4 comments about Lonely Planet World Food: Japan (Lonely Planet World Food Guides).

1. Essential reading for anyone even remotely interested in Japan's incredibly sophisticated food culture. This pocket-sized book is crammed with useful information both practical and historical, not merely chronicling recommended restaurants (it does that too), but seeking to explain the culture through the cuisine. Its chapters cover staples and specialities; drinks and drinking; home cooking and traditions; foreign infusion; celebrating with food; regional variations; shopping & markets; where to eat and drink; understanding the menu; a Japanese banquet; fit & healthy; and the culture of Japanese cuisine. The concluding bilingual glossary is particularly useful, for first-time visitor and Old Japan hand alike. Ashburne's writing is fun, almost irreverent, and the research (as one might expect with an LP title) is highly detailed; the definition of the origin of Tempura is the most complete that this reviewer has ever encountered. It made me laugh too. Highly recommended.



2. If you have any knowledge of Japanese cooking then you are already beyond this book.
   It is extremely basic.
   But the pictures are nicer than your usual japanese cook book and there are one or two good recipes, but this almost seems like a coffee table book in a travel guide form factor.
   I don't think I will get any other lonely planet world food books



3. Very concise book on Japanese food and great descriptive traditions and cultural significance. For those look to find recipes or how-to-cook japanese, then its not what its meant to be. Its for travellers to Japan willing to try local food and try different things. It has very good nation-wide representation from staple foods, alcohol, history and cultural depth. I would recommend it those who love Japanese food and travels to parts of country other than Tokyo.



4. Even if the focus has been mainly on sushi and teriyaki dishes, Japanese cuisine has made more of an impact stateside than many other food types, which makes this pocket-sized guidebook all the more valuable when planning a visit to the source of such epicurean delights. As part of Lonely Planet's great World Food series, the entry on Japan is full of useful information about the complex food culture there, whether it's providing a historical perspective, recommending select restaurants for their specialties or discerning the nuances of a sweet shop. Author John Ashburne, a Kyoto-based Englishman, has an obvious passion for Japanese delicacies and an irreverent eye toward unlocking their mysteries. Granted the book is not as comprehensive as I would have liked given the inherent conflict between its size and the richness of the subject, he covers most of the high points.
   
   Although I am Japanese-American, my knowledge of the food culture was fairly limited when I visited the land of my birth three years ago. This book allowed me to seek out the more traditional dishes I heard about in my childhood. There are terrific sections focused on home cooking traditions, the components of a standard Japanese banquet, and a detailed rundown of regional variations and foreign influences, in particular, from China and Korea. Like other books in the series, this one ends with a definitive culinary dictionary, a quick-reference glossary and useful phrases when you order food and drink there. Ashburne also includes recipes, city and regional maps highlighting his favorite eateries, and entertaining essays, such as the social history of curry rice and the schedule of activities at the legendary Tsukiji Fish Market. Even though Ashburne makes the food come alive through his prose, the colorful photographs really make this one indispensable when planning a trip there.

No comments about Kyoto-Osaka: A Bilingual Atlas.

2 comments about Kyoto: A Contemplative Guide.

1. The author has put a lot of TLC into writing this book and it shows. Aside from being a love letter to the city of Kyoto, it is a top-notch guidebook for anyone interested in exploring the temples of Kyoto. No other guidebook contains such carefully-researched and well-written descriptions of these temples. Though it was written decades ago, not much has changed at these sites, so don't let the date of publication deter you from using this book. I would highly recommend bringing this book along with the most recent edition of "Gateway to Japan" on your next trip to Kyoto.



2. I totally agree with the previous reviewer. This is the best and ONLY guidebook to Kyoto - the story of Kyoto's history through the story of a succession of temples and palaces, each of which typifies that period. Beautifully and gently written. Wonderful wonderful stuff. Tragically I've lost my copy. It shouldn't be so hard to find a new one. Tuttle, please reissue!!

No comments about Memoirs of a Gaijin: Emails from Japan.

1 comments about An Introduction to Japanese Grammar and Communication Strategies.

1. I found this book to be a rich and useful tool for learning Japanese. The material is well organized and clearly presented. As the title suggests each lesson contains information on both the literal meaning and grammatical content of the topic as well as a "how to" section on communication strategies for how the English speaker can use the language in business and social settings.
   
   I offer the following as a warning but not as a shortcoming. While the book is appropriate for those starting to learn Japanese or enhance their skills, the detailed treatment of linguistics may be a bit overwhelming. That is, depending on your interest in the structure of languages in general (including English), you may want to take a look at this title in a bookstore before buying it. If terms like "subordinate conjuction" and "auxiliary verb" seem like foreign words already, this may not be the book for you.
   
   However, because learning to speak Japanese depends in no small part on knowing the structure behind the words, this book is one of the best I've come across. This isn't something to pick up if your trip to Japan is only a month or two away. Expect to spend several months working through it the first time. It will be worth the effort though.

1 comments about Strange Big Moon: The Japan and India Journals, 1960-1964.

1. This book reminds me of Sei Shonagon, but the cast of characters is often well-known Beat writers. Kyger was married to Beat saint Gary Snyder at the time, but she is iconoclastic in regards to presenting him here. The arc of the book is their love story -- beginning with a shy and rather impressed Kyger and ending with a rather loud and irreverent Kyger. Early on she worships Snyder, but then he knocks her down and splits her head open on a wood table when she refuses to do the dishes. He is surly throughout the book, and given to bad moods, and kicks her at least twice.

   Kyger gets it all down.

   Beat saint Allen Ginsberg grabs his food at the communal dining hour and shoves his face full without waiting for others to be served. Orlovsky is shoving drugs in his face every moment that he can.

   This is a funny book that knocks out stereotypes left and right. In one or two sentences she undoes the career of Paul Blackburn, for instance. And all the while she is musing on the possibility of a female literature, and what it might consist of -- something for which she had no clear legacy in American but the Japanese writers of the Heian period such as Sei Shonagon appear to have given her the inspiration needed.

   This is a very good book for those who are tired of the Beats self-sanctification, and want a bit of humorous and unsparing insight into their world.

1 comments about Culture Shock! Tokyo: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Culture Shock! At Your Door: A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette).

1. Outside the U.S., my two favorite cities in the world are London and Tokyo, and it's far more difficult to find reliable, up-to-date information on the latter, especially with the economic ups and downs Japan has experienced in the past decade. (London mostly just keeps on keeping on.) This series is aimed not at the tourist but at the person who expects to be living, and probably working, in a new cultural environment for an extended period. Sure, you want to know about restaurants and what sights to see, but of more immediate importance is discovering how you go about getting the electricity turned on, and figuring out the subway system, and -- especially in a non-European country like Japan -- knowing how not to look like an idiot and avoid offending your host. The author covers all those things and many more, with sections on introducing children to Tokyo (they'll learn the language much more quickly than you), transportation (forget buying a car), the health care system (keep plenty of cash on hand for emergency medical treatment, because most hospitals and clinics don't take plastic and hardly anyone in Tokyo accepts checks), and many other subjects of interest to the new arrival. My only complaint is that the book received insufficient editing; there are far too many typos, missing words, and awkward sentences. And the index, frankly, is pathetic. But what the author actually has to say is very much worth hearing.

1 comments about Japan Travel Map, Second Edition.

1. If you are planning to go to Japan, you will need a good map to plan your itinerary. This map will fill the bill as far as showing you the cities very clearly. You will need additional detailed city maps for roads and streets.

No comments about Simple Guides Shinto (Simple Guides).

3 comments about Japanese Pilgrimage.

1. Oliver Statler's Japanese Pilgrimage is a delight. Retracing the steps of generations of past pilgrims, he brings their stories to life and evokes a gentle reflective mood for the reader. As well, modern Japan is brought into focus through his appreciation of the links between tradition, Buddhism and Shinto and contemporary culture. A really delightful read, and a good "travellers tale" that will be enjoyed by those who have or are planning to visit Japan.



2. This book tells the story of an American man who makes a famous pilgrimage around the island of Shikoku with his Japanese friend.
   Having lived/studied in Zentsuji Shikoku for a year, (the home of Kobo Daishi the monk who created the pilgrims trail) I can vouch for the books authenticity.

   It is a tale about the 88 temples along the way, the political intrigues, secret love affairs between villgers and pilgrims and the stories of despair and pain. Oliver weaves a beautiful web between the past history which he quotes and the present conditions of the modern pilgrims and village people he meets along the way. It is not only a book about Japanese culture accurately and sensitively crafted but the spiritual journey of the author also and his struggle with his inner darkness. Its a great read.

   Each temple along the way has a personality and a shadow and the pilgrim connects the stories of the past with his present journey as he interviews the local people and describes their various characteristics. The journey traverses various provinces from Kagawa to Kochi where the various people display unique attitudes towards the pilgrims varying between open hostility to hospitality.

   It is a good book to realize the complexity of Japanese culture and to appreciate the beauty of this amazing island of sea, temples and mountains. Oliver is truly an amazing oriental observer with the spirit of zen in each page. He writes honestly, openly and without pretention.




3. They just don't make books like this anymore! This is a wonderfully rambling, lyrical, impressionistic portrait of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, anecdotal and episodic and yet gradually unfolding according to an underlying narrative plan. It's accessible and simply written and yet well-researched, informative, and highly evocative of Japanese religiosity as it functions in real life. At times it's intensely personal, based as it is on the author's own pilgrimage experiences (mainly a complete walking circuit of the eighty-eight temples accomplished with a friend in 1971), and yet at other times it's intriguingly biographical concerning monks and pilgrims prominent in the pilgrimage's long history. The author's fervent enthusiasm and deep esteem for this religious phenomenon and its underlying spirituality overflows on every page, and yet he's quite realistic and straightforward about some of the shadier and unsavory aspects of the pilgrimage. Finally, the icing on the cake, the book is profusely illustrated with fine woodcuts and paintings both premodern and modern, once again proving the principle that a picture's worth a thousand words.
   
   The book is divided into three sections, and with each section the reader gets closer and closer to lived religion in Japan. In the first part Statler concentrates on outlining the historical personage of Kukai (later known honorifically as Kobo Daishi), the 8th/9th-century monk and founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism in Japan upon whom the pilgrimage is focused. In the second part Statler attempts to portray how layers and layers of legend and belief enlarged and eventually apotheosized Kobo Daishi and of how faith in him as a divine savior was spread among the populace by wandering, itinerant holy men (many pious if unlearned, some inevitably charlatans). Finally, in the third section the pilgrimage itself comes into sharper focus, including discussions with current pilgrims and priests along with accounts of many past pilgrims such as the Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danzo VIII, the feminist writer Takamure Itsue, the Chicago anthropologist Frederick Starr, and the haiku poet Masaoka Shiki, to name only a few. And of course all three sections are permeated with legends, folk stories, anecdotes, and miracle tales that are fantastic or even bizarre--and that capture the mood and feel of the pilgrimage perfectly in all its ambiguity.
   
   Just a word of warning, though, this is not a guidebook. Statler does not describe every single one of the eighty-eight temples*, and for those temples he does describe he skips around a lot and backtracks now and then with no attempt at going along in their order on the pilgrimage route. And there is absolutely no concrete information on travel and accommodations or the like, so don't count on this book for such purposes. Instead, allow this book to get you into the spirit of the pilgrimage, whether you really intend on actually performing it or not, in fact. Indeed, you don't need to know a thing about Japan to follow and enjoy this fine account, and yet those who've studied Japan for years will doubtlessly find much to learn and enjoy as well. And if you happen to have fond memories of life in rural Japan, then believe me, this book will definitely take you back there in spirit.
   
   *(In the back there is an appendix with each temple listed by name and number along with the principal deity and sect affiliation of each, though this is more in the nature of an FYI than a guide per se).