Help with a sign for hitchhiking in Hokkaido

Hi,

We're going for a month long backpacking trip in Hokkaido, and we'll probably need to hitchhike from time to time. We'd like to let the driver know where we headed and anywhere along the route is fine so we'll make a sign to hold.

So a question for japanese speaking people here:
If we want to write on a sign that we're going in general direction of city/village X
is it correct to write "X 方面" (for example for Abashiri we'll write "網走市 方面")?
Is it helpful/clear for the driver?

Thank you in advance

When hitchhiking you want to keep the sign simple so the drivers can read quickly.
方面 is good if you want to indicate general direction toward X, and it is optional.
Abashiri is 網走 in Japanese; if you add 市 at the end that specifies the city of Abashiri, so that is probably not necessary.

I think you can write it in alphabet (i.e., ABASHIRI) and most people can read it, but you might get extra points for trying to write in Japanese.

Thank you!

You can study kanji on below sites.
http://northern-road.jp/navi/eng/index.htm
http://d-time.hdb.hkd.mlit.go.jp/?lang=en
http://www.visit-hokkaido.jp/area/
http://en.visit-hokkaido.jp/

Also it would be a smart way to remember Japanese to ask the Japanese "write "A" with kanji?"
すみません、ヒッチハイクで旅をしているのですが、「ABASHIRI」と漢字で書いて戴けませんか。
(copy to below then click speaker button, also you can change voice chara, play speed and more)
http://voicetext.jp/
("micro ver." is lighter sound file, but no big difference as quality)
Sumimasen, hitchhike de tabi wo shiteirunodesuga, "ABASHIRI" to Kanji de kaite itadakemasenka?
= Excuse me, I am traveling on a hitchhike, but can you write it with "ABASHIRI" in kanji?

You already studied the word of thank you?