Shanghai Ferry offered me a return trip ticket to Japan in exchange for a promotional video. So I spent two beautiful days meeting people on board between Shanghai (China) and Osaka (Japan). Then in Kyoto, I met again with my boyfriend Sebastian. We continued my hitchhiking world tour to Nara, the city where deer walk freely in the streets. After several days hiking in the Japanese Alps, we reached the lights of Tokyo. We hiked to the summit of the famous Mount Fuji and around its crater in one big day. We also hiked the medieval trail of Hakone. I also enjoyed the small seaside town of Zushi, on the outskirts of Tokyo, as well as the beautiful Mount Zao.

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Japan is not the super-modern country I expected. It's rather an old-school 70's atmosphere, both in terms of architecture and conservative mentalities. Japanese people seemed to be very disciplined, polite, discreet and avoiding eyes contacts ... So hitchhiking was quite difficult. I believe that their shyness and scrupulous respect for the road rules prevented them from stopping. However, once the ice was broken, the Japanese became extremely kind and generous by offering food, drinks and a little detour to reach the exact destination ... This has been the case with many drivers and my lovely couchsurfing hosts.

What I liked the most about Japan were the earthquakes (five in a month ! and always this feeling of human vulnerability facing the strengh of the nature), the amazing hikes in the volcanic landscapes (and the volcanoes which always smoke!) , the heated toilets, and of course the food (delicious and cheap sushis, mochis and Japanese fast food).