A Way Inside
When most of us imagine Japan, we imagine the crowded subways of Tokyo, the five dollar cups of coffee, the congested city streets, and the high-tech electronics.
But there is more to Japan than its overpriced, crowded cities. An entire world exists beyond the modern urban sprawl, just as another Japan exists beneath the formalized manners and public smiles.
More than just a way to save money, hitchhiking is a way inside.
Hitchhiking is so unusual in Japan that no prescribed forms of behavior have developed to deal with it. 
You will be treated as a guest and as a friend, but above all you will be treated as a travel companion, and that is what you are. Not a visitor, but a fellow traveler.
- Will Ferguson ( The Hitchhikers Guide to Japan) -
