1 comments about Unbeaten Tracks in Japan: The Firsthand Experiences of a British Woman in Outback Japan in 1878.

1. Isabella Bird's firsthand account of the Japanese countryside and its inhabitants is fascinating for its detailed description of nature and is full of interesting observations of the customs and characteristics of both the Japanese and Ainu people. Isabella Bird deliberately chose to avoid the main routes as she traveled northward, and for the villagers she meets along the way, she is the first foreigner that they have ever laid their eyes upon. The reaction that she provokes is enough to make you laugh as Isabella does a good job of describing the scene before her eyes. Last but not least, I especially enjoyed reading the insightful Forward which gave me some food for thought as I read through the book.

2 comments about Flea Markets of Japan: A Pocket Guide for Antique Buyers.

1. Theodore Manning's Flea Markets Of Japan: A Pocket Guide For Antique Buyers is packed from cover to cover with useful and useable information about the Japanese language and various beautiful and traditional items that can be found there. Packed with the locations of and directions to popular flea markets, simple phrases useful for negotiation, a brief glossary, and a wealth of basic shopping and adjustment tips, Flea Markets Of Japan is especially recommended for those who have never been to Japan before with a yearning for special souvenirs and mementos of their business trip or vacation excursion.



2. Manning has crafted a detailed pocket guide that catalogs all of Japan's major and minor flea markets. It has strong sections on both Tokyo and Kyoto. All told, 115 flea markets are listed. Each listing has directions, Japanese and English titles, a description of the items for sale, and a telephone number. Equally helpful are the Introduction, the sections Before Going Shopping and Shopping Guidelines, Things to Buy, and the annual Flea Market Calendar. Along with a section on basic Japanese, the book prepares the uninitiated on how to bargain, how much of a discount to expect, and what you might find.

No comments about Not Just a Good Food Guide: Osaka, including Kyoto & Kobe (Not Just a Good Food Guide).

No comments about The Adventure of Japanese Photography 1860 - 1890.

No comments about Culture Shock! Tokyo (Culture Shock! Guides).

3 comments about Seeing Japan.

1. Wow, this is one beautiful book. All of the considerable beauty of the island nation of Japan has been sought out, carefully selected, and elegantly photographed to be even more stunning than it is in real life. There is quite a sweeping range of images here, from the lavender fields and Snow Festival of Hokkaido, to the ancient temples of Nara and Kyoto, all the way to the high technology of the ASIMO robot and the mag-lev Bullet Train. This is the kind of book that makes me really want to go to Japan, even though I live there.
   
   "Seeing Japan" is not an honest look at Japan, but more of a love-letter or a tourists brochure. There is not anything so much as hinting at a dark corner on this Isle of Wonders. All of the images are radiant and lovely, with the bad parts carefully edited out. There is no stray shot of the spider's web of powerlines that covers the country, obscuring almost all scenes of beauty. The temples contain no element of the loudspeakers that blare away history lessons and advertisements, or the hustle and bustle of the millions of people that are everywhere you go. Looking at this book, one would almost think that Japan was a serene, quiet country, which of course it is not.
   
   And that's OK. There are plenty of other books out there looking at the underbelly of Japan, so it is nice to have one that is pure frosting. Sometimes it is easy to forget what a spectacularly beautiful country Japan is. It takes a photographer's eye to bring out the very best, to showcase the colors and the textures that are so very abundant. It takes someone like Charles Whipple to write the text, a nostalgic guided tour through a country he obviously loves, to inspire one to hunt for this Japan, the Japan of my Dreams.



2. I almost fainted when I read in Zack Davisson's review, "There is no stray shot of the spider's web of powerlines that covers the country, obscuring almost all scenes of beauty." I thought I was the only person in the universe who had ever made that observation about the stark difference between the incredible natural beauty one sees on posters and in coffee-table books and the real Japan you find before your eyes and under your feet.
   
   (You know what observation Mr. Davisson forgot to make? The fact that there's no such thing as zoning: you'll find a Disneyland next to a farm next to a cemetery, without so much as a tree to separate the one from the other. Well, that, plus the ceaseless flow of "suburbs": on the 300-plus-mile bullet-train run from Tokyo to Kyoto, we could scarcely discern a single patch of green--although we did find 30-story skyscrapers out in the middle of nowhere [!]--plus one of the ugliest hamlets I've seen in my life, with a mountaintop sign proudly [and most ironically] proclaiming in kanji, "Chrysanthemum River Ward" [Kikkawa-Gu].)
   
   The memory that will always stick foremost in my consciousness is of the young guy who scuttled down the street slapping adhesive prostitutes' business cards (I guess they're "business labels," then) wherever they'd fit: on a lamppost; on a newspaper vending machine; on a postbox; even on a manhole cover (in Japan, those are quaint, sometimes bearing mosaic cartoons of firemen in samurai regalia).
   
   I have more books on Japan and Japanese and Japanese culture and Japanese mythology and Japanese history than I care to recount, but this title just really didn't add anything to it. Too, too bad.



3. This book was given as a gift to a person who will be traveling to Japan this year. He briefly scanned the book and seemed happy with it. I know after the holidays are over, he will totally go page by page. He is an artist and I know he will appreciate the photography throughout.

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 Eating Soup With Chopsticks: Sweet Sixteen in Japan.

1. Through her new book, Ruth Pennington Paget takes us on a summer-long journey into a new culture (Japan) through the eyes of an adventurous and curious teenager. Twenty years after her exchange to Japan, the author recounts her time abroad and her vivid memories of the many experiences she encountered. The book is not a travel book as much as a book about dealing with differences, communication and human connection.

   It teaches us that at the heart of understanding a different culture, we learn most about our own self and come to understand better our own values.

   This book is a fun read!




2. At the age of sixteen, Ruth Paget traveled to Japan as an exchange student. Although she had traveled internationally before, she had never had such an intense immersion into a foreign culture. And Japan was very very foreign. "Eating Soup with Chopsticks" shows the remarkable poise with which this sixteen-year-old faced what many people would consider a challenge. In her search to understand her host family and culture, she jumped in with both feet. She did so by immediately identifying what she and her hosts had in common, which was a sense of respect that quickly developed into a sense of affection. It shows the growth that can occur when you appreciate and accept differences between people.

   Ms. Paget's account of her summer abroad lovingly recounts scenes of daily life in Japan, and amuses with anecdotes of a Midwestern girl's first encounters with raw fish and wasabi. But the overriding lesson of this book is that wonderful things happen when you take off your blue glasses - and open yourself up to discovery. It should be required reading for every American teenager.




3. If you added what you know now to a diary you wrote 20 years ago without changing the original script, it would read like "Eating Soup With Chopsticks." This charming memoir of a life-defining experience captures the innocence and youthful enthusiasm of an adventurous spirit learning to see the world. The lessons of language, history, and cultural perspective are more important than ever as we evolve toward a global society.



4. Ruth Pennington Paget's "Eating Soup with Chopsticks" is a sentimental and sweet tale about one momentous exchange summer in Japan. Then-teenage Ruth is full of profound observations about life and shows a maturity beyond her years. These memoirs will help you see the world through "green" lenses! Pack your mental bags and head on a trip to Japan!



5. This book is short and sweet. Ruth's writing style has a natural flow and she displays a keen sense of humor that kept me laughing throughout. If you are interested in an authentic account of the exchange student life, a quick and smooth read, or just a good laugh, this book comes highly recommended.

2 comments about The Sun in My Eyes: Two-Wheeling East.

1. A buddy lent this to me to read on a trip. I had read her other Japan book and thought it was horrible. This one has improved little, although this time she did not spend page after page reporting on what the Armed Forces radio was playing. She has turned into a Japan explainer of the type we had years ago and thought we were rid of when the "revisionist school" became accepted. Well, now we have a quasi bike story and a quasi chrysanthinum club J-apologist hybrid. Overly long, nothing new or deep about Japan. Not much a a travel tale either. ...



2. Amazon seems to have several negative reviews of Josie Dew's books that I find baffling. I've just finished a second book of hers (Sun in My Eyes) and thought it was excellent. Perhaps other reviewers haven't spent days (and weeks) cycling over mountains and through rainstorms. Josie Dew seems to do this with aplomb, and her writing is interesting and full of informative detail about Japan.
   
   In fact, Ms. Dew is full of praise for rural Japan and the overwhelming generosity of the people that she encountered. She has done her homework in researching the history of Japan and interweaving it through her story in an interesting way.
   
   The best compliments are that I was sorry to see the book end, that I plan to buy others of her books, and that her book inspires me to try a cycling trip to Japan.

No comments about Kyoto-Osaka: A Bilingual Atlas.