5 comments about 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park.

1. Reviewed by Kelli Glesige for Reader Views (3/06)
   
   Co-author Larry K. Collins was a project engineer assigned to the construction of the amusement park Universal Studios Japan, and Lorna, his wife was in Document Control. For 31 months, Larry and Lorna lived in Japan during the building of Universal Studios Japan, moving to Osaka in August 1998 from their permanent home in Dana Point, California until the park opened on March 31, 2001. "31 Months in Japan" is the story of the culture shocks the Collins encountered, the wonderful friends they made, and the sharing of their many interesting challenges and adventures, beginning with the first obstacle in May 1998 when they learned their building site was contaminated and the subsequent 18 month clean-up.
   
   "31 Months in Japan" will entice those curious about traveling to or possibly living in Japan. The behind the scenes work that goes on during the construction of a theme park is also covered, so if you are enthralled with all the plans that go into building a theme park from the obtaining of the land until the gates are opened to the public, you will be entertained.
   
   The book is written like a journal, Larry writing about his encounters as a project engineer, working on the Jurassic Park and JAWS water rides, along with the Water World show, then Lorna sharing her experiences with obtaining housing, cooking and working in Japan. They cover the gamut in telling us about Japanese fashions, home furnishings, festivals, holidays, weather, roadways, maps, parking, waste removal system, communal bathing, golf, rituals, work ethic, appropriate social behavior, and obtaining and preparing familiar food.
   
   At the beginning of each chapter, a new Japanese word is introduced with its pronunciation and meaning, and we are then told a story of how that Japanese word relates to an encounter shared by the Collins. By the end of the book, we should have a few Japanese words in our memory.
   
   The differences between America and Japan were eye opening. Larry experienced driving with only ½" between his left front tire and a three foot ditch running along the side of the road. When passing another vehicle, Larry relates there would be only a scant 1/4" space between the two vehicles door-to-door. Also, before purchasing a car in Japan, the Collins learned one must first have an assigned place to park it. A final random thought I found interesting was that American pizza in Japan has corn atop, is drizzled with mayonnaise, and has toppings of seafood and seaweed.
   
   The Collins eagerly and enthusiastically share with us their experiences of Japan. They tell us about Jurassic Mark, Raouf Iskander, the Nihon Cowboy, their Japanese "daughter" Yasuko and Jurassic Jack. The Collins came back changed individuals but only for the better. It is obvious of the great love they felt for the many special friendships solidified by their times in Japan. The Collin's book is a tribute to the great number of colorful personalities that came together to make the building of Universal Studios Japan a success!



2. From the very first chapter, "31 Months in Japan : The Building of a Theme Park" by Larry K. and Lorna Collins, immerses the reader in a fascinating discovery of Japanese culture and the ingenious secrets that make the magic of a theme park real. This detailed and personal account of the trials and surprises involved in creating Universal Studios Japan is told in a warm familiar voice that many times had me musing that I would have reacted the same way as the narrators.
   
   The Collins embark on their adventure with enthusiasm and open hearts, and this attitude enables them to make meaningful contact with their Japanese hosts, not just in the workplace where they face the challenges of turning dreams of an exciting theme park into smoothly-functioning reality, but also on the busy and often confusing streets of Osaka. If you wish to experience a view of another culture that goes beyond rapid tourist impressions or the surface veneer of international negotiations, this book is for you.
   
   Another wonderful layer of the book is the intriguing behind-the-scenes perspective of the complicated mechanics that make all the parts of a major theme park mesh together to form a magical world of imagination come to life. I was spellbound by the innovative solutions that the team of engineers used to solve the complex problems involved in making giant mechanical dinosaurs and sharks interact with an artificial landscape and waterscape to produce a living theater capable of thrilling visitors again and again.
   
   By the time you finish "31 Months in Japan" you will know the Collins well, and will appreciate having joined them on their rich journey to Japan and back. The theme park they helped create is a testament to how drawing on the strength and vision of many individuals and even different cultures can take a project to admirable and unexpected heights. I strongly recommend this outstanding book.



3. I was utterly charmed by the experiences related from the viewpoint of the author husband and author wife. Not only were the glimpses of the Japanese culture intriguting and fascinating, but I was also awed by the descriptions of the different places visited by the authors. The insights into the actual building of a theme park in a foreign land kept me turning pages.
   
   Having had the opportunity to see the authors at the recent Epicon made it even more interesting as I could imagine them as I read their words.
   
   This is definitely a book for anyone who likes to read about new places and learn more about a different culture from first hand sources.
   
   Thank you for many pleasant reading hours.
   
   Marilyn Meredith, author of Wingbeat, latest in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series.



4. Genre: Travel
   
   Title: 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park
   
   Author: Larry K. and Lorna Collins
   
   How do you prepare a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in Japan? Every step is a challenge, from procuring the turkey to making the pumpkin pie. But Larry and Lorna Collins of California thrive on such adventures, and they've written an enthralling account of the joys and frustrations of their "31 Months in Japan."
   
   Larry worked as an engineer on a major theme park project in Osaka. He writes about topics such as unexpected engineering challenges involving dinosaurs and sharks, field-testing the park's rides (and restaurants!), surfing Japanese-style, and the bureaucratic hassles of buying a car. Meanwhile Lorna delighted in the people they met, and she writes with warmth and enthusiasm of cross-cultural experiences shared with new friends. She also devotes a chapter to typhoons and another, perhaps even scarier, to driving in Japan.
   
   This is a super book that radiates joie de vivre. You'll be inspired as you read of life-enriching episodes, and a little overwhelmed as you learn about the many small misunderstandings and irritations of expatriate living. At times humorous, surprising, and moving, "31 Months in Japan" is a must-read for all travelers, armchair and otherwise.
   
   
   Highly Recommended by Reviewer: Julie Falkner, Allbooks Reviews.



5. This book accurately captures the experience of the working expat in Japan - coping with culture clashes in the office as well as adjustment pains in a foreign land. Larry and Lorna Collins tell the story of their trip to build Universal Studios Japan - the preparation, the work, the life in Japan and then the return.
   
   As a reader with similar experiences, there were many, "The same thing happened to me" moments as they peeled the onion of Japanese culture, encountering and then digging through stereotypes. The book also provided quite a few "I wish I knew that back then" lessons. The old Japanese hand will also note the odd ironic event here and there, for example, being complimented on using chopsticks is a universal experience.
   
   The mix of good nature and naive wonder experienced by Larry and Lorna come through strong. Perhaps the sincerity is why they made so many connections. Of course the cultural cynic won't be able to finish the book.
   
   Worth the read, and makes me want to return to Japan.

3 comments about Japan.

1. Hiroji Kubota takes the reader on a wonderful visual feast of Japan. His photos cover all aspects of Japanese life, from the very ancient to the very modern. The captions for the photos are at the back with an accompanying black and white print of the photo.
   A beautiful coffee table book.



2. I have sent 7 emials and made 5 phone calls and I still haven't received the book - its a month overdue and every emial I try and send you bounces back - your help page on the website doesnt work with my IE latest version browser - when I click on your customer service page it closes my browser everytime.
   
   You suck - I used amazon several times and there are always problems - I want my money back and go elsewhere



3. These photos cover so many facets of daily life in Japan. I traveled through Japan last year, even visiting a few of the places depicted in the book, and these photos evoked the same kind of emotion I had while being there. From the sumptious food and diverse culture to the juxtaposing of modern and ancient Kubota captures it all. If you love or are fascinated with Japan, then you will not be disappointed with this book.

No comments about A Flower Lover's Guide to Tokyo: 40 Walks for All Seasons.

No comments about Dining Guide to Japan: Find the right restaurant, order the right dish, and pay the right price!.

1 comments about Sacred Koyasan: A Pilgrimage to the Mountain Temple of Saint Kobo Daishi and the Great Sun Buddha.

1. Okay, just to put all the cards on the table, I was already predisposed in this book's favor at first sight. Shingon Buddhism and its founder, Kukai (Kobo Daishi), sparked my intense fascination all those years ago when I first started acquainting myself with Japan and Japanese Buddhism and has remained a persistent if sometimes understated obsession ever since. And my visits to Shingon's mountain headquarters, the extensive temple complex up on Koyasan, remain one of my fondest memories of the 1990's. So, yes, I was thrilled to see a substantial book-length study of Koyasan finally come out in English. And given Koyasan's immense importance as a religious site, about time too!
   
   Given all that, the book still exceeded my expectations and is probably one of the most thoroughly enjoyable as well as brass-tacks informative books I've read in quite a while. The style is deceptively informal and colloquial, even a bit cheesy now and then, but a veritable mountain of painstakingly thorough research and years of firsthand experience have been weaved into this narrative with a deeply serious enthusiasm that only comes from true labors of love. All of which trumps the fact that, in a way, this is not a specialized work of groundbreaking original scholarship in the sense that something new has been translated and/or analyzed in expert's jargon. Rather it is a superb synthesis of such studies skillfully and accessibly unpacked while informed by a keen observational eye--all rendered in the engaging format of a kind of personally meaningful travelogue.
   
   Indeed, a vividly concrete account of getting to and leaving Koyasan frames the main body of the work, the latter of which comes alive with detailed descriptions of the main buildings of this extensive temple complex--what they're like, what they contain, what goes on there, their place in the overall institutional framework, and such--AND the temple town and its many old and quirky shops (including a venerably vintage sake shop) as well as Koyasan's many and varied ritual and festival cycles all taking place at these many locations. Coupled with this and giving it depth is a highly reliable retelling of the life and thought of the man who established Koyasan in the 800's, Kukai (Kobo Daishi) along with the many legends that grew up around him--and then a fascinating and thorough history of Koyasan starting with Kukai's immediate disciples and following the tale through the ages up until the Meiji persecutions of the late 1800's and on into present times. One also gets a good solid portrait of the average life of a monk at Koyasan from youth to old age, from novice to head of the Shingon order.
   
   A short review such as this actually can't do justice to both the variety and the fine level of detail packed not only in the main narrative but also in the footnotes. Definitely check the latter or you'll be missing out. That said, this is not a travel guide in the sense that you are given info about travel routes and accommodations and such; if you are actually planning to physically visit Koyasan, you will want to consult other sources for that. But for understanding what's actually going on once you get there this book might very well be almost indispensably useful. Anyway, whether you're riding up the cable car starting your own pilgrimage or sitting somewhere on the other side of the world imagining it all, "Sacred Koyasan" is just the thing for getting into the spirit of this holy place at once highly civilized and cozily rustic, quietly austere and exuberantly festive, mystically esoteric and down-home familiar, freshly contemporary and old as the hills.

5 comments about Sake and Satori: Asian Journals -- Japan (Asian Journals).

1. This is the long awaited 2nd part of Joseph Campbell's journals of his trip to the Orient in the Fifties. The first, Baksheesh and Brahman, told of India, and this book tells of other countries but mainly Japan. The book reads like a journal with varied entries about traveling, people and places of interest, etc. The post-war mood is obvious, and the political climate is interesting.
   This book is less naive than the first where JC was disappointed by the spiritual/caste hypocrisy of India, and more insightful of modern Oriental life.



2. ". . . passages convey his appetite for the sights and sounds of Japan. For Campbell, religion was a subset of mythology, and the exposure to Japanese Buddhism was important to the next leg of his journey as a scholar. "Sake & Satori" is a glimpse of a supple mind, mid-career."
   - Shambala Sun Magazine



3. Sake & Santori is the fifth volume in a series of collected works of philosopher/spiritualist Joseph Campbell and focuses upon his cultural and spiritual interactions with Japan during his 1950s Asian journey. The changing social and political world of Japan come to life in a a set of entries relating Campbell's discourses with Japanese from all walks of life.



4. "Sake and Satori: Asian Journals, Japan" is a travel journal, containing Joseph Campbell's musings and reflections during his 1950s Asian journey through Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Taiwan, Thailand and mostly Japan. The Japanese journey takes up around 75% of the book.
   
   During his Japanese stay, encompassing several months, Campbell was taken around Japan by a variety of people, from American Buddhists to Japanese Professors. He saw many of the major sights of Japanese religion, in areas such as Tokyo, Nara and Kyoto. He was shown Japanese traditional arts such as Noh and Kabuki theatre, as well as hostess bars and houses of prostitution. Along with this are intricate discussions on Buddhism in Japan with local experts, and a mental ordering of ideas that was later to become "The Masks of God."
   
   Frankly, the book is not as interesting as I was hoping. I wanted to peek into Campbell's mind, and hear his reflections on Japanese culture and religion. I wanted insights and personal thoughts about the temples and monuments of Japan that he was seeing, such as the Great Buddha of Nara. Instead, more attention is paid in the journal to which restaurants he went to that day, and how he is progressing with his Japanese language studies, and what old friends he met that day and such. He goes to restaurants and studies Japanese more than anything else, but even with these there is little insight, and mostly statements of facts.
   
   A standard entry is along the lines of "Tuesday: Had breakfast at cute old inn. Very delicious. Was taken to see Great Buddha at Todaiji in Nara in the afternoon. Came back to Kyoto for dinner, a nice Indian restaurant. In the evening, wrote letters to Jean, and studied Japanese. I think I am getting the hang of it!"
   
   There is much more insight and process of Indian culture than Japanese, and Campbell is clearly still bitter about his journey to India. There are many comparisons of Indian and other Asian cultures, reflecting how they got it "right" and Indian culture is stuck in a quagmire. Reading the first volume of the Asian Journals will help put all of this into perspective.
   
   There is some good stuff here, and it is an interesting read, but it is probably more for those interested in Campbell as a person than those hoping for unique insights into Japan and Japanese culture. In one passage, Campbell wonders if he has not perhaps wasted his trip to Japan by spending long hours studying Japanese language rather than experiencing the country. I could not help but think the same thing.



5. [Review written Aug 2004]
   
   This review covers "Sake & Satori", which is part 2 (of 2) of a real-life journey around the world undertaken by Joseph Campbell. "Baksheesh & Brahman" (part 1 of 2) covers the first half of his adventure.
   
   Allow me to backpedal a bit, because, as with nearly all of Dr. Campbell's works, a bit of background information and explanation is required in order to put things in their proper perspective.
   
   Back in 1955, Dr. Campbell was a senior professor in the literature department of Sarah Lawrence College in the USA, where he taught classes in medieval literature and comparative religion. He was also a master of languages (speaking more than 12 at the time, and later many more), a recognized authority on art history, and already fast becoming a highly sought after authority and lecturer in a wide range of fields in various academic circles. He was one of those rare and blazingly bright intellects that people just seemed to LOVE to gravitate to and hover around, like moths to an open flame. Even after his death in 1987, people continue to be fired by his brilliant and far-reaching works ... even though much of it was unfinished at the time of his death and is only just now being released posthumously (as this book was).
   
   In any case, in 1955 he received a very generous travel grant from the Bollingen Foundation that enabled him to take a 1 year hiatus from his teaching duties, and literally travel around the world. During those travels, he kept a daily personal journal of his adventures, including his day to day experiences, meetings & conversations (both chance, social, and professional), thoughts and insights, and even his plans for the future.
   
   That journal formed the source material for 2 books (published posthumously):
   
   * "Baksheesh & Brahman: Asian Journals - India (part 1 of 2)
   * "Sake & Satori: Asian Journals - Japan" (part 2 of 2) <-- YOU ARE HERE
   
   This book (Sake & Satori) offers a rare glimpse into the day to day experiences of a brilliant, driven, and deeply curious people-loving scholar on a grand journey comparable to Heinlein's `Stranger in a Strange Land" ... wherein the author TOTALLY immerses himself in each new country's culture - their social manners, art, music, religion, and language. He worked every day, tirelessly, from dawn until bedtime, touring, discussing, and studying ... determined to wring as much as he possibly could (in the time allowed) from this grand, once in a lifetime, opportunity. His sheer industriousness boggles the mind.
   
   A typical day might include:
   * Breakfast with friend/scholar/acquaintance X,
   * A field trip to a local place of interest - such as a museum, temple, an important cultural event, or to meet a scholarly V.I.P.
   * Language classes in the native tongue, followed by several more hours of intensive self study, followed by bringing his journal up to date for the previous day's adventures & observations.
   * A long brisk walk, meeting people and seeing the sights to be seen.
   * Dinner and long discussions with friend/scholar/acquaintance Y & Z.
   * Arranging logistics for the next day's travels.
   
   In any case, part 2 (Sake & Satori) picks up his journey (already in progress) on March 4th, 1955. The author had just concluded the first 6 months of his trip exploring India ... his journeys there having been something of an informal capstone to a 13 year side project in which he'd selflessly organized and posthumously published** the papers of one of his mentors: renowned Indologist Dr. Heinrich Zimmer ...
   
   >> "Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization
   >> The Philosophies of India
   >> The King and the Corpse
   
   **{1st ASIDE: it was a bit of an odd experience reading the posthumously published observations (of someone whom I consider to be a personal mentor) who, in turn, pauses to reflect (in the middle of their own account) about having posthumously published the observations of their own mentor in turn ... yeah, turn that one around in your head a few times - you really gain an appreciation about how people's lives ripple through time, reflecting and harmonizing with still more waves that came before us and which always come after we ourselves eventually fade away)
   
   The first 28 days of this book cover his touring of Ceylon, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Hong Kong, and Formosa (Taiwan), where he spends roughly 4-5 days in each country. That first month was very rough for him, because he was deeply unsettled by his experiences in India (I'll write about that in a separate forthcoming review for part 1 of this series).
   
   Then we move on to the meat of the book when he finally reaches Japan, where he spends the next 5 months completely immersing himself in the language, culture, religion (Buddhism & Shinto), academic politics, and art of the land - which, at the time, was still under post WWII American occupation**.
   
   **{2nd ASIDE: yet another odd experience, giving our current (as of this writing) deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan - the tension between rightwing conservatives and the leftwing liberal/communists back in Campbell's day is just as stark as it is now ... very interesting. Equally odd is how starkly all of the America bashing in the current liberal-leaning media stands in stark contrast to the decidedly more restrained America bashing that happened in Campbell's post-WWII day. Back then, we really were the powerhouse of the world ... we were using our booming economy to basically rebuild all of Europe and Japan, and it was largely just Russia, India, and China that distrusted and disliked us (largely because they had different political ideologies and/or they were economic have-nots). Everyone else pretty much liked (or at worst, merely tolerated) us. All of the major nations were either on the American "Marshall Plan" dole, or they were trying to figure out how they could mug us and/or pick our pockets.}
   
   To conclude - reading this book is a truly heady experience, both culturally, and historically, and the author's sheer tirelessness and brilliance left me feeling not only inspired and amazed, but also strangely diminished ... this was a man whose passage through life and distant lands created a huge academic bow wave whose ripples are still being felt today, years after his death.
   
   Part of the essential experience of reading one of Campbell's works is the feeling of being swept up, carried along in the rolling waves of his insights and musings, and then afterwards being left bobbing in his wake to ponder and reflect where the experience has carried you, and how your own perspectives have evolved as a result.
   
   I enjoyed this book immensely.
   
   ----------
   [Addendum]
   
   Another thing that I appreciated about this book, which is often present in many of campbell's books, are the meticulous, extensive, and very helpful appendices, footnotes, endnotes, glossary, and index. The editors did a great job in supplying that information ... it's a true labor of love.
   
   It's great to be able to open a page at random, encounter a cryptic reference, and then look up the helpful footnote to see it properly explained, along with providing a cross-reference to one of campbell's other works that explores the topic more fully. It's also neat seeing campbell's thoughts for future works and lectures footnoted as well - with info on whether or not he eventually acted on those plans in the ensuing decades of his career (in most cases, he did).

4 comments about Unbeaten Tracks in Japan: An Account of Travels in the Interior Including Visits to the Aborigines of Yezo and the Shrine of Nikko (Stone Bridge Classics).

1. This book is actually a series of letters written in the 1870's by Isabella Bird, an intrepid Scotswoman,to her sister. Japan had "opened" to the west only some 10 years earlier and she was determined to visit the "untoured" areas of inland Japan, off the beaten track. I wondered to myself how many hordes of Western tourists had there already been to Japan at that time? What makes this book so interesting is twofold. First of all she describes peasant and village life in areas which were quite poor and did not conform to the picture of Japanese life in the cities of Tokyo or Kyoto at that time or now. As was true for Europe at the same period, there were huge differences in the standards of living between the different classes and between town and village. Her descriptions of the Ainu were especially vivid and interesting. The other aspect is Isabella Bird herself. She traveled by pack horse, cow, rickshaw and on foot via mountain tracks and fording countless rivers. She slept in flea infested Ryokan and endured being stared at endlessly. For weeks at a time she could speak only to her servant/interpreter since she did not know Japanese. Recommended for those with an interest in Japan or good travel writing.



2. This is one of the great travel books of all time. First of all it is an adventure. This English woman decided, for some strange reason of health, in 1878 to go to Japan and travel from Tokyo to the island of Hokkaido, roughly 500 miles as the crow flys but much longer by her route. She went "off the beaten track" where Westerners, men or women had never been before. Japan had been opened up to the West only 10 years before her journey. Word of her coming to a village (on horseback) caused such excitement that people that wanted a better view caused the roof of a building to collapse. Changing into night clothes was an ordeal because people would poke holes in the screens to watch her every move. Then there was the bugs and the rain storms and the rivers, etc., etc. It was well written and a joy to read.



3. Bird provides a view of Japan that was unknown to outsiders in that day, and is little known to us today. The scenes she descibes of the interior of Japan would scarecly entice today's traveler; which makes her adventures all the more intriguing. Her extensive knowledge of history and botany enhances the drama; however, had she incuded a glossary of terms, as well as the common names of flora it would have sped my reading as I had to repeatedly refer to dictionaries and botanic references. Her ethnocentrism is revealed as she describes the natives of the area; a pracctice that would be frowned upon today. Never-the-less I look forward to reading more of her works.



4. Isabella Bird was the first Western white woman to visit the more remote regions of Japan. She did so - as usual, in her travels - with merely a local guide and appropriate travel/camping gear. Her writings offer a fascinating glimpse into local life in Japan in the mid-late 1800s. She was an intrepid traveler, an astute observer of the human and the cultural, and very much a woman of her era - although open-minded for her times, many of her cultural assumptions and societal standards come through between the lines. But it is an altogether delightful read. This and her other books are compilations of letters she wrote home to her sister, who was also her very good friend: reading this, you can "be there" with her on her travels, just as she must have intended her sister to be. Highly recommended for anyone interested in a close look at a foreign culture, in Japan, and/or in great travel writing.

3 comments about Japan.

1. This is another fine offering from the good people at Nazraeli... Makers of EXTRAORDINARILY beautiful limited edition art books, and this one is NO exception.
   
   Housed in a gorgeous black silk covered folding case, the red silk cloth cover of the book just visually stuns when the covers (three panels) are opened. The cover panels wrap around the book and fasten shut with ivory-colored japanese bookbinding clasps.
   
   A beautiful gift!
   
   The photos are stunning, printed with utmost care at exact size with light spot-varnishing on the images so that they pop off of the paper. The subject matter here is landscapes in Japan, sometimes very minimal and always meditative.
   
   Get it while you can. Give it as a gift. Buy it for yourself and just look at it every few days... You will love it.



2. Artist Book and Exhibition Monograph. Collection of photographs on subject. Possibly the photographer's single most beautiful book. The true first. Precedes all other editions. One of the most exquisite productions ever made by Michael Kenna, Chris Pichler, and Nazraeli Press: Oversize-volume format. A large book in square shape. Red silk cloth boards wrapped in handsome black silk folding slipcase in the Japanese style, with white toggles at the ends. Photographs by Michael Kenna. Text in Japanese and English by Kotaro Iizawa. Printed in Tokyo, Japan to the very highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Published on the occasion of a series of exhibitions in the United States and Japan. "Michael Kenna's photographs have long inspired words such as 'mysterious', 'elegant' and 'hauntingly beautiful', adjectives that likewise describe the Japanese landscape. These photographs are the result of an ideal pairing of artist and subject. Kenna has had a large following in Japan ever since his first exhibition there in 1987. His many subsequent exhibitions and publications in Japan have provided him with ample opportunities to visit and photograph. During the past several years, as this project began to take shape, Kenna's trips became more frequent and intense. The resulting images are stunning" (Publisher's blurb). "He has been reflective when others have been militant, romantic when others have been skeptical. Such isolation can starve all but the most independent of talents, but for these it can provide a sanctuary where visions can develop undisturbed. Kenna is one of these" (The Times of London). Michael Kenna's best book thus far. © 2006, ModernRare.com



3. Michael Kenna never fails to delight his audience. The exquisite presentation of this book both represents and reinforces his Occidental sensibilities demonstrated in his prints. Other reviewers have done an excellent job of describing the above. The photographs, as usual, are given the respect they deserve by the book's designer and the outstanding printing. I do not understand what is missing but the body of work is not consistently satisfying as I have come to expect using Mr. Kenna's high standards. Since I have not seen any of these prints themselves, I simply sense that somethings are missing in some of the reproductions.
   
   It is likely that the nuances found in this particular book's original prints simply cannot all be equally translated successfully in offset printing. Continuous tone images on fiber paper are not the same experience or consist of the same material as their reminders. Nazraeli prints all of his books expertly. However, nothing can replace the original photographs and I suspect any limitations come from the medium itself. Mr. Kenna's work is very challenging and even the originals benefit from viewing under appropriate lighting conditions.
   
   Nonetheless, falling short of perfection does not mean falling short of excellence. It is still stunning and it will probably become one of those valuable favorites cherished among collectors.

5 comments about Wicked Japanese For The Business Traveler.

1. if you become annoyed with your Japanese hosts and need a witty comeback, this book is for you. Learn how to yell insults at baseball games, for example "Hey, little fella, stand up!"



2. This book had its moments, but it's certainly not to be taken seriously as phrasebook. Chockful of American stereotypes of Japan, most of the phrases, while actually Japanese, I can't imagine actually being used in real situations.

   Well, maybe the phrases to use if you're a female being groped on a train ("Arrest this pervert!").




3. As the previous reviewer indicated, this book is not a serious study of the Japanese language, and yes, it is full of stereotypes. But Howard Tomb's take on Japanese society is often hilarious! The book is especially funny for those foreigners who have lived or stayed in Japan for an extended period of time, although that is not a prerequisite to understand the humor.

   Tomb divides the book into different situations with explanations and a number of phrases for each. The phrases start out innocently enough, but get progressively outlandish and funny. For example, in the section for "Life in a Japanese Firm" you will note phrases with Japanese translations like:

   "I will always agree with my superiors, even when they are totally wrong" or

   "My dream is to be a tiny cog in a huge and honorable machine"

   I had a friend who actually tried to use these phrases in Japanese while working for a Japanese company, but no-one understood the sarcasm (everyone took his statements seriously!). In short, the book is often hilarious in English, but not necessarily so in Japanese.

   Wicked Japanese is definately worth the [money] for the laughs that it generates, but be careful if you actually decide to use it.




4. This book is definitely not politically correct, but if sarcastic, biting humor is your thing, this one will have you rolling. As other reviewers have stated, the humor in this book is often lost on Japanese people, but if you've ever lived here, you'll probably laugh yourself to tears by the middle of the book. I use the author's explanation on why few people travel to Japan for tourism often, and it always gets laughs.

   Be very careful about using the Japanese in this book, as some of the phrases are quite offensive. Still, this is a good antidote when you've read too many boring phrasebooks, or you've had a nasty bout of culture shock.




5. I was looking for books to send to my niece in Japan. She thoroughly enjoyed the Max Danger book I sent and I wanted something in the same vein. This book is aimed at the male traveller. While it's entertaining as far as it goes, it doesn't really suit a twenty-something female. Now I face the dilemma of paying shipping to return an inexpensive book...

1 comments about Day Walks Near Tokyo (Origami Classroom).

1. A great little book that makes it easy to wander the best of the countryside around Tokyo. We used an earlier edition that had 25 daytrips around the city and it tells you how to get there, degree of difficulty, and a suggested route along the way. It also provides details on points of historical and natural interest along each walk.

   It's great reading ahead of time, along the way, and afterwards.