5 comments about Clueless In Tokyo: Explorer's Sketchbook Of Weird And Wonderful Things In Japan.

1. Yes, it says so in the reviews, but somehow I missed it. I thought it was a travel guide for the "clueless." I can see how it might be amusing to some Westerners though. Now I need to get a real guide book for our trip to Tokyo.... Got any recommendations?



2. Cute illustrations and some useful Japanese words make this an enjoyable book to read but I finished it in 10 minutes so don't expect anything more than an amusing introduction to some of the unusual things a visitor would encounter. When I go to Tokyo I will bring this with me for some light reading on the plane.
   It is a clever idea though and a good supplememt to some of the drier guidebooks out there.



3. Clueless in Tokyo is a delightful way to learn about a wide variety of common things found in Japanese Culture. Keeps you laughing while you learn.



4. When I was in Japan with my family, looking at relocation 6 or 7 years ago, one of my dad's co-workers suggested this book for all of the fun things around Tokyo. This book is the reason I have a garden-size Tanuki that I lugged from Japan to Ohio to New York. It's not going to teach you what to say to find the restroom, but it'll explain what you're seeing when you get there in a way that's...well...funny. I have a friend moving to Japan and this will be the first thing he gets from me!



5. I loved this book... It brought back so many memories of my time in Japan.

3 comments about Culture Shock! Japan (Culture Shock! Guides).

1. As an administrator in a ESL school, where 10% of our students come from Japan, and at least 10% of our ESL teachers trainees plan on going to Japan to teach English, Culture Shock Japan was an wonderful discovery for me! P. Sean Bramble unveiled the cultural mystery step by step from every aspect of life. It's a great reference book for anyone, no matter whether you are planning a trip to Japan, moving to Japan for a long period of time, your work involves dealing with Japanese culture like mine, or you are simply curious about this modern and ancient eastern country. One of my favorite things about the book are the hilarious little stories that Bramble collected from his own 12 years of experience living and working in Japan, which gave me many giggles through out the reading.
   
   Those stories are particularly funny to me, because they often echo my own experience of of culture shock when I first immigrated to the United States from China 7 years ago. Although, I am completely annoyed when people get confused between Japan and China, there are after all lots of similarities when it comes to clashes between Asian and western cultures.
   
   I also admire the fact that the author was willing to take the risk of being accused as negative or judgmental to honestly point out the frustrating reality of living and dealing with a new culture in a tongue in cheek manner. Unlike promotional travel books, which only portray the wonders of a destination, this book gives unvarnished insight into a country where modernity meets ancient traditions, efficiency is created by rules but also destroyed by rules. It gives insider's advices on how a new comer can be prepared to begin understanding, embracing, and even having a bit of fun with the culture he is about to clash into. As I closed the book, I felt as if I had just finished a tour lead by an experienced open heart with a true sense of humor. I am now much more ready for a real trip to Japan.



2. 
   The book does contain usefull information, but it left me with an awkward feeling after reading.
   It describes the 'typically Japanese things' from a personal western point of view, without explaining why, how, what, etc.
   -Japan is a weird and silly country, but there are nice temples-
   Or is it the writer that is the culture shock ?
   If you want an objective book about Japan, keep searching.



3. I was stationed overseas for about 1 1/2 years before I read the book. Many questions I had were answered. This book explains a lot of the everyday things you'll see/notice in Japan. Not much of a history book (which wasn't what I was looking for @ the time) but a very modern explanation of all the strange things Japanese people do.
   
   I highly recommend this book for anyone that is going to live in Japan for an extended period of time.

5 comments about Hitching Rides with Buddha.

1. Hitchhiking from Cape Sata to Cape Soya in Japan, William Ferguson creates a good follow up to Alan Booth's "The Roads to Sata". As humorous as it is scholarly, one comes from this book feeling they somewhat understand many aspects of Japanese culture, such as Shintoism. I say somewhat because, as Ferguson clearly shows in the narrative, it's impossible to ever understand the Japanese fully without being Japanese. A good read for any time.



2. I read this book twice when living in Japan. I've experienced some of the things that Ferguson wrote about. His sense of humor had me laughing out loud. It's an easy and fun book to read.



3. Books about Japan by westerners seem to fall into two categories- literary books that talk about Japan in poetic terms and dwell on traditional culture, and comedy books that play up the wacky side of Japanese pop culture for laughs. Somewhere in between is "Hitching Rides with the Buddha"- a book by a foreigner who actually lived here for 5 years, speaks Japanese (as modest as he is about his blunders with the grammar), and really has an understanding of its people and its way of life.
   
   Written as a modern day answer to Alan Booth's "The Road to Sato", this book details Ferguson's cross-country hitchhiking trip from mainland Japan's southernmost point in Kyushu to the northernmost point in Hokkaido, covering thousands of miles and encountering people from all walks of life, from teenagers to senior citizens and from ski bums to college professors.
   
   At first, I was a bit sceptical about reading a book based on a trip hatched, by Ferguson's own admission, while falling-down drunk at a cherry blossom-viewing party in rural Kyushu. What kind of expert could he be?
   
   But speaking as someone who loves Japan and has lived here almost 5 years myself, this book gets to the heart of the experience better than any other I know, and does a great job capturing the joy, delight, confusion and even occasional sorrow that comes when interacting with this amazing culture. Inspired by this book, I sometimes take off on similar hitch hiking trips during breaks at the university I teach at, and even made the same trip from Kyushu to Hokkaido. Every trip is a different adventure, and I'm glad that someone as talented as Ferguson wrote about it.



4. ....but I must say, besides it being funny and a real treat to read, I find that the author has a beautiful way with words that is not so often seen in travel writing. Chapter 10 may very well be one of the best chapters in a book I have ever read, and re-read, and read again. Beautiful words and beautiful images. I look forward to finishing the book this week, and thus far, can say that I highly recommend this book who not only enjoy good writing, but also a good laugh. - Vince Yanez, Author of It Doesn't Matter Which Road You Take: A European Travel Story



5. So much travel writing is a tedious checklist of places visited and experiences experienced, combined with trite observations about local customs and culture. Not so Will Ferguson's Hitching Rides with Buddha.
   
   I lived in Japan for three years and am constantly disappointed by the stereotypes and bleedingly obvious cultural differences pointed out by people who write (or make films - think Lost in Translation) about Japan. But Ferguson lived in Japan, and it shows. His acute cultural observations are tempered with a great sense of humour and wackiness, and the book has a clear narrative arc that pulls you from the bottom to the top of Japan along the cherry-blossom front. A great book for people thinking of going to Japan, or for expats living in Japan who know Sofia Coppola ain't got a clue.

5 comments about Japan Ai: A Tall Girl's Adventures In Japan.

1. I picked up Japan Ai not really expecting much. I thought it'd be a cute read, but not something I'd really read twice, let alone buy. I was pleasantly surprised when I flipped through the pages. Steinberger's eye for details is amazing when it comes to describing her travels through Japan. Some people may be decieved by the seemingly simplistic artwork on the cover that the storytelling is just as simplistic, but they'd be amazed. The author's passion for travel, anime/manga, & hobbies comes through on every page. Fans of anime, manga, & cosplay will get into the journal because of the detailed information about those interests, but the average person will get drawn into the journal for the attention to details. It is easily accessible to most people. I would consider it a good guide to read before going overseas so one can plan out where to go, as well as knowing what to expect if you are a english speaking traveller.



2. I purchased this book because I had heard of it in a chat forum and was already familiar with the author/artist. Most books don't keep my interest long enough to get through the book in a day or two, but this was impossible to put down. Aimee's lovely sketches and playful comments kept me laughing at the turn of every page. Her useful information will fuel anyone dreaming of a trip to Japan into setting the date after reading this book. I am excited to visit the places she mentions and share in the wonderful experiences she wrote about.
   What a brilliantly lighthearted way to address the ups and downs of tourism.
   
   A+



3. Seriously love this book. It's a fun account of Ms. Major Steinberger's travels in Japan. Not only are you taken through her own experiences as a foreigner, but you're also given little cultural tidbits that are just as interesting. Plus, the illustrations are fabulous. I look forward to more from Aimee in the future.



4. Cute. Simple. A lovely guide book to one girl's adventures in Japan. So don't look for millions of pages of details. This is about her and her two friends and their journey to the VOLKS store in Tokyo by way of Kyoto. The cartoonist happens to also be six feet tall. It is a sketchbook and guide to many of Japan's little delights and, sometimes, tiny problems. It has a glossary and a appendix of websites of hotels, food places, stores and so on.



5. Have you ever felt like you stood out from the crowd? Like you were so strange and different, that people couldn't help but stare? Lately, Aimee's been getting that feeling all the time. Yes, she's a fangirl from California who has the ability to detect all things cute. She loves dolls, drawing, manga, and video games. In her spare time, Aimee and her friends like to cosplay, which is making costumes and dressing up as your favorite anime or video game character. But none of these things are the reason that Aimee stands out like a sore thumb. Aimee's 6' tall and, while that's not such a big deal in California, when you're visiting Japan, you might as well be Godzilla.
   
   When you're 6' tall and in Japan, you tower over almost everyone else. People might mistake you for a monster out of a Godzilla movie. You don't always fit in every bathroom stall. Losing your luggage on the flight is a big deal, because finding cloths your height is almost impossible. People are scared to share a hot springs pool with you. And dressing up as a geisha means you need two people and a chair just to put on a wig.
   
   Aimee's determined to have a good time while she's visiting Japan. It's her dream to see Kyoto, home of traditional Japanese culture, and Tokyo, a city that's all about the future. Along the way, she and her friends, A.J. and Judy, visit temples, watch musicals, get lost on the trains, cosplay in Harajuka, and adopt a doll. Japan Ai: A Tall Girl's Adventures in Japan is Aimee's sketchbook journal of the entire trip.

4 comments about Hello, Please! Very Helpful Super Kawaii Characters from Japan.

1. ... a little bit poor in my opinion. I imagine something more sophisticated but it is ok



2. This is a great coffee table or gift book. Awesome photographs, beautiful design and insightful text. Totally captures the quirkiness of this aspect of Japanese pop culture...



3. The immediate and obvious appeal of this book is seeing so many of these mascot characters "in the wild," but more importantly, the book provides context, explaining how Japanese aesthetics and traditions have affected the widespread adoption of these characters throughout the years. I really recommend this to anyone who is interested in Japanese culture and/or cartooning.



4. Okay, I admit this isn't the most eloquent review, but I'm giving this book a shout-out because it is so amusing, adorable, funny. The authors classify these cartoony characters into five sections with an intro for each and an overall introduction prefacing it all. The intros were somewhat informative, not terribly deep in explanation but deep enough. I liked the variety and quantity of images they included and how their captions were set in a solid-color version of the character they are describing on that page. Great gift idea for anyone who likes Japanese pop art and cute, bubbly cartoons in general.

5 comments about Speed Tribes: Days and Night's with Japan's Next Generation.

1. Well, the Library of Congress classified this book as Subculture - Japan - Case Studies, and having read it, I am relatively sure that it is a work of nonfiction. One reviewer claimed that parents would *never* tout the merits of their child at an omiai, yet in "Pink Samurai: Love, Marriage and Sex in Contemporary Japan" Nicholas Bornhoff writes extensively on just this topic. According to Bornhoff, virtually all that happens at an omiai is that parents go on and on about their children's accomplishments ad nauseum. The "date" (which is meant to culminate in arranged marriage) is more like a particularly boring, traditional job interview in which the resume is the main topic under discussion. No wonder "Keiko Nakagami" (perhaps a pseudonym, but nevertheless most likely a living person whom Greenfeld *interviewed*) kept thinking about the Australian she met at a club the other night! Anyway, for those who still have doubts about the book's authenticity, reread the chapter "Dai: The Motorcycle Thief" which is full of interview quotations regarding his "observation period" at a juvenile rehabilitation facility. If this is fiction, this is the most realistic fiction I've ever read ...



2. There seems to be alot of debate on if this book is fact or fiction. FICTION.
   It is set in 90's Japan and tries to give a sence of different aspects of the country, but if you are looking for a view of modern Japan I wouldn't look here. Japan has changed alot since the book was written.
   The stories are for the most part very entertaining, and the book is great light reading.
   Book consists of short stories about different kinds of folk in Japan you don't see on the news.



3. Fascinating look at different groups of Japanese youth culture in the early to mid 90s. We peer into the lives of 12 people, including: a mid-level Yakuza debt collector; a porn star and director looking for a big score; students cramming for entry to the University of Tokyo; a hot young 20something caught between club culture and the traditional arranged-marriage culture of her parents; an obsessive computer nerd; and more. Each chapter is presented as a narrative and is also supplemented by sociological and historical information, which makes for a quick, engaging read. It's all fairly nihilistic, though - Japan of the 90s is a fragmented, contradictory culture, and it's not surprising to see why some of these people have carved out such peculiar, stilted lifestyles.



4. I picked this up used, and read it very quickly - it reminded me of one of those so/so CDs from a usually great band: all the great stuff stacked at the beginning, with an increasingly less interesting wind-down.
   
   Greenfeld isn't the greatest writer, or journalist, or sociologist out there, which is the main issue - each of these pieces has great potential, but several of them fail to achieve liftoff.
   
   I also questioned some of the intent here - I'm guessing that one of Greenfeld's goals was to upend some stereotypes Westerners (primarily) have about Japan, and perhaps he achieves this - but this is no ground-breaker either: for all of the non-Japanese writers on Japan who have turned the place into an imagined museum of Zen and lotus-blossoms, there are equal numbers of people (from filmmakers Nagisa Oshima and Shohei Imamura to novelist Kobo Abe) who have done the same sort of stereotype-busting that Greenfeld is attempting. And some of these folks have done it much, much better.
   
   Not awful by any means, but it really didn't live up to any of its' pretenses.
   
   -David Alston



5. The books does offer some very good insights into Japanese culture, many between the lines.
   
   I have met a few escort girls, they are very much like the woman in the book. I have even had a drink or two with a couple of speed tribe members, and they are very much like the book's description. There is a lot of truth in this book, and shows the dirtier side of Japanese culture. Every culture has such "low-lifes", and tries to hide them. Japan is just more aggressive about it. Consider this a look under the hood, at the grimier parts of the culture, that are nevertheless part of what makes it run.s.
   
   The only criticism I have is that it is getting a bit dated. We need a new speed tribes book, to cover some of the latest issues.

5 comments about Lonely Planet Japan.

1. This is extremely beneficial for what I will be doing around Japan. Thank you for the fast and great service.



2. Good guidebook to have with you. Lots of hints and good places to eat.



3. Lonely Planet provides 90% of all the information 1 needs to plan a successful trip. It also gives all the relevant Internet resources to complete the picture



4. My boyfriend and I used this book exclusively while we traveled from Okinawa to Hokkaido for five weeks this past summer. It really was a lifesaver- the only guidebook you need for Japan. We had JR passes and it gives lots of tips specifically for those using JRs. Highly recommended!



5. I usually trust Lonely Planet to give good recommendations, but this time it let me down. They may have done a good job in some other travel countries but not Japan. After a year of living in Japan, I have explored many of the main tourist places. I get the feeling that the writers may have been in a big hurry when they wrote the Japan guide. Sometimes I wonder if they visited many of the places they suggest at all. Their visit recommendations are no better than you could easily find on a basic internet search, the maps are vague, the restaurants are often disappointing. It's also longer overdue for an update. Maybe they'll do better next time.

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 Basho's Narrow Road: Spring and Autumn Passages (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature).

1. This is a very well translated and annotated edition of this great work.



2. This was the first time that I have read Basho's Narrow Road to Oku, snd I enjoyed it a great deal. Actually I read it twice this week. The first time I read through it I tried to read it without using the notes. I was lazy, so it came out that I really didn't enjoy what I was reading because I really didn't know what was going on throughout most of the book, so I read it again using the notes, and I got much more out of it. The annotations are on the left page while the actual text is on the right page, so there is no flipping to the back of the book every time that you need to look up something. There are endnotes that give more information about the haiku Basho writes. This is a very cool book, that gives the reader a glimpse at the literary world of japan back during the 17th century.



3. Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (9/06)
   
   Matsuo Basho (1644-94) was a famous Japanese haiku poet. In 1689, he took a 1,233 mile journey across Japan. His travels lasted five months. He was joined by his friend Kawai Sora. Basho wrote about this trip. He titled it, "Oku No Hosomichi," which translates to "Narrow Road to the Interior." This story is considered to be a masterpiece of Japanese literature. He took four years to write it and revise it.
   
   Basho started this trip when his house burned down. He had two goals. One goal was spiritual; it involved "poetic truth." The other goal was a practical one in which he would use his travels to become well known as a poet. Sora developed stomach problems and had to end his travels with Basho. Basho wrote a short piece for him. In the second part of this book, there is a translation of "A Farewell Gift to Sora."
   
   Basho funded his travels with donations from wealthy friends and students. He felt that there were three types of poets. The first type is confused noisemakers. The second type is wealthy people who desire to write instead of gossip. The third type is poets who work hard at writing true poetry. These poets write to "soothe their heart." Basho was the third type of poet.
   
   Hiroaki Sato includes annotations to go along with the writings. This adds richness to the story and helps explain more about the culture and what was happening at the time. I read the story first with the annotations to gain understanding of what I was reading; then I went back and reread the story by itself so that I could feel how it flowed. Without the annotations, I would have enjoyed Basho's story, but I would not have understood much of what was written. Sato also includes pages of notes and commentaries. This is a well researched piece. "Basho's Narrow Road" is a beautiful story about Basho's travels. In it he reflects on the beauty of the countryside and the spirit of the people that he encounters.
   
   I recommend "Basho's Narrow Road" to people that enjoy Japanese poetry, especially Haiku. It would also be a great book to use for a college literature class. I really enjoyed Basho's journey.

5 comments about The Inland Sea.

1. I really could not praise this book enough. It is one of my favorite books of all time and a truly astounding piece of "travel writing". However, this edition is a bit wanting.
   
   The new afterward is very good but a bit sobering, confirming that, yes, to a large extent the place you have just read about is now dead as the dodo, all too effectively ending your "fever dream". Also, the new pictures are junk. They look as though they came from a Lonely Planet guide, whilst the original edition had beautiful, mysterious, haunting, high contrast photos that came across more like paintings.
   
   Most puzzling is the page layout which consists of 2 columns per page, like a magazine article. Why? So it looks like something from "Outside" or GQ? Needless to say I preferred the musty tome from the library that read like some brilliant forgotten diary.



2. Donald Richie wrote a journal in 1962 which formed the ground work for everything in the book. In the 9 years until he decided to publish his journal/book, he reprised the journal with additional insertions, in which he sometimes took pieces of his experiences within Japan, that although they did not occur in the Inland Sea of Japan and during the time the journal was written, he nevertheless recognized them as very much a part of what he considers to represent Japan before modernization. Although it is unknown what exactly didn't occur within Japan's Inland Sea, it is undeniable that the book is a masterpiece of a travelogue that very much captures the essence of everything he specifically mentions. He may well have written the journal with the expectation of it being published eventually, once he was ready.
   
   In many ways it is hard to think of it as a travelogue due to the fact that Donald Richie has already experienced half of his life within Japan, and what appears to be an individual reflecting much of his personal life into the narration. It comes across more as an journal written by an individual whom by this point into the published version has become established within Japanese culture and integrated his life within Japan, and is so able to absorb himself into his encounter, that a deeper visual presence of this world and his psyche emerges integrated into this work, that not even a well developed visual experience within cinema could do it justice.
   
   Donald Richie has written many books on Japanese Cinema, namely Kurosawa and Ozu. His visual thinking style is very evident in this book, and I must mention he has a gift for visualization. Compared to Alan Booth, he appears to be far better at writing, and is a far more reflective an individual. Able to decipher the meaning to things, he doesn't simply note down the illogical peculiarities of the individuals he encounters. A note of warning though is that Richie has some definite vices, namely he acts upon sexual gratification with young women, and almost gets taken away with a high-school girl. He doesn't do anything illegal in the story (at least, not that I'm totally familiar with, given the time and place, and nothing with which you couldn't do, and get away with, in the US.) Although he does so during a marriage, and his actions would well be chastised by many readers, he is who he is. The end notes of his book (in the first edition, published 1971) do tell the reader of his decision to keep much of the journal writings intact without any changes made to the events. By doing so, some may find his encounters reason enough to steer clear of the book; however I must let you know you will be missing out on a very memorable experience.
   
   The man is a brilliant writer, and one you will not find too common-place. It is also an incredibly rare experience, even more so that time has passed since then. Not to mention, the book does not come across as a book written from memory, as the writing takes a very concerted effort to engage the reader as though the reader were Donald Richie, living scene by scene in real-time. And more importantly is that the book is even better with some of the hilarious aspects of his adventure, and is much more believable with accuracy than Alan Booth. Not to mention, is Donald Richies noticeable appreciation for the Japanese people, despite clear impression to avert from some of the fine nuances that are presented in their culture, and which one might believe that he is seeking to escape his own cultural background, as if a vagabond in search of his soul. In this way he seems to have a sad and endearing appreciation for something that doesn't entirely isolate itself to Japan, although in many ways unique to it. In part because he gets caught into the moment of his experience, he sometimes steps back and picks at nuances, sometimes disrespectfully callow; though this is rare for him in this instance. Read it and maybe what I said will make sense, as I didn't write this too well.
   
   RMP



3. Honesty is a characteristic of Richie's writing, along with humor, insight, and detail. He's often quite brutally honest, in fact, and though he hides little about his own failings, he's sometimes a bit more judgemental of others. But aren't we all and his observations are so entertaining, sometimes astonishing, that I always have a hard time putting his books down.
   
   There are times, however, when Richie's judgement wears on me. The qualities that allow him to do his best writing, his marvelous detachment and curiosity, seem to make him miss aspects of the humanity of those he's observing. He romanticizes where it serves his personal needs and dismisses, sometimes churlishly, where he becomes tired or irritated with the scene and the people who he then allows to become only part of that scenery.
   
   I recently had the enormous pleasure of reading his Japan journals while traveling Japan. The journals extend to 2004, well after "Inland Sea," and I find less of the irritating Richie in them.
   
   In the final analysis, I just can't help mostly loving Richie. This small volume is just another gem in the wonderful body of work from this writer who should be appreciated as a writer, not just as a writer on Japan.



4. "I hear they are building a bridge
   To the island of Tsu.
   Alas...
   To what now
   Shall I compare myself?"
   - old Japanese poem, included at the start of the book.
   
   The reason I decided to read this book is that the idea of ambling around some quiet Japanese islands with an Ozu nut sounded like a good time. And I was not wrong. I can only echo most of the sentiments expressed by reviewers above. This is a wonderful book.
   Ostensibly, it's a travelogue, and a farewell letter to a Japan that was fading from existence when Richie made his trip in the early 60s. While I'd be the first to sympathise with Richie's remorse at the changing face of Japanese society (had I experienced it, that is!), I visited Japan for the first time last year and when reading this book on my return found many of my impressions reflected in the book (if much more eloquently than they existed in my head) Furthermore, while the book undoubtedly appeals to many at some stage of "the syndrome" as Richie calls it, it is really a book for anyone who has wished to cast themselves off for sea, and utter those words that bracket Richie's story, and that title this review. This is a man who has sought a world in which he will always be a stranger.
   In the afterword to the original edition, the author states that Japan is a mirror to the western soul. Perhaps it's not so much that, as that other cultures cast our own ways into relief and force us to ask questions of ourselves; for many westerners, the questions that Japan asks are fascinating.
   As other reviewers have noted, prudes or puritans ought to be a little wary; others may wish to be a little subjective about which lines they read between. Still, something had to happen in Onomichi to stop it turning into a lecture on Ozu I suppose.
   
   Regarding this new edition. I have to agree with Willy D's comments. I can put up with the two columns of print (sort of giving it the book a bottom of the backpack quality; to take out and meditate on at random), and I haven't even bothered with the new introduction. But while the new afterward is interesting, the omission of the old one is a bad mistake, and worst of all, the replacement of the beautiful photos in the original edition (sorry I forget the photographer's name) with some tacky little low contrast snaps of places visited is very sinful. Perhaps the next edition could fix these errors up...?
   
   So if you can, get to the library and find the crusty old 1971 edition, but whichever version you read, I highly recommend this terrific book by a wonderful writer.



5. Japan seems unusually well-represented by travel writers with the skills to really bring the country alive. Perhaps it's the nature of the society there that both brings out amusing mockery in some authors (not this one) or lends itself to serious reflection (very definitely this one.)
   
   It's strange -- in reading this book, rightfully considered a classic, I was brought to mind a book called 'Dinner with Persephone' by Patricia Storace. The two writers couldn't be any less similar, but both are fascinating characters whose books (and this is not a complaint) are far more about themselves than the lands in which they find themselves. In less worthy hands, such a trip could be like being trapped on a Jehovah's Witness bus, but Ritchie brings enough interesting detail and understanding of Japanese life to make this journey rewarding.