Hokkaido Highway Blues: Hitchhiking Japan

I discovered this work through someone else's blog- they quoted a passage and I found it intriguing, so I took a screen shot of the quote and forgot about it. Several months later (now), I was going through various photos and found it again. Faced with a shortage of reading material (can you tell?) I decided to borrow it from my local library. One problem: my library didn't have it. Okay, so I borrow it from a slightly less local library. No. Not available. In the end, this book came to me from Kansas. So, thank you Kansas.

I began reading Will Ferguson's travel memoir with the vague idea that he probably taught English in Japan via JET. I was right, as I discovered several hundred pages into the book. With that in mind, I understood a bit of which foreigner's culture he came from.

Ferguson had drunkenly proclaimed during one hanami party (that's a sakura, or cherry blossom viewing party...often involves lots of alcohol) that he would like to hitchhike Japan from the southern tip to the northern-most point, following the Cherry Blossom Front. Having successfully managed to avoid making good on this for some years, he is finally encouraged? coerced? into it. He begins.

Ferguson clearly knows and loves Japan with the semi-unrequited love that only a "gaijin", or foreigner, truly understands. One is in Japan, but one can never really be a part of it, not being Japanese. Being white, especially, marks one as an outsider. It's a flag that shouts "Hey! American here!", even though one may be, say, Canadian (which Ferguson is). Ferguson mostly makes the best of his situation, and peppers his travel dialogue with sometimes humorous, sometimes painful, sometimes a mixture of both, anecdotes.

It was excellent. I laughed out loud frequently, which meant I then had to re-read portions and passages for a now-interested audience. Ferguson handled his journey with some tenderness and taste. He copes with his feelings as he does with the feelings of others. When I reached the end of his account, I wanted more- it leaves him stranded! How did he get back? What did his supervisors say? Dangit, Will, you've left me wanting. (Ohhhh, is that a statement?)

I do not hesitate to recommend this book. That being said, due to complexity of themes and whatnot, I recommend it for those aged 14+, or those of exceptional maturity. One does not need to be familiar with Japan or the JET program. One only needs an interest in travel and humanity.

Blue