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  • Hello, everybody.

  • I'm in Obama city for Clea Prefecture Right now.

  • I'm trying to hitchhike out of this place to goto the city.

  • It's a beautiful, beautiful, sunny day.

  • Just spent the last two days in Obama City and had a lot of fun.

  • I'm not a political person had nothing to do with politics.

  • I just came here because it was pretty interesting.

  • Right now, I put my iPhone on the GoPro Jaws Clamp stand so might shake a little bit, but should be too bad.

  • So I thought I'd share with you this hitchhiking experience of Obama interchange, which goes up onto the highway.

  • There's not that many cars.

  • That's another reason why I'm live streaming this because I'm sort of bored.

  • Oh, here comes That's Tasha.

  • Yeah, no city, Tasha car.

  • He had always and me on the on the side of his car, which is really funny.

  • The great thing about today is that it's it's it's sunny because when I started about an hour and 1/2 ago, rain was coming down and I was kind of worried about it because it didn't look good.

  • And then all of a sudden the clouds parted ways and the sun came out now looks like the perfect day to hitchhike.

  • It's just it's just there's not that many people.

  • It's Saturday afternoon.

  • I think it's Saturday, right?

  • And, uh, I guess people, by this time already where they wanna go for the day and the people coming by are usually, I don't know, they're not stopping.

  • I've been here for about an hour.

  • I wanted to go to the dinosaur museum.

  • Oh, here comes a truck.

  • Whoa, This I love trucks.

  • No.

  • Going to smile, though.

  • So Fukui between city has a dinosaur museum, and I wanted to go there today.

  • I don't know what time and closed closes, but essentially, I got to get there a soon as possible.

  • Um, like now it takes an hour from this spot to get the Fukui City.

  • Yeah, there's really not that much traffic going in that direction right now towards from Obama.

  • But that doesn't mean I don't.

  • I don't stop trying because, you know, it's it's when you least expect it.

  • Someone's going to stop.

  • Honestly, that's what happens.

  • So when you stop trying too hard, you just sort of you're about to give up or you just like no one's going to stop.

  • Someone will stop and pull a pig.

  • Oh, where you going?

  • Is that are you going to Fukui and I go?

  • Yeah.

  • All right, come on in.

  • That's what happens every time.

  • Every time on Lee, The first day I started, somebody stopped within within, like for three or four minutes, which is insane.

  • Hitchhiking is a science.

  • It's about being at the right place, knowing which direction the people are going, the best spot and then having the right sign to communicate with you.

  • Uh, sorry.

  • Having the right side to communicate with the people driving by.

  • So you have to not only be in the right spot, but also have the right sign.

  • Um, And then when those two things come together and you have the courage to stand up here and they have the courage to stop, then you get a ride.

  • That's the science behind it.

  • Well, there's a lot of molecules, a lot of molecules, you know, popping off of each other.

  • I don't even know what I'm talking about about here in the sun all afternoon, So cut me some slack.

  • All right?

  • The red light is red.

  • It's not a bad spot.

  • I like this because you see here there's this right There is the toll gate for the you can see better here.

  • This is the toll gate for Obama interchange and it goes straight onto the expressway.

  • Do you think this motorcycle is going to stop?

  • So that's the expressway that goes straight on to the to the expressway.

  • And there's this little shoulder that even a truck and stop because people are not really going that fast there, decelerating to get into the ram, which is a good thing for me.

  • Anyways, this is a nice time, too, because of here comes a car.

  • Hold on.

  • I never know if they're stop it for me turning around.

  • I guess they just made a mistake.

  • A couple of people have done that.

  • They they slow down and then they stop right there and then they turn around and go back the way they came.

  • I sometimes I think it's for me.

  • It's not.

  • Don't get your hopes up all the time.

  • Most of time except the phone shaking it right now.

  • The phone is on the GoPro stand, which is not very stable for the iPhone seven.

  • Plus, uh, this is still Obama city.

  • For those of you joining in a man Obama interchange, that's the entrance to the highway going towards Queen Prefecture.

  • That's my destination.

  • This is city.

  • Who is she?

  • And there's not much traffic here.

  • Most people that Saturday afternoon.

  • Yeah, it's Saturday afternoon.

  • Um, so I got a late start because I went to the Obama fish market this morning and, um, I eat a lot.

  • They had to check out, had to walk out here.

  • It took about two hours, and by that time it was lunchtime.

  • And I miss the rush of people going, but, uh, if somebody stops its fate if no one stops, that's my fate number camping here.

  • But so is gonna stop.

  • I'm telling you, it's when he it's when you feel the most dejected and rejected.

  • And if you stick out here on you fight through it, someone will stop.

  • I did the laundry, so I don't I don't stink.

  • I didn't take a fat becomes a truck.

  • Come on, baby trucks for me.

  • You know, he shouldn't be talking on his cell phone.

  • He was talking on a cell phone.

  • That's against the law and hitchhiking is not against the law.

  • You know how I know Three times on this trip, police officers in patrol cars have driven by me.

  • Two of them have smiled and one of them waved.

  • So if it was against the law, they would have pulled over and had a long talk with the Hitchhiker.

  • But they didn't Sports car would have been fun, but they didn't and they didn't.

  • Uh, I didn't say anything.

  • So really, there's no law against hitchhiking in Japan.

  • Maybe California's illegal.

  • But here and I mean the culture is so different between United States and Japan.

  • United States.

  • I don't know.

  • I would never hitchhike there.

  • I just It's hard to trust people.

  • It's hard to trust strangers, I think, in general, in the U.

  • S.

  • But here, strangers are people.

  • I don't know what I'm talking about.

  • Just they're like time.

  • Is Japan safer?

  • Does that make sense?

  • Japan's just safer.

  • And people I don't know, they don't.

  • I don't say they don't do bad stuff.

  • They do.

  • There are bad hombres in in Japan.

  • It's just it's people stop out of kindness, you know, probably in the U s too.

  • It's just a different culture.

  • Oh, I didn't see that just by, but I don't think they would have picked me up.

  • The car was full.

  • It's a different culture.

  • Yeah, I'm getting a sunburn.

  • Beautiful.

  • Though Obama was a beautiful city of as much as it comes.

  • The woman was looking at his head easy like this.

  • You If he's looking like this at me, I don't want her to stop.

  • I keep going.

  • I want nice people to stop.

  • Okay, so now here comes one more car.

  • Hold on.

  • So what I was saying is is I'm gonna stop talking about this this crap on comparing Japan the U.

  • S.

  • A.

  • Because I don't even know what I'm talking about.

  • What I'm going to talk about is Obama city, and, um yeah, in 2008 this place got pretty famous because of the election, because they didn't name the city after Obama.

  • What did it was?

  • They saw that they had an opportunity when he became senator in 2006 and the city started thio contact with him and the camera might be shaken because of the wind.

  • So I think the mayor of Obama city sent him a message in 2006 when he became a senator and they had this back and forth, I guess, with this staff.

  • And he's already he's always known about Obama City.

  • It's a total coincidence because in Japanese, old bomb on, just the phonetics work out perfectly.

  • It means small beach.

  • They didn't name the city after Obama.

  • Don't think about that.

  • They would never I don't think any They wouldn't do that in Japan.

  • Name a city after an American politician.

  • It just worked out phonetically, Um, because of the way Obama's name is.

  • And, uh, you know, I I thought that that connection is pretty cool and I found some places like the hotel I was staying in.

  • Uh, I forget what it was called, but it had like a shrine to the 2008 election where they had pictures and signs, and I put some of it on the instagram page.

  • If you take a look at signs and they had gif ts, they had snacks with the I love Obama on with the Japanese animate pictorial version of the of the former president, and that that was super cool.

  • You know I didn't I don't know.

  • I'm not gonna tell you.

  • I voted for him or not.

  • That's some I keep.

  • I keep to myself who I vote for my political party.

  • Uh, but because I'm American, I don't care who the president is.

  • I think that's so that's such a cool thing to have that connection.

  • At least they're smiling and laughing.

  • I like that, Um, I like it that there's this connection between the US and between Japan.

  • No matter who the president is, I really don't.

  • I don't I don't care politically.

  • I just think it was pretty cool thing.

  • This city's gorgeous it sze a sleepy Fisher Fishermen's Town where people just do nothing.

  • It's just a small It's a place for you can like no media like just take it easy.

  • There's not that much work.

  • Businesses shut at 5 p.m. So last night was Friday night, right?

  • And I'm going down the main street and it's dead quiet.

  • This is a kaya to some places to go and have a drink, but the street is just silent.

  • It's such a contrast, Thomas.

  • It is Yeah, it's closed by 5 p.m. Which is pretty cool.

  • Um, seafood was amazing again.

  • I have some pictures of my breakfast.

  • Grandpa.

  • Japan TV.

  • No, it's good.

  • The best sashimi I think I've had in a long, long time.

  • Such mutation.

  • Now I'm fighting to get out of here.

  • It was a good two days in Obama city.

  • Uh, I love the view.

  • You know, I don't mind not getting picked up right away because there's moments like this between the traffic.

  • I just stop and look around and join my surroundings.

  • Camera around to you could take a look at the intersection.

  • You can watch the people reject me if you want.

  • So here.

  • This is the rejection cam.

  • Okay.

  • These are the people that you see.

  • These are the people that are telling me.

  • No.

  • So you guys will get your first view of the rejection camp.

  • Okay, I'm over here.

  • I'm going in.

  • Fukui.

  • So these people are going to Fukui because that's the direction that I'm on.

  • I'm on the other side.

  • I'm turning the camera around so you could see what people look like.

  • They're coming this way.

  • This is the rejection cam that people who don't pick me up.

  • That's the intersection up ahead where the people are turning into, Go onto the expressway and you could see the highway above Um, elevated road.

  • That's the expressway.

  • He's smiling, becomes a truck That's a Japanese post post truck.

  • Post office I support goes up.

  • I guess he didn't love be back.

  • That was a Japan Post truck.

  • All right, See, the rejection camp is pretty section cam is pretty sad.

  • I can't move the Hatteras.

  • Somebody burned e get just enough shadow on my on my head.

  • It's It's, uh, must be squinting A paddle comes a big truck.

  • Turn it around.

  • A big truck coming in Tex Sex had text written on the truck.

  • Why, Tex, why didn't you stop, man?

  • Next time tags, that's the second text truck.

  • Must be company radical Tex T X.

  • All right, so I get a little bit of time.

  • Kickstarter plug.

  • I'm selling DVD This DVD this trip on Kickstarter Get a cool.

  • You have a collector's box set that's available for this trip.

  • This too much content is gonna be like a two hour film on hitchhiking in Japan.

  • So, um, kick starters almost.

  • It's getting up to, like 300% funded now with two weeks left.

  • So there's still two weeks left to get either a postcard from the road or DVD or downloadable DVD, which is half the price, which is, um, you know, it helps that that helps support this trip.

  • And for those of you on patri on that air supporting thanks a lot for that to appreciate.

  • And I've been doing live streams to those who contribute on patri on as well don't get the cloud sort of is like one cloud, and that cloud is just, uh, over me right now.

  • Here comes another wave of traffic.

  • I'll let this go for another couple of minutes and then we're gonna I'm gonna have to cut it out.

  • So beautiful, right off of a farm field, right on a farm field.

  • That's the view every time a cargo.

  • So I'm sort of looking over in that direction.

  • Beautiful, beautiful hills.

  • There comes a gas truck.

  • That's Bruce Willis used to do the commercials for any of us.

  • It's a beautiful view, isn't it?

  • You know, it's not sad.

  • That's a full truck.

  • I don't mind the people rejecting me.

  • I think that that's part of life I think I'm reading some of the comments that the thing with every with life is when you're rejected, you just That's when you have to stand up stronger and, uh, this trip.

  • If anything, it's humbling.

  • But what?

  • What I learned each time is that if if you if you give up, no one's going to stop.

  • If you give up, it's over.

  • You can't give up.

  • You just stand out here and you you keep going despite people laughing and pointing or taking pictures of you.

  • You know, I like to think of it is I'm helping them having a better day, entertaining them in a way.

  • Rejection is good for everybody can't win every time.

  • And, um, you know, if people didn't reject me 99.9% of the time, that 0.1% of the time wouldn't have that special meaning of thing.

  • And when somebody stopped, I really, really appreciate it.

  • It's like it's It's It's amazing.

  • It's It's just like I'm very humbled when somebody stops and takes me where I want to go and people are so kind.

  • They take me to the destination that they asked me more.

  • I want to be dropped off.

  • And I tell them, you know, anywhere that's convenient.

  • And then they say, How about here?

  • And then I say, Okay.

  • And then they'll ask me before I get there.

  • Is there something somewhere in more particular?

  • And I said, Okay, maybe the dinosaur Museum and okay.

  • And nine times out of 10 will take exactly to where I want to go.

  • And that's Japan.

  • That's a word that I think some of you might know, called a multinational.

  • Maybe.

  • I guess it's like, um, you know, how do I say like this?

  • It's loosely translated his hospitality, but I think it's more like you're a guest.

  • Okay, When I get into somebody's car, I get the feeling like I'm their guest for for the duration.

  • And they want to treat me as such.

  • And they'll give me a bottle of tea or they'll give me a snack.

  • Sometimes they treat me very, very, very kindly.

  • When I'm inside the car, somebody stop.

  • Uh, don't.

  • Yeah, I know.

  • Do you kidding?

  • Can you?

  • Oh!

  • Ah, no.

  • Kagoshima.

  • Kara Hokkaido.

  • Uh, foods.

  • O'Connell.

  • Obama need, uh, thank Oh, So go away.

  • I tell you, get those Amos Well, okay.

  • Night, boy.

  • It's like you're touching on a YouTube video team.

  • I got a kid.

  • You must go in.

  • All right, so everybody thinks.

  • Thank you very much for, um, for the support.

  • Um, I'll be live streaming on the only in Japan.

  • Go channel later on.

  • So check that out, and I'm going to quit going to us a service area nearby.

  • So it's a lot closer than here.

  • Which is good.

  • All right, everybody.

  • Yeah.

Hello, everybody.

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