No comments about Under the Osakan Sun: A Funny, Intimate, Wonderful Account of Three Years in Japan.

No comments about Hitching Rides with Buddha: Travels in Search of Japan.

1 comments about Japan (Traveller's Literary Companion).

1. This is a solid 339 pages of literary anthology divided into eleven geographical areas of Japan (excluding Okinawa). The first 35 pages are devoted to a general introductory background of the country, with a map of Japan and sections on "natural background," "religion and beliefs," "history," "language and literature," a booklist, eight literary extracts and two pages of "biographies and major works." Each of the eleven geographical sections follows the same pattern, beginning with an epigraph from a literary work and including photographs in addition to background, booklist and extracts.

   This guide is well researched...for example, my favorite author, Natsume Soseki, appears in the Tokyo section with "I am a Cat" as well as in the Kyushu section where an excerpt from "The Three-Cornered World" appears. Acknowledgements and citations are placed at the end of the book, and give the original publisher of the English translations while bookslists preceding each section include all titles of books from which extracts are taken as well as books mentioned in explanatory text. In this case, an available paperback edition in English is given, along with full bibliographical information.

   From Lady Murasaki to Kazuo Ishiguro, from Sapporo to Kagoshima, the scope and range of this book is impressive and meets the challenge of both a survey of Japanese literature and a trip around the five main islands, including Sado- ga-shima. The chapter called "Journeys" is an armchair traveller's delight, for it takes us first on Lady Sarashina's Heian period journey from the Boso Peninsula (now Chiba prefecture) back to the capital of Kyoto. We can follow Lady Nijo on some of her pilgrimages as far west as Miyajima and as far north as Asakusa, three days' journey north from Kamakura. We can tread the narrow roads that Basho took in the 17th century and join Isabella Bird for a circuit from Tokyo to Aomori in the late 19th century.

   Containing over 100 extracts, this book can be a review, or for the beginner, an overview, of Japanese literature in its entirety. For the resident or traveller it can be a new perspective on the areas visited, a new discovery of the richness of Japanese literature. Even containing a section on "Tokyo in Film," this travel companion has something for everyone interested in the culture of Japan. A treasure of a book, a real delight and an informative guide.

5 comments about No Elbow Room.

1. Kenneth writes a detailed and fascinating read. What an experience. Having stayed in Japan myself for a while, I found No Elbow Room to confirm some things I had suspected about living in Japan. Great book!



2. Fun, Fun, Fun. A funny and informative documentary of first-hand experiences in Japan. A must if you are considering working for a few years for a company in Tokyo. Also a must if you want to get insight into the workings of a culture totally different from American and European cultures. The illustrations are hilarious. The book is precise with marvelous drawings. There are informative comments on improving the lot of women in Japan. Be prepared for a fun ride!



3. No Elbow Room is a quick and informative read into the Cultural mind set of Japanese relationships. It opens up for examination a world of contradicting correctness and sheds light on some of my own experiences in Japan. You will read it from cover to cover enjoying the wonderful illustrations and lighthearted humor.



4. Do you ever find yourself in a large bookstore overwhelmed by the sheer number of titles, and wonder how so many new ideas continue to emerge in such mass quantity? Well, this is one of those books that keep us returning to bookstores with faith in the fact that we will not always leave disappointed! This book is unique in its perspective on a subject I am interested in as a professor of international business (Zicklin School of Business; Baruch College, City University of New York) - cross cultural understanding. Written in a pen indicative of ample experience in Japan's corporate world, yet from an outside Western perspective, it reveals nuances of Japanese business culture that only an expatriate can easily discern. "No Elbow Room" is blunt to a pain yet carefully objective and fair in its exposé of little known tidbits of Japanese culture and business protocol outside of the Island nation itself. Yet while set in Japan, I found myself easily adapting lessons learned to virtually any cross-cultural setting, prompting me to list this book as required reading in my "Foreign Markets, Cultures, Regimes" class. This is a self-authored text, that no doubt a large publishing house will soon discover and market to the masses. The book is short (179 pages) and a quick yet informative read. I recommend it for not just international business scholars, but as an aid for sociology class discussions, gender-relations discussions, for anyone interested in international relations, and particularly for anyone wishing to travel to Japan, particularly from the West. And if you think you're well traveled and immune to culture shock, you must pick up this book!



5. I really enjoyed reading this book, it gives a good insight of the Japanese society from a foreigner's point of view, who lived and worked in Japan for several years.
   This only problem is that it's from the early 1990's and some things have changed since...

2 comments about On the Narrow Road: A Journey into Lost Japan.

1. Lesley Downer retraces Matsuo Basho's famed 17th century journey to unknown northern Japan documented in his book "On the Narrow Road to the Deep North." Ms. Downer rediscovers a "lost" Japan. The journey and the writing are well worth the effort.



2. Unlike Alan Booth, who wrote my favorite books by a westerner in Japan, Lesley Downer seemed to admire and revere Basho. Alan Booth seemed to think he was a drunkard and a leech. Lesley Downer attempts to follow the path that Basho took 300 years earlier through the wilds of northern Honshu. Miss Downer does take advantage of modern transportation throughout her travels unlike Basho who couldn't, but probably would have if it had been available.
   
   I found it a little bit incredible that Miss Downer was disappointed that so much from Basho's time had disappeared. I'm surprised that she found as much evidence of his travels as she did in the 1980's.
   
   Still, the book is engaging, interesting, well written and different. It certainly should be included if, like me, you are interested in reading anything written by westerners who have lived in Japan.

2 comments about ORDINARY ENGLISH-SPEAKING MEN, EXTRAORDINARY BEAUTIFUL WOMEN, TEACHING ENGLISH IN JAPAN.

1. Describes relationships that seem improbable but now I want to see for myself.
   
   The Ferbal story was masterfully convoluted and the end made me laugh after I though about it for awhile.
   
   Q&A provided some valuable information for job seekers.
   
   The job-hunting steps are helpful. It was positive and encouraging.
   
   I enjoyed the many short stories including those about food and train gropers. I have never heard about these things before.
   
   Overall eye-openning, amusing to read again and again. Now I really want to go to Japan and see for myself!



2. This was the most poorly written, poorly organized books I have EVER read. The reason I bought it was that it is the only book I found that discusses teaching English in Japan. Unfortunately, this part of it is overshadowed by the ridiculous sections on relationships with Japanese women. The relationship sections were shallow, awkwardly written, and full of narrow-minded generalizations. The only useful nuggets I found in this book were the author's descriptions of his everyday life as an English teacher. Unfortunately, these were few and far between, and buried in trash. This author couldn't make up his mind if he wanted to write a travel/reference book, an autobiography, or a relationship book. What were the editors thinking?

No comments about Japan Day by Day.

1 comments about Tokyo: The Complete Guide with the Best Day Trips to Nikko, Kamakura, Yokohama and Mt.F uji (Gold Guides).

1. If you're into sushi and soba or curry and caviar you can find the best places to go in here. Also, great walking tours into the Ginza and Shinjuku. And for the adventurous, try the after dark entertainment from Kabuki to karaoke.

   The Japanese vocabularly and the food glossaries are particularly helpful.

3 comments about The Outnation: A Search for the Soul of Japan.

1. The Outnation is full of false statements and huge generalizations that do not ring true for Japan. In many cases they make the country sound better than it is. The author only spent six months in Japan, not nearly long enough to truly come to understand the very complex social fabric of the country. Having lived in Japan, I found the book to be shallow and I couldn't finish reading it because it was full of false statements that demonstrated very clearly how little the author knew about his subject. The Outnation is a very poor book to read for any person who wants to learn about what Japan is truly like. In Japan there are two facets to reality; the tatamae and the honne, the mask and the truth. This book deals almost exclusively with the mask and ignores the true Japan, the true soul of the nation.



2. This extraordinarily well-written book came out during a time when Americans were told that Japan was invincible, threatening, and a model society. Jonathan Rauch saw a more complex Japan, one with great strengths but also great difficulties, especially in generating criticism and change from within. His portrait has stood the test of time when many acclaimed "experts" now look like fools.



3. Jonathan Rauch wrote this book more than a decade ago. However, many travelers to Japan still find it one of the best introductions to Japanese society available in English. His profiles of people,places and social mores are insightful as well as elegantly written. Whenever I meet someone on their way to Japan for the first time, I almost reflexively offer them a copy of this fine book.

1 comments about Sam Samurai (The Time Warp Trio).

1. My son is not reading at this level yet (7 years old) so I read it to him. It's easy and a lot of fun to read. I read to him, at most, 2 chapters a night (chapters are short) and he'd beg me to keep reading! I could get him to finish his homework and get ready for bed quickly if I reminded him about reading "Sam Samurai". When we finished the book he wanted more, so I purchased a couple more in the series.