5acrefarmer

Yes Japan is a very safe country to hitch in, I don't hitch everywhere of course. You should give it a go! Some basic rules of hitching in Japan are, Walk or take a train to the edge of town if you're in one. Stand only where cars can pull over safely off the road. Don't stick your thumb out (or whatever, I made signs in Kanji and held them out) when there is a line of cars coming, a driver might react instictively and stop suddenly and cause chaos! Smile and look friendly Don't wear sunglasses, we need eye contact to work people out. When you realise how easy it is to get a

Sorry but I will have to correct you. I have hitched up and down and around Honshu and all around Hokkaido. I guess a gaijin hitch-hiking is a novelty and getting rides was too easy and a great way to meet locals and to practice what I ended up calling "hitch-hiking Japanese". I highly recommend doing it and it is far quicker then local transport. I will admit I did it so much that the conversations got tedious as it was the same basic stuff everytime, "where are you from, is this the first time in Japan" etc, but that's no-ones fault. The only country I found where hitching was even be

Transport is easy enough to work out, thanks. I just need to work out which resorts to consider, but it will take time I know. Skiing for me is the best sport there is and Japan the best country to visit so it's a heady combination and my impatience is huge!

Yes, north east is correct, I'll look into the 2 places you suggested. My 2 trips to Japan back in 1983 and 1988 where for a total of 6 months and I hitch-hiked 95% of the time, Japan is one of the two best countries I ever hitch-hike in. It will be a fun challenge to do it during winter. Otherwise I will use trains mostly, just small local trainlines, not Shinkensan as I'm a budget traveller though I have been on a Shinkensan once. I would prefer accommodation on or within an easy walk to the ski fields. I have plenty of time to research but like to start early and get advice from m

Hi. I came across this site a few days ago and my poor brain is in overload/confounded mode by all the great information and inspiration here. It's been 20 years since my last visit to Japan and now I decided to delay my return by a few months and factor in some skiing. That gives me a long 12 months of planning and scheming which I enjoy luckily. Asking novice questions here can save me some time in researching what I don't know about and hopefully your expert advice can steer me in the right direction. My trip will be for 2 months, public transport and hitch-hiking, minshukus an