 | My Mother is a Tractor: A Life in Rural Japan by Nicholas Klar
Buy used from: £27.27 A teacher on the JET Programme stranded in the rural Niigata snow country. Think, Bill Bryson meets Adrian Mole in a small Japanese town. Numerous laughs but still a useful insight into Japan
|
 | A Year in Japan by Kate T. Williamson
Buy new: £8.49 / Used from: £11.95 I have not yet read this, but one reviewer describes it as, A very nice book capturing the Japanese culture and everyday life...Excellent for anyone looking for something besides the ordinary travel
|
 | Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa by Karin Muller
Buy new: £14.65 / Used from: £14.21 Yet one more tome to add to the, I survived x amount of time in Japan. Some mixed reviews on this one.
|
 | Dave Barry Does Japan by Dave Barry
Buy used from: £0.01 Not a lot of cultural insight but definitely a collection of experience that provides plenty of laughs (and Im talking beer coming out your nose type laughs
)
|
 | Pink Box: Inside Japan's Sex Clubs by Joan Sinclair
Buy new: £11.23 / Used from: £10.83 This is one out of the box - literally! - a fascinating peep into an aspect of Japanese culture that is not much discussed.
|
 | Living in Japan by Alex Kerr
Buy new: £12.99 / Used from: £17.15 A glimpse into the intriguing world of Japanese architecture. Much more interesting than one may think!
|
 | Importing Diversity: Inside Japan's JET Program by DM McConnell
Buy new: £17.05 / Used from: £13.00 It generally gets good reviews but not a gripping read. Would be a useful starting point, along with My Mother is a Tractor (above), for those thinking about signing on for Japan
|
 | Wrong about Japan by Peter Carey
Buy used from: £3.24 I am very much a fan Careys work but this one less so.
|
 | The Rough Guide to Japan (Rough Guide Travel Guides) by Jan Dodd
Buy new: £14.44 / Used from: £3.09 The reviews that this book gets makes it appear that it has a little more depth in certain quarters than the LP Guide (below).
|
 | Japan (Lonely Planet Country Guide) by Chris Rowthorn
Buy used from: £2.83 Regardless of the above, still a useful guide, especially for the major centres that can be visited.
|
 | Japan: A Traveler's Literary Companion (Traveler's Literary Companions)
Buy new: £8.09 / Used from: £4.55 Need something to read on the plane or train? This one, with a foreword by long time Japan resident, Donald Richie, may be useful
|
 | Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Buy used from: £0.01 A very good read, but taken at times with a pinch of salt. Much better than the movie!
|
 | Breaking Open Japan: Commodore Perry, Lord Abe, and American Imperialism in 1853 by George Feifer
Buy new: £15.87 / Used from: £2.95 This is not only an interesting and very readable new addition to the collection of books on Japanese history, it also speaks in many ways to todays new imperialist adventures.
|
 | Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
Buy new: £7.19 / Used from: £2.60 The delightful tale of a young girl growing up in pre-war Japan and her inspirational teacher. A Japanese classic.
|
 | Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
Buy new: £5.63 / Used from: £6.07 One of Japans most well known and well-loved pieces of literature. A good read for anyone heading for the north of the country or those interested in historical fiction.
|
 | 69: A Novel (Kodansha Modern Writers) by Ryu Murakami
Buy used from: £3.24 This is a semi-autobiographical account of growing up in Japan in the 1960s. It would be Ryu Murakamis best effort by far and one of the funniest books Ive ever read. Also made into a movie in 2003
|
 | Tokyo Underworld: the Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan (Vintage Departures) by Robert Whiting
Buy new: £7.67 / Used from: £3.99 Yet to review
|
 | How To Pick Up Japanese Chicks And Doom Your Immortal Soul by Josh Muggins
Buy new: £9.99 / Used from: £10.24 Yet to review
|
 | Lonely Planet Journeys : Lost Japan by Alex Kerr
Buy used from: £0.01 Yet to review
|
 | Dogs and Demons: Tales from the Dark Side of Modern Japan by Alex Kerr
Buy used from: £3.27 Yet to review
|
 | Being a Broad in Japan: Everything a Western Woman Needs to Survive and Thrive by Caroline Pover
Buy used from: £47.35 Yet to review
|
 | Learning to Bow: An American Teacher in a Japanese School by Bruce S. Feiler
Buy used from: £1.51 Yet to review
|
 | Japan (Country Guides)
Buy used from: £1.66 Yet to review
|
 | The Speed Tribes: Days and Nights with Japan's Next Generation by Karl Greenfeld
Buy new: £7.26 / Used from: £0.27 Yet to review
|
Listmania!
