Hitchhiking
2350 yen! When I found out that the train ticket from Nagoya to Kyoto was going to cost a fortune, hitchhiking came up from the back of my mind. I had never hitchhiked before but there was a small passage about hitchhiking in my lonely planet guide. So, on the 29th November, I checked out of my YH early and took the subway to Hango, which is very close to the entry to Nagoya IC (short for interchange). I walked east with my backpack. But in the end, I walked too far and missed the IC. I had to ask a construction worker for direction. At 11am, I finally got to a good spot for hitchhiking. I put down my backpack; held up my "Kyoto" sign with my left hand, got out my apple with my right, stood against a lamp pole and made myself as comfortable as possible. I thought I would have to wait for at least 2 hours. Actually, I had planned to wait for 2 hours. I ate my BIG apple (that's my breakfast) slowly and observed the Japanese drivers. Basically, half of them looked at me, showing on their faces nothing but their usually blank expression. The other half didn't even look. While all of the drivers passed me as quickly as possible, I was enjoying my juicy Fuji apple and was dreaming about a hot young Japanese chick picking me up.
After 20 minutes, I finished my
apple. As I was wondering about what to do next, at 11.24am, my hero drove
by with his truck and stopped 2m in front of me. I rushed towards the
truck, held up my Kyoto sign and said: 'Kyoto desuka?' He said: '...Nara...'
I said: 'Um... Nara OK!' I grabbed my backpack and jumped on the seat.
After a few 'chotto matteˇK chotto matte' (please wait) he had made room
for me and my backpackand I sat comfortably on the passenger side of the
truck. He asked or said a lot of things in Japanese but my only response
was 'um...um...' Then, he finally asked, 'Nihongo wa wakarimasu ka?' (Do
you understand Japanese?) My answer, of course, was 'Iie' (No) He asked
where I was from, and I said: 'I am from New Zealand.' 'So desune!' (Oh
I see!) We introduced each other as start for the 3 hour journey to come.
His name was Onari. He had to drop off some wood in a mill at Nagoya.
Trust me man, he could drive. He squeezed through those narrow Japanese
alleys with just inches to spare - and he did that with speed. Having
arrived at the mill, he told me to wait but, of course, I wouldn't just
sit around. And so I got off the truck and started helping him. He was
a strong little man. He needed to unload some logs (they were about 40kg
each); he could pick them up with one hand, got them on his shoulder and
off he went. After all that hard work, he suggested to go for lunch. We
stopped at this busy food store next to the highway. He stopped the truck
and said: 'Chotto matte.' So I waited. He, then, pulled out a black box
of the size of a pencil case. He opened it and got out a needle. I was
like: 'What the hell? He is not going to harm me with that, is he?' But
after a second or so, I could see a small bottle of transparent liquid
inside the box. So I said: 'You are diabetic? Insulin?' and pointed my
finger to the bottle. He said yes and skillfully injected himself a dose
of insulin. 'Let's go!' and we headed towards the store. He inserted a
10000 yen note and told me to choose. I had no idea that he was going
to pay for me so I grabbed my wallet. But he told me that this one was
on him. Surprise, surprise! I chose a 550yen meal (didn't even know if
it was good or not). After the meal, he even offered me a drink (another
120 yen, sweet!). Back on the road, we talked even more. From cars to
trucks; from turbo to exhaust brake; from New Zealand to Canada; from
his family to my family - basically we talked non-stop. Sometimes he forgot
some English words, then, I spoke out a list of words related to the topic
and let him choose. On this basis, we made the 2 hour drive much more
enjoyable, especially for him. He had only learned English in high school
for 5 years and I was really surprised by his speaking ability.
Finally, we arrived at Nara station. We got off the truck and he said
he was going to buy me a train ticket to Kyoto (cost 720 yen). I didn't
know what to say but grabbed one of my souvenirs (silver kiwi necklace)
from New Zealand and handed that to him. We said good luck and good-bye
to each other in front of the ticketing gate.
I would like to say thank you to my hero, Onari. He didn't just give me a ride to Nara, bought me lunch and a drink but even bought me a ticket to Kyoto. Such a kind person, I wish him good luck and good health for the future!
