[Episode 2] It's already 5 PM. Can we make it to Hiroshima City?!!

Hello, this is Murakun!
Have you read Episode 1?
Hitchhiking is something you have no opportunity or need to do at all.

But, meeting people is irresistible. (lol)
I'm joking. I'm really just messing around (lol).

5 PM. Can we get to Hiroshima City from here???

It is currently 5:00 PM. We were dropped off in Otake.
Once you cross the bridge, you're in Hiroshima, so we walked into Hiroshima!!!
Oh~ we managed to escape Yamaguchi Prefecture!!

At a 7-Eleven along the way, I bought a Choco Monaka Jumbo and chewed on it. We walked toward the Otake Interchange, and it is now 6:40 PM. Every car is heading toward the residential streets and not toward the Otake Interchange. Just as I resigned myself to sleeping outside here tonight...

"Good evening."

A voice other than ours spoke up.

Surprisingly, a fresh-faced guy with a shaved head was talking to us.
When we asked him about it, he said there was a hitchhiker here before, but they regretted it because there was no place to get picked up. Furthermore, he had seen us once before and had been keeping an eye on us.

The guy is apparently a fisherman. And it seems he was on his way to hang out with his high school friends. On the way to Hiroshima City, he treated my companion to a drink at a convenience store because it was their birthday at the time.

A story about a luxurious smoking area

This is a bit of a tangent, but when you think of a convenience store smoking area, you imagine a place with just an ashtray, but this convenience store's smoking area was luxurious, with a solid roof and two benches installed. Even though we don't smoke, we were impressed.

The guy went to Thailand to buy stock

Now, back to the story.
The guy was so "light on his feet" that he even went to Thailand to study buying stock with a friend who runs a vintage clothing store. How many people have a friend who has gone to buy vintage clothes with a friend? (lol)

We are traveling while asking everyone who gives us a ride about their dreams. The guy's dream seems to be owning his own restaurant. He wants to use his experience as a fisherman to open a shop that serves fresh and delicious fish.

I've never met someone who looked so good with a shaved head and was so fresh and cheerful. He talked with a smile the whole time, and it was a lot of fun. If there were a restaurant with a shopkeeper like this, I would definitely be a regular. I made up my mind right then (lol).

Arrived in Hiroshima City? Parting with the guy

7:56 PM. Near a McDonald's in Hiroshima City, we took another commemorative photo, handed him a business card with a thank-you note, and waved goodbye as he drove off.

From there, we held up our sketchbook for an hour and a half aiming for the Okayama direction, but it was too dark and no one noticed us.
10:00 PM. The first day of hitchhiking ended, going from Yamaguchi to Hiroshima.

Where are we going to sleep?

Hitchhiking means you never know how far you can go. Naturally, we hadn't booked a place to stay, so we had to sleep outside. It's only natural.

Honestly, I didn't mind not sleeping outside, but my companion wanted to try it, so we used cardboard as a mattress in a park near Parco and went to sleep. Cardboard is so warm; it protected us from the cold April ground. For those who sleep outside, a sleeping bag or cardboard is essential.

Well, we woke up to the sound of birds again. 3:00 AM. Hiroshima birds are too early risers, and it's a problem. "I really can't forgive you (lol)."

Today was an exciting day. Meeting new people in a town I didn't know, and encountering feelings I never expected.
That's the kind of day it was.

That's it for this time.

Next time

[Final Episode] Hitchhiking trip. For some reason, I'm eating curry in a shopping arcade.

Will I be able to make it back to Yamaguchi??
What kind of people will I meet???

Stay tuned.

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Please be sure to read the first episode as well!!

Photos and such have been edited before being posted.

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