Hitching Rides with Buddha: Travels in Search of Japan

By Will Ferguson

Book Overview

Originally published as Hokkaido Highway Blues, with limited distribution in Canada, Will Ferguson's classic book about Japan, for all fans of the bestselling Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw.

With the same fervour they have for outlandish game shows and tiny gadgets, the Japanese go nuts each spring when the cherry blossoms sweep from island to island towards the country's northerly tip. Will Ferguson was celebrating the event in the standard fashion. And after way too much sake he announced he would be the first person in recorded history to follow the blossom's progress end to end. To make it a challenge worth doing, he'd hitchhike all the way: relying on the kindness of some very weird and wonderful strangers.

Mixing his penchant for biting observation with wicked humour, Ferguson starts at the southernmost tip of Cape Sata and heads north for distant Hokkaido. Whether he is doing the forbidden and not knowing it, or holding "conversations by non sequitur," it is a journey full of misadventures and revelations. The resulting travelogue is one of the funniest and most illuminating books ever written about Japan.

To make matters worse, I decided to hitchhike. Striking a heroic stance, I declared my intention to my Japanese friends to become the first person ever to hitchhike the length of Japan, end-to-end, cape-to-cape, sea-to-sea. This did not impress them as much as I had hoped.

"Why would you want to do that?" they asked, genuinely puzzled. "There is no reason to hitchhike. That's why we built the Bullet Train."

Others worried about my safety. "But," I would argue, "Japan is a very safe country, is it not?"

"Oh, yes. Very safe. Safest in the world."

"So why shouldn't I hitchhike?"

"Because Japan is dangerous."

And so on.

Now, I will admit that mooching rides across Japan is not a major achievement--I mean, it's not like I paddled up the Amazon or discovered insulin or anything--but I am the first person ever to do this, so allow me my hubris.

When I left my home in Minamata City aboard a southbound train, I felt suitably bold with my backpack and muscular thumb.

"I'm going to hitchhike the length of Japan," I told the man beside me.

He smiled and nodded.

"I'm going to follow the cherry blossoms."

He nodded.

"All the way to Russia," I said.

He smiled again, and soon after changed seats.
--from Hitching Rides with Buddha

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0676976999
• ISBN13: 9780676976991
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Vintage Canada
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.9" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

hysterical

my husband and i moved to japan this summer for a short 3 month visit and i wanted to read a novel while we were here. the travel bookstore in our area only had this book in the japanese section so i decided to give it a go. i just finished the book today and have nothing but great things to say. first off, his writing is hysterical. i found myself laughing out loud throughout the book - driving my husband crazy of course! if you have ever travelled to japan or just wonder what its like from a real life point of view please check out this book. his humor, sarcasm and quick wit are sure to charm you.

A must read for those going to Japan

I just finished this book today. My wife bought it prior to a 16 day trip to Japan, and is still reading it. Although the book chronicles his hitchiking from south to north in Japan, supposedly tied in with the sakura front (the blossoming of cherry blossoms as they move north) it is the best book I have ever read to gain insight into the Japanese mentality and attitudes. I've been there many times, but this book was like a refresher course on relationships with Japanese. This is a companion book to Lonely Planet's Japan Guide, at least to my way of thinking.

To the point information, all you need to get around!

If you like traveling cheap, and meeting great people as you do it, this book is for you. The small cultural details included are invaluable as you will constantly run into them. The travels plans laid out are specific and don't leave much room for guesswork. Make a special note of the importance of visiting Kyoto and Nara. This area is most like the old traditional Japan. Happy Hitchhiking!

Immensely enjoyable read

I'm still in the middle of this book at the moment, but I'm having such a wonderful time reading it that I felt like I had to jump in with a comment. Ferguson is frank and blunt, but has a wonderful sense of humor. He's far from easy on the Japanese in his assessment of them, yet every observation is so personal and thoughtful that you're convinced his thoughts are motivated by only the most wholesome love and concern for the country. This is a light read and moves quickly -- chapters are short and to the point, so it is easy to pick up and put down. Well, putting it down is sometimes tough...

Unpretentious and witty view of Japanese and their land

Canadian author Ferguson, a teacher in Japan for a number of years, hitches from the bottom of the island nation to the top. Invaluable stories provided of what happens along the way: best way to understand the Japanese, and especially their view and interactions with Westerners. Unlike many tourists, Ferguson doesn't care for museums (though he does provide some really nice background history on many locations, customs, etc.). Stand with him while visiting a zoo, in which an entire class of students have their back to a caged area with animal and point to him, caucasian, as infinitely more exotic. Author Ferguson precisely captures the feeling of how non-Japanese may never be accepted within this society and the consequential love/hate relationship that results. As good as Pico Iyer's view, but more candid and true to life: the missed-timing of one of the possibilities at his journey's end is so true to life. A blast to read without the getting drenched on the highway.