spots all across the country, which is super cool, so we just find the closest one to Hiroshima, in a small town called Kaifa, and ask if they can drop us in that town. Because we showed them where the camping site was, they actually drive us all the way there, which is amazingly good for us as it’s pouring rain by the time we arrive to Kaifa. And not only they do that, as they also stop with us in a supermarket so we can get some food for tonight and tomorrow’s breakfast. How sweet! That’s why I keep saying how nice Japanese are, and how surprised I am that, just as with the South Koreans, I’ve never heard that from other travellers.
At first, we are a bit worried as the campsite seems to be quite isolate, and into a dark area. But as soon as we get a bit closer, the four of us breath relieved by seen many cars at the parking lot, and quite a few tents up. Yay!
It’s actually a super cool camping site, with many and big flat areas for pitching your tent, and a lovely stream running through the whole camping site, and you can hear it all night. The rain gives us a little break when we arrive, which is great to pitch the tents. There are also toilets (and they are not that bad, even though they are chemical toilets), and an area for washing / cooking / eating, small but useful. All the other families staying are cooking they food in nice and “fancy” grills of cooking equipment, plus they all have lights for their tents. Miles and I seem to be the only raw campers. Laugh.
It’s a little cold outside, so soon after eating our dinner we go to our tents, but not before making a slight plan for tomorrow.
10 Years Around the World 