1 comments about Foot-Loose in Tokyo: The Curious Traveler's Guide to the 29 Stages of the Yamanote Line (Exploring Japan Series).

1. The Yamanote is the circle line of Tokyo's rail system. And from Jean Pearce's perspective, the line's 29 stations add up to a perfect tour of this marvelous underrated city.

   Pearce, for 42 years a columnist for the English-language Japan Times, is the ideal guide for the tour. Her sharp eye misses few details, and her delightful style conveys her deep love for the city, its neighborhoods and its people.

   Each chapter describes a walking tour of the area around the station, with a mix of historical background and current details. The chapter on Akihabara, Tokyo's electronics district, pays due mention to the area's famous hi-fi and TV purveyors, but wanders on, as you might, to the neighborhood shrines, and then on to neighboring bookshops and an Russian Orthodox church.

   The book is long out of print, and it's possible that some of the shops described are no longer there--though in fast-changing Japan, it's always surprising what survives. But even after so many years, there's still no better armchair tour of Tokyo available, and when you do visit you'll no doubt be able to find the Tokyo that Pearce saw.

No comments about Japan: A Traveler's Literary Companion.

2 comments about Seeing Tokyo.

1. Trying to capture the spirit of Tokyo is a complicated venture. As the author admits in her introduction, there is no "One Tokyo," no single character or landmark that unites the sprawling capital. A huge mess of cities-within-a-city, Tokyo can only be seen by the parts that make up the whole.
   
   In "Seeing Tokyo," Kaori Shoji has attempted to map and present the faces of the city, the old and the new, the various districts and their flavors. Landmarks such as the giant red lantern of Asakusa and the metal spider of Roppongi are beautifully displayed. The magnificent shopping districts of Shibuya and Ginza have rarely looked better. A peak inside Kanetanaka, perhaps Japan's most famous and expensive restaurant, shows something that most of us will never get to see in real life.
   
   However, these are only buildings and places. What's missing from "Seeing Tokyo" is people, and Tokyo is all about people. All of these photographs seem false and misleading, due to the lack of human presence. I was shocked to see a picture of the Shibuya crosswalk, one of the world's busiest, almost completely unoccupied! There are a few shots, such as Ueno park during Sakura season, that give the true flavor, but the constant human presence is not captured, sacrificed for a more aesthetic viewpoint.
   
   So while beautiful and enticing, this is not Tokyo. It is a beautiful photography book, and can be appreciated for that. However, it is a tourist's pamphlet's view, far removed from the real wonders of one of the world's most interesting cities.



2. According to my Japanese Literature Professor at Sophia University, Professor James Shields (back in the day), Tokyo was originally designed as an incomprehensible maze resistant to foreign invasion, thus the city was riddled with dead ends and detours making it impossible to march directly to the city center. Kyoto, he would point out, on the other hand, was designed according to Chinese Geomantic principals and was laid out in a grid-like sensible fashon. There lied the difference, he would say. Chaos versus Cosmic Order.
   I was a reporter, in another life for the Yomiuri Shinbun, from 1993 to the end of 2005, the last two 1/2 years spent covering the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, specifically vice, drugs and organized crime. I spent most of 1999 and 2000, covering the fourth district, where the seedy Kabukicho is located as well. I've had the mis(pleasure) of crawling through the dregs of Tokyo while passing through the worlds of luxury and excess. I generally don't like picture books but this one does a fine job of showing you all aspects of Tokyo. Kaori Shoji writes eloquently about the city and she's amazingly familiar with some aspects that escape most foreigners and many Japanese as well. Whether you've been to Tokyo and want to relive it or have never been want to get a preview of the city, you could not go wrong by buying this book. I would have liked to have seen more of the seemy side of the city in the book but then again my vision of the city is slightly askewed and depraved. The city looks very different in daylight.
   --Jake Adelstein, ex-reporter/Japanese UE researcher

1 comments about Getting Wet: Adventures in the Japanese Bath.

1. If you plan on going to Japan or have ever been their, this is the book for you. It explains the culture of the japan bath , which is very important to the japanese and will give you a better understanding of their lifestyle ..It also list many bathhouse including the one in tokyo , that is like disey world. a fun place to go...

5 comments about The Japanese.

1. I found Jack Seward's book valuable for the amount of interesting insights it contained, but I think that many of his views and assessments are outdated. In addition, he occasionally gets sidetracked by passionate feelings on certain subjects (America's high crime rate, prejudice against biracial children). These long monologues are extremely angry and at times offensive (Seward claims that crime is an activity engaged in primarily by 'Negroes' and that those who would rehabilitate criminals are 'bleeding hearts'), and I felt that they detracted from the book's credibility. I think Seward's book might have been revolutionary when it was first published, but I didn't find it very helpful in the year 2000.



2. I have read a lot of books on Japanese society and culture and this was one of the most interesting and entertaining. The author lived in Japan for many years, is fluent in Japanese and has operated as an active participant in the Japanese culture. So while gaijin will always be on the outside looking in to some extent, this author got a whole lot closer than most. The tone of the book is informal and occasionally irreverent (laughed out loud on several occasions). The author went more in depth in explaining some issues than I have seen in other works. The previous reviewer's comments are unfounded in my opinion, as the angry tone and the alleged comments about crime and punishment were not in the book (at least the edition I read). The author does make some critical comments about Japanese culture, but overall is very sympathetic and positive toward the Japanese. Perhaps this reflects the fact that the book was written at a time when people were more realistic about cultural differences -- good and bad -- and felt more comfortable candidly talking about them. Overall, this is a very good introduction for beginners, or follow on book for aficianados of Japanese culture.



3. Jack Seward covers the spectrum of Japanese Life and Thought in his book 'The Japanese: The often Misunderstood, Sometimes Surprising, and Always Fascinating Culture and Lifestyles of Japan. With a jaunty air he covers the need for hot springs and communal baths, matters sexual, crime and punishments and the colourful ways you can leave this world by disembowelment. He also looks at the humor in mis-translation and the Japanese thought on our miscreant Western ways.
   Its a good read and a must for anybody visiting Japan or a hard core arm chair traveller.



4. I picked this up at random from a public library; parts of it are interesting and entertaining even though some of the information is probably outdated by now (The brief section on "engrish" is still good for some laughs even in an age where humorous butchery of language is readily available on the Internet).
   
   Also, when I got to the chapter where the author compares crime in Japan and America, I was a little surprised that he came across as ultra right-wing (which I can tolerate in small doses) and a little bit racist (he seems to come dangerously close to arguing that Japan doesn't have as much crime because they don't have black people), and I was so irritated that I nearly quit reading.
   
   In addition, I think that any really good book on Japanese culture needs to briefly explore Japanese pop culture (even if it only amounts to a brief chapter on anime/manga or Godzilla movies), and you don't get much of that here.
   
   Overall, not a terrible book, but there are probably better choices out there if you want to learn more about Japan.



5. The author seems to have taken a slip-shod approach to some subjects. Certain areas of the work clearly reveal a lack of research without intellectual curiousity on the part of the author to present a balanced viewpoint. Assertions are made without support or footnotes. Much of the information is dated and does not reflect current conditions in Japanese society. The major crime here is presenting a stereotyped view of a culture which is more complex than the author would have the reader believe.

No comments about Tokyo Style File: A Shopping Guide.

No comments about Moon Living Abroad in Japan (Living Abroad).

1 comments about Me No Speak: Japan.

1. This is a nice little book that you can carry in your pocket. It's smaller than the passport. It has quite a few simple but frequently used sentences/phrases that are very helpful during the trip (like asking directions, buying stuff, etc.) Lots of illustrations with Japanese & English words so you can just find the one and show it to people without having to say a word!
   
   The only drawback is that it didn't show the pronunciation of the Kanjis in the book. It would have been a great help in learning how to pronounce these words in Japanese correctly.

No comments about A Year in Japan.

No comments about The Japan Book: A Comprehensive Pocket Guide.