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Hokkaido Highway Blues

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 1,293 ratings · 144 reviews

The book follows Will Ferguson as he hitchhikes 1,800 miles north through Japan following the Cherry Blossom Front (Sakura Zensen). The arrival of the blossom is a national event in Japan, eagerly tracked on television bulletins, and besides marking the end of winter and the start of the business cycle it facilitates a burst of heavy drinking disguised as a communal medita...more

Paperback, 384 pages

Published June 5th 2003 by Canongate Books Ltd (first published 1998)

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May 29, 2008 Juli rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another wonderful travelogue... the traveler this time makes astute observations of the Japanese nationals he encounters as he hitchhikes north from the southernmost tip of Japan.

Being an Asian-American, I can see both sides of the espy. It is easy to relate to the often awkward, big-hearted, intensely curious, 'liberal' American being given an opportunity to look through a usually closed window into the private lives of the average Japanese citizen in Japan.
I can also see how the Japanese use t...more

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Sep 27, 2007 k8inorbit rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of travel books, people interested in japan

Shelves: non-fiction, japan

This one was interesting. Ferguson is definitely a westerner in a different culture and sometimes he seems to revel in making encounters awkward, instead of taking the easy route. However, he hitchhiked from the bottom of Japan to the top, went to dozens and dozens of places off the main tourist routes, met dozens and dozens of people and the book is filled with interesting moments and observations. Observations on places, on people, and on two cultures meeting each other and trying to have a co...more

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May 05, 2013 Louise rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: japan

The author hitchhikes north following news alerts on the spring cherry blossoms, timing his trip to meet the blossom "front". He gives the reader his take on the people, places and history of Japan.

At first I thought there was an attitude, but as I read on, I came to understand Ferguson's unique perspective. While this book had me laughing out loud, there is a lot of depth. I came to understand Japan in a whole new way.

Ferguson reminds the reader that outside of the crowded cities there are big...more

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Nov 28, 2012 coriolinus rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not many things that advertise themselves as blues actually deliver the emotion. It was somewhat startling, then, to discover that this book is in fact deeply, profoundly melancholic.

Ferguson started with nothing but a boast, elevated by coworkers more enthusiastic than he is into a grand plan. To hitchhike the length of Japan isn't a particularly sane or rational plan, but caught up in the enthusiasm of those who hear of it, he eventually goes through with it.

In the beginning, all is well. Thi...more Not many things that advertise themselves as blues actually deliver the emotion. It was somewhat startling, then, to discover that this book is in fact deeply, profoundly melancholic.

Ferguson started with nothing but a boast, elevated by coworkers more enthusiastic than he is into a grand plan. To hitchhike the length of Japan isn't a particularly sane or rational plan, but caught up in the enthusiasm of those who hear of it, he eventually goes through with it.

In the beginning, all is well. This is exciting! This is an adventure! This is an adventure, and the enthusiasm is palpable; it evidences itself through the lively interactions with the people who give him rides and the enthusiastic descriptions of the places through which he passes. Extroverted and chatty, Ferguson is having a grand time making his way northward from Cape Sata in the company of strangers. The adventure of following the Sakura front is an exhilarating quest.

Quests are tricky things, though. Weeks in, halfway across the nation, Ferguson outruns the Sakura. He's no longer following the blooming rush of spring; he's migrated into places where winter still reigns, and the entire tone of the enterprise changes accordingly. He gives up on the notion of paying only for interisland ferries. He begins drinking heavily. He isn't having fun anymore, but he never considers giving up. Finally reaching Cape Sōya, well overbudget and overdue back at work, he discovers he is not finished; there remain tiny islands, points farther north.

Ferguson is not Don Quixote; if nothing else, his adventures are more engaging. There are strong structural similarities, though. Like the Don, he is engaged in a quest accomplished by means of superficially distinct but ultimately identical subquests. Like the Don, his pursuit of the quest extends well past the point of reason. Like the Don, the ultimate result is tragic. Ferguson books a ferry further north, to Rishiri Island, where he is stranded by a storm. Unable to complete his quest, job and visa in jeopardy, incomplete and unsatisfied, the book ends.

The book matches the tone of the text in its structure; early chapters are long anecdotes about amusing incidents, but later chapters simply lay down the bare facts in terse language. Ferguson can be an engaging and entertaining author, but he chooses instead to induce his emotions of the time in the reader. As a consequence, this is a difficult, powerful, anticathartic story. The hero's journey ends frustrated.

This is more than a travel story. It's a dissection of the soul of Japan. It's the tale of the elation of embarking upon a unique and challenging quest, and the dissatisfaction of accomplishing it. It's about a man discovering that he has evolved. None of these are easy themes, but Ferguson manages them with all the grace possible. You may not like the book after reading it, but you won't regret it.(less)

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Sep 16, 2012 Kkraemer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Will Ferguson seems to be a very honest writer. He not only tells of his journeys, but of this thinking and -- most importantly -- the things he does and says even when he's being a jerk. Very believable. Occasionally laugh out loud funny.

After teaching English in Japan for a few years, he decides to hitchhike from the southernmost tip of Japan (a very lush, almost tropical area) to the northernmost tip (think Northern sea, icebergs off the coast sort of place). He follows the sakura, the cherr...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Sakura87 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autori-nordamericani, letteratura-di-viaggio, novecento, favorites

Se incontri il Buddha lungo la strada, non ucciderlo. Tira fuori il pollice. Chissà, potrebbe anche offrirti un passaggio.

Giappone, Giappone... tanto amato quanto malvisto, tanto idealizzato quanto pregiudicato.
Il diario di viaggio di un canadese nel Sol Levante è un facile specchietto per le allodole (i nippofili), decisamente facili all'entusiasmo specialmente, si sa, quando ci sono di mezzo i sakura, ormai divenuti simbolo di quanto di poetico il Giappone possiede. Il pericolo di una simile l...more Se incontri il Buddha lungo la strada, non ucciderlo. Tira fuori il pollice. Chissà, potrebbe anche offrirti un passaggio.

Giappone, Giappone... tanto amato quanto malvisto, tanto idealizzato quanto pregiudicato.
Il diario di viaggio di un canadese nel Sol Levante è un facile specchietto per le allodole (i nippofili), decisamente facili all'entusiasmo specialmente, si sa, quando ci sono di mezzo i sakura, ormai divenuti simbolo di quanto di poetico il Giappone possiede. Il pericolo di una simile lettura è quello di ritrovarsi a leggere tutti i peggiori stereotipi cogitabili: nipponici poetici, ordinati, cortesi, riservati, diffidenti; nonché, peggio del peggio, si rischia di annegare in continue e scontate introspezioni filosofiche e poetiche sulla caducità della vita al solo posar lo sguardo su ogni pietra, centimetro di cielo, tazza da té, staccionata in legno, albero, casa, inchino...
Ebbene, dimenticate ogni cosa: non avete ancora inquadrato Will Ferguson. Will è un gran figlio di puttana, un narratore che trasuda lucidità di giudizio, umorismo, immediatezza espressiva, autoironia. Un po' scroccone, facile alla sbronza, provocatorio e riflessivo, Will è una delle voci narranti più dannatamente coinvolgenti che mi sia mai capitato di leggere.
Da capo Sata a capo Soya (l'estremo limite meridionale e quello settentrionale), Ferguson attraversa il Giappone in autostop, anticipando il Sakura Zensen (il Fronte dei ciliegi in fiore) che dal Kyushu all'Hokkaido si lascia dietro un oceano di fiori sbocciati. I momenti poetici e tristi non mancheranno di certo, ma la maggior parte degli aneddoti narrati da Ferguson, storici o personali, sono all’insegna della canzonatura: basti pensare al tratto percorso con un automobilista di Sakai, al quale provocatoriamente il protagonista non ha fatto che ripetere quanto scortesi e indifferenti fossero i suoi concittadini, salvo desiderare di sprofondare dopo aver scoperto che l’uomo l’ha caricato in macchina per una lunga deviazione nonostante dovesse recarsi appena dietro l’angolo; o all’arresto da parte di una pattuglia della Sicurezza Stradale dopo essere stato colto in flagrante a fare l’autostop sul ciglio di una superstrada; o ancora, all’incontro a un karaoke con impiegati di azienda così ubriachi da conferirgli una promozione nella loro azienda.
Will ha scelto l’autostop per viaggiare non tra i giapponesi, ma con loro. Con mentalità tipicamente occidentale seleziona, racconta e commenta usi, costumi, pezzi di storia, sempre in modo irriverente ed esilarante, quanto di più lontano possa esistere dalle idealizzazioni di cui spesso è fatto soggetto tutto ciò che riguarda il Sol Levante. L'itinerario seguito non è quello consueto (e infatti non tocca città note come Tokyo o Kyoto), ma attraversa soprattutto isolette disabitate e paesini di campagna, permettendo un'analisi del Giappone quotidiano attraverso il contatto con persone comuni.
E, tra una risata e una riflessione amara, si finisce per sentirsi realmente un po' in viaggio con Ferguson.(less)

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Jun 04, 2011 Kirei rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teens-and-adults

When I saw this on the library shelf, I thought "Why would I want to read about Hokkaido?" (Hokkaido is the northern most island--ahem, MAIN island--in Japan.) It turns out that it is actually about the memoirs of a Canadian who hitchhiked from the southern most tip of the four main island of Japan to the the northernmost point. So it is a great book for learning about Japanese culture and geography. He writes about everything from the obvious topics (love hotels, sumo, geisha) to the less obvio...more

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May 13, 2008 Ainsley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Greatly enjoyed this - found myself giggling a lot and reading bits out loud to my husband. Many of the author's experiences mirrored my own, and the whole thing is free of the pompousness and attitude of having attained deep insights into the "other" that afflicts so much writing about Japan. Don't know what those who haven't been to Japan, or who led a different sort of life there, would make of it, but it worked for me.

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Mar 09, 2013 Tasha Swinney rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, japan

I thought Ferguson's memoir was excellent and well-written. He provides really important insights and muses on what it's like to be a Westerner in Japanese culture. He's not a total Japanophile and he isn't particularly jaded, he has an average perspective and I think that's important. Too many expats are at one end or the other of the extreme. I've been familiar with Japanese culture for years, but Ferguson had things to teach me as well, including insights into Buddhism and Shintoism, and the...more

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Jul 07, 2009 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

A Canadian hitchhikes from the southern to northern tips of Japan, giving us brief and fascinating glimpse-windows into the lives of the people who give him rides. At first it seemed spot-on, not only in terms of his descriptions of Japan, but in terms of the conflicting turmoil of emotions that Japanophile Westerners go through when they live there. As the book progressed, though, he got more and more bitter, and did not give a fair representation, in my view, of the Japanese.

The book revealed...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Behnam Riahi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The following review has been copied from http://behnamriahi.tumblr.com

Hokkaido Highway Blues: Hitchhiking Japan, though later renamed Hitching Rides with Buddha, is a first-person, plain-spoken non-fiction memoir published by Soho Press, written and told from the point-of-view of author, Will Ferguson, a Canadian living in Japan, hitchhiking his adoptive home from it’s southern most point of Cape Sata, all the way north, following the bloom of sakura cherry blossoms as they usher in spring. To...more The following review has been copied from http://behnamriahi.tumblr.com

Hokkaido Highway Blues: Hitchhiking Japan, though later renamed Hitching Rides with Buddha, is a first-person, plain-spoken non-fiction memoir published by Soho Press, written and told from the point-of-view of author, Will Ferguson, a Canadian living in Japan, hitchhiking his adoptive home from it’s southern most point of Cape Sata, all the way north, following the bloom of sakura cherry blossoms as they usher in spring. To understand this novel, one must understand sakura, pink and white cherry blossoms that only appear at the end of winter to denote the beginning of spring. For more than a thousand years, these blossoms have been celebratory in Japan with numerous festivities, equivalent to American Spring Break with an additional traditional, spiritual sense. Will, after enjoying the blossoms from his home in Minamita one year while drinking excessively with fellow teachers, announces that he intends to follow the cherry blossom front all the way to the northern most point in Japan. Years later, due to prodding from his friends and co-workers, he does—and he does so via hitching rides from strangers. In addition to the strange people Will hitches rides from, chapters of the novel are dedicated to cheap hotels, drinking, cheap dining, drinking, visits to temples, drinking, the transient beauty of sakura, and, of course, drinking, as he learns that the destination isn’t nearly as important as the journey itself.

Once again, we’re back to nonfiction. This book found its way in my collection because of Japanese I. My professor, Hoshino-sensei, assigned us some required reading of English prose in addition to the text book. This was one of those books—at first, I had a hard time getting into it. What is there to say about nonfiction to someone who exclusively writes in lies? I found myself asking that such question when I first opened the book, only to find very little in the way of character description and plot dynamics. So I read through the first 50 pages and dumped it into my library, only to find it again for my “Japan From The Western Perspective,” series of book reviews. So far, as you may have read, we’ve tackled Memoirs of a Geisha and Shogun, both titles of historical fiction, so I thought I’d change it up with some modern nonfiction.

As you may have guessed by the extraordinarily few reviews available, I haven’t much love for nonfiction. It isn’t that I don’t like it as a genre—I just find the information portrayed via nonfiction more compelling when told in a story with deep character description and strong plot twists. That isn’t to say that nonfiction is bad though, and Hokkaido Highway Blues certainly proves that. But before we get into the strengths, let’s talk about this book’s weaknesses. For starters, descriptions can be drastically vivid (far more so than in Shogun), but some details certainly do fall by the wayside. The people in this book are only described by how they look different from everyone else—perhaps this is because the book is told from the point-of-view of a Caucasian Canadian, but these random meetings can sometimes be easily forgotten because he doesn’t give enough fulfilling description about his rides. Further more, layouts of towns and roads tend to be confusing, although judging by the material, they seem as confusing to him as well, so I’ll attribute that to point-of-view again. I think the most notable disappointment of this memoir is the ending—not because the ending is bad, but it’s abrupt. It ends exactly where he says it will earlier in the piece, but when it ends, it simply ends. As a real life story, I wanted to know what would come next, maybe a montage of things he saw and learned, or some underlying nuance to carry back with me from his journey—some kind of overture that says, in a nutshell, whether it was all worth it. Instead, he left me empty handed and empty hearted as a result. This too is not necessarily a fault in the book—just another part of reality we have to accept.

The strengths of this book are many, but it’s important to keep in mind what handicaps reside in the world of nonfiction. In this case, the recurrence of characters is impossible, so automatically, the only character growth we truly get to follow is Will himself. Furthermore, character descriptions as always in nonfiction are bland and half-hearted, but Will compensates by letting the Japanese describe him throughout the book to give you a fuller sense of his big-boned, sweaty form as he hitches ride to ride in obscenely small Japanese cars. The characters whom we generally only get one shot of are rife with personality despite their few differentiating characteristics. They live in two extremes—stoic or over-ecstatic, two opposing forces which help to define the book itself as Will questions whether or not the Japanese people are generally insecure or arrogant. According to Will, in Japan, everything is a contradiction, and this only helps to define the world he’s travelling through—one that laments its war-time losses but continues to drastically Americanize. Even the cherry blossoms themselves, appearing for only a small time and then vanishing for the rest of the year but consistently celebrated annually for a lifetime are a contradiction in themselves. Which brings us to this book’s greatest strength.

Themes are where Will hits his stride. The book has numerous themes, each a part of what Will learns as he travels throughout the vast Japanese nation. Whether it’s about contradictions, Japan’s semi-transparent personalities, or what Will learns on his journey, old thoughts return again as the stories progress. Almost as a means of compensating for characters never returning throughout the memoir, Will brings themes that represent some characters back to represent other characters. It is his way of keeping the audience interested and attaching them to people whom they just met as the book progresses. These themes also have their own specific climaxes which are tied up in very heartfelt, powerful moments. At least twice while reading this book, I nearly cried—my word to God. By drawing us to specific themes and then exposing us to their true nature, unveiling them in all their heart-string-pulling-essence, he drowns us in a sea of emotion, caught between two contradictions and a reality that the next destination is only the end of something else beautiful.

In addition to being evocative and thematic, Will throws in some informative bits here and there. In deep detail, he describes the histories of Shinto and Buddhist temples, the architectural origins of various castles throughout Japan, and other people to have written about Japan (including James Clavell, author of Shogun), in addition to numerous other tidbits of modern distinctions. Keep in mind, in 2013, most of these are probably quite dated since the book was first published in 1998. Still, for anyone looking to an introduction to visiting or living in Japan, this book has the meat-and-potatoes that are still likely to be driving forces in the Japanese point-of-view of Americans (Well, assuming Bush didn’t make it that much worse.)

Hokkaido Highway Blues isn’t all tear-jerking moments and complicated feelings though—its deeply rooted in its humor. No matter how bad shit gets, Will can still make a joke about it and keep us pushing forward, making those moving moments that much more emotional and allowing us to recover when themes follow us back and bite us on the ass. Upon picking up a book like this, one would expect the humor to be mildly childish, but Will pulls no punches. He curses as often as he drinks and his humor is rife with offense, including stereotypes of Americans, Koreans, Canadians, and, of course, Japanese. This humor, while not necessarily for the overly sensitive, is phrased in a generalizing way even though Will dismisses generalizations as being contradictory in themselves, and to that extent, he demeans himself more than anyone, both in the admissions of his own contradictions and through the way he believes he’s perceived by others. Still, when a little kid punches him in the stomach and he says, “I’ll kill you, you little shit,” you can’t help but laugh.

Overall, the book didn’t start off with a lot of high expectations but it quickly became something I looked forward to reading more of. However, I can’t give it a perfect rating because I was terribly unsatisfied at the end, wishing for just a little more to cherish with the expectations he raised with the quality of his work. I had to do my own research to find out which character from the book Will eventually marries in real life, and I’ll be honest, I was kind of surprised. If you’re looking for good nonfiction, something informative, funny, and meaningful, I don’t know why you haven’t picked this book up yet. Nor do I know why he changed the title of the book: after all, this is not a story about celebrating the cherry blossom front—this is one of a man walking the road alone, whistling the blues. (less)

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Apr 09, 2009 Libby rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: japan, travel, social-commentary

I absolutely adored this book. It has hitched its way into my Top 5 Books of the Year and Top 10 Fave books on Japan.

The main thing I enjoyed was Wil Ferguson's writing style. He has this fantastic ability to be poetic in one paragraph:

I think I caught Niigata on a bad day. Everything looked sullen and solied and worn out. Even the cities smokestacks, painted in stripes like candy canes, emerged from the industrial haze like sooty sweets dug out from under a sofa cushion.

and hilariously profane...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Tony Maxwell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Travel Writing At Its Best!

Hitching Rides With Buddha is an insightful, and at times hilarious account of Will Ferguson's journey hitchhiking the length of Japan.

While in Japan teaching English to students, he decides to follow the cherry blossoms as they come into bloom from Cape Sato on the southern island of Kyushu to Cape Soya on the northernmost island of Hokkaido. His travels, punctuated with boozy encounters with "salarymen" out for a good time, throws some light on the differences betwee...more

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Oct 20, 2009 emi Bevacqua rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel, asia, humor

Will Ferguson is a hilarious Canadian writer, he chronicles his historic journey across Japan from end to end, hitch hiking. (The version I read was titled Hitching Rides With Buddha). Everything he writes about is hilarious: teaching English, getting drunk, striking out with the ladies, Japlish, etc.

Ferguson has a gift for presenting all aspects of Japanese history (religion, war, diplomacy, merchandising and much more) in a completely relatable, wholly interesting and understandable way. His...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Renato rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ferguson take us to an unique travel across Japan from the Sata to Soyo. I enjoyed a lot this book, especially because I read while I am in Japan for a short stay. Definitely I agree with him about many aspects of the country, history and people. Have I lived in Japan in the past, it is nice to read a foreign (gaikokujin) view about this unique country (in good and bad sense). I also laugh a lot in so many parts that make almost impossible to mention a favorite one. The only drawback, if I may s...more

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Jun 15, 2011 Mystique rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

This man can do me no wrong with this book, I got a few others hooked on it as well, his stories of his journey from south to north Japan by hitchhiking only to chase the sakura front are laced with wit and sarcasm that could easily but some Brits to shame :p

Ironically I read this book when I was travelling across West Japan and Shikoku from Tokyo, which proved to be a hidden bonus as I decided to retrace some of his steps from his book while I was reading and laughing like an idiot on the train...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Danielle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If one day I were to become a famous and celebrated writer, I should be very flattered to have someone observe, “Her writing is very similar in style and substance to that of Will Ferguson.” I love his keen eye for the quirkiness of those around him, I love his barely subdued wit and his gentle self-deprecation, and I simply I love how he strings words together.

It was these qualities that made me pick up this book in the first place because to be totally honest – I wasn’t all that interested in...more

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Dec 07, 2011 Jeane rated it 4 of 5 stars

*IF YOU LIVE OR EVER HAVE LIVED IN JAPAN YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!*
Finally done! I have been reading this book since August! The reason it took so long? Well mostly personal life stuff, the other reason though is that it was too freaking long! But I loved it anyway, but seriously too long. And you know what? I read the second, edited, and condensed version! But regardless of this book being too long it was just priceless for any ex-pat who is either living in Japan or has lived in Japan. It was h...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: wishlist

There's no denying that Will Ferguson is a talented writer; however he spends entirely too much time complaining about being treated as a gaijin when he behaves exactly like one, and - get this shocking piece of news - he is one. He is astute enough to realize that his issue with Japan is that as a Westerner, he wants to have the privilege of being welcomed into Japanese society, and have the luxury of being able to reject it. Unfortunately, it is the other way around: he is welcomed into Japane...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: japan

Although at first the author's tone was a little galling, you soon learn that Will Ferguson is not quite so much the unconcerned egoist as he would like to appear. Or at least, he is able to point out, and make fun of, his own personality and self-interest in a way that endears him to the reader. This honest self-appraisal also allows him to point out and make fun of the qualities of the Japanese people and their way of life with abandon. The book becomes not so much about Japan (although as a c...more

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Apr 20, 2011 vania rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

se ne parlava (recensione conversazione)

R.: e tu li lasci i libri?
v.: sì, all'occorrenza.
anzi spessissimo
R: per esempio che hai lasciato ultimamente?
v.: per esempio sto lasciando il libro sul Giappone
non che non sia bello
ma è troppo ad episodi
e mi stufa
R.: che libro sul Giappone?
v.: Autostop con Buddha
R.: mai sentito
v.: la sto ... (continua)

R.: e tu li lasci i libri?
v.: sì, all'occorrenza.
anzi spessissimo
R: per esempio che hai lasciato ultimamente?
v.: per esempio sto lasciando il libro sul Giapp...more

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Sep 29, 2010 Linda C. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hitching Rides With Buddha is a delightful travelogue through Japan. While living and working in Japan, the author decided to hitchhike from one end of the country to the other following the cherry blossoms as he traveled. He made a solemn pledge to only hitchhike except of course, when he needed to take the ferry from one island to the next. Every now and then however, two gorgeous Japanese girls in short, tight leather skirts driving a red corvette would stop to pick him up when rides were sli...more

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Jul 04, 2009 Hollowspine rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is the answer I needed all those years in Japanese class when my fellow students seemed to idolize the Japanese as if they were some sort of super race that could do no wrong and had invented everything that was cool. This book shows what a gaijin would face during their time in Japan. Like Will Ferguson they would have their share of adventures and meetings with really nice, helpful people and then they would have those times when they just wished they weren't treated as entertainment...more

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Dec 27, 2008 Trin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel, canadian-lit

Like Ferguson’s Beauty Tips From Moose Jaw, this is another wonderful travel narrative, full of vivid descriptions, fascinating conversations with ordinary people, and lots of humor. After teaching English in Japan for several years, Ferguson decides, almost on a whim, to follow the cherry blossom front—they sweep up the country, coming alive and blooming from the south to the north—hitchhiking the whole way. One of the best things about this book is how willing Ferguson is to immerse himself i...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Kristen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Absolutely loved this book! Having lived in Japan for a year with my husband, I loved the shared, collective experience of being a "gaijin" in Japan. I'm not sure whether it is due to the culture being so homogeneous, or foreigners being the same, but I'd had several identical experiences--even conversations--as Will Ferguson. I laughed my way through the book, and read almost half of it out loud to my husband. If you want an interesting, hilarious, insightful, informative, and peek into Japanes...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Lynda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had hoped to finish this book long before our trip to Japan to see the Sakura (cherry blossoms) but didn't get it done until after. It was fun reading it while actually seeing cherry blossoms in Kyoto and it really helped me understand some things about the Japanese people and their religious beliefs (especially Shinto) and their history. It was entertaining and enlightening and told with Ferguson's trademark wit and self deprecation.

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Oct 05, 2011 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: travel

A guy hitch hiking across Japan from bottom to top and his adventures. I think I would have liked this book more if I had been to Japan, but having never been I couldn't relate too much to it. There were plenty of maps at the start of the book and at the start of each section which was greatly appreciated as I can picture it slightly better. The names of the people and the towns didn't mean anything to me as they all sounded the same, but even worse then usual. This was before "technology" which...more

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May 02, 2011 La Stamberga dei Lettori rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sakura87

Giappone, Giappone... tanto amato quanto malvisto, tanto idealizzato quanto pregiudicato.
Il diario di viaggio di un canadese nel Sol Levante è un facile specchietto per le allodole (i nippofili), decisamente facili all'entusiasmo specialmente, si sa, quando ci sono di mezzo i sakura, ormai divenuti simbolo di quanto di poetico il Giappone possiede. Il pericolo di una simile lettura è quello di ritrovarsi a leggere tutti i peggiori stereotipi cogitabili: nipponici poetici, ordinati, cortesi, rise...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Alessandro Melillo added it · review of another edition

Will Ferguson e' esattamente quello che ci si aspetterebbe da un canadese che viaggia in Giappone: un grosso orso pieno di ironia e amante della birra che si trova alle prese con un popolo di incredibili quanto amabili psicopatici. Chi ama il Giappone ma non ha mai approfondito restera' piacevolmente sorpreso, e magari rivedra' alcune idee per accoglierne di nuove.
Quello che e' certo, e' che fa venir voglia di partire o perlomeno ci si chiede come mai passati i trent'anni si comincia a non trova...more

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Feb 14, 2011 Melanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the funniest books I've read in a long time, and probably the best one so far this year. Frequent spelling and grammatical errors, but enjoyable all the same. I have to admire Ferguson for being so open about his failings as a human being. Admittedly, his attitude at times made me want to kill him, but I had to admire his tenacity (and his tendency to act like a complete douche at times usually made me hysterical with laughter despite the usually cringe-inducing scenarios - "Chernobyl!")....more

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About Will Ferguson

Will Ferguson (born William Stener Ferguson) is a Canadian writer and novelist who is best known for his humorous observations on Canadian history and culture. His success as a writer can be attributed to an innate ability to view Canada much the same way an outsider would, as described in his debut book, the ironically named Why I Hate Canadians. Ferguson talks about this in a recent CBC radio in...more Will Ferguson (born William Stener Ferguson) is a Canadian writer and novelist who is best known for his humorous observations on Canadian history and culture. His success as a writer can be attributed to an innate ability to view Canada much the same way an outsider would, as described in his debut book, the ironically named Why I Hate Canadians. Ferguson talks about this in a recent CBC radio interview as well. Ferguson was born fourth of six children in the former trading post of Fort Vermilion, Alberta, approximately 800 km north of Edmonton. His parents split up when he was 6 during a brief interlude in Regina. At the age of 16 he quit school and moved to Saskatoon, Dauphin, and Red Deer. He then joined the Canadian government funded programs Katimavik and Canada World Youth. He studied film production and screenwriting at York University in Toronto graduating with a B.F.A. in 1990.

Ferguson joined the JET Programme in the early 1990s and lived in Kyushu, Japan, for five years teaching English. He married his wife Terumi in Kumamoto, Japan, in 1995. After coming back from Japan he experienced a severe reverse culture shock, which became the basis for his first book Why I Hate Canadians. He details his experiences hitchhiking across Japan in Hokkaido Highway Blues, later retitled Hitching Rides with Buddha.

Ferguson has won the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour twice, for Generica (later renamed Happiness) in 2002 and Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw in 2005.

He currently resides in Calgary, Alberta, with his wife and two sons. His older brother, Ian Ferguson, also won the Stephen Leacock Medal, for Village of the Small Houses.

Ferguson is also an outspoken critic of the monarchy of Canada, both publicly and in his books. He is often quoted in the media when the monarchy issue is being debated, particularly from his 1997 book Why I Hate Canadians, in which he says "Royalty exists only through an act of willful ignorance on the part of their subjects. Call it a suspension of common sense." He contrasts this with profiles of Canadian secessionist and independence movements (such as the "Republic of Madawaska") in his book Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw (2004).(less)

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Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw: Travels in Search of Canada

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Trivia About Hokkaido Highway ...

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Quotes from Hokkaido Highway Blues

“...when you are constantly prevailing upon the kindness of strangers-as a hitchhiker must-it keeps you in a positive frame of mind. Call it Zen and the Art of Hitchhiking. The Way of the Lift. The chrysanthemum and the Thumb. Heady on beer and the sound of my own voice, the aphorisms spilled out unchecked.” — 2 people liked it

“Deferring judgement to a later date resolves nothing and all you are left with is a box of jumbled slides and a collection of knick-knacks and odds and ends. Here a face. There a sunset.” — 1 person liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37438.Hokkaido_Highway_Blues?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347801602l/37438.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37438.Hokkaido_Highway_Blues?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Hokkaido Highway Blues by Will Ferguson[/url]

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