Josie Dew

Josie Dew doesn't take herself at all seriously, making this a refreshing read. It is also a long read and I feel it would have benefited from a bit more editing. I learnt a lot about Japan and the customs of the country and the people. Josie Dew is friendly and clearly approachable and she has a knack of making friends quickly that makes her a perfect solo traveller. The book has a charming chatty atmosphere and being a bit shorter would have been able to keep this element while avoiding show more repetition and over emphasis which I occasionally found irritating. show less

I am not usually into 'travel writing' but I this book caught my eye. I have been dreaming of returning to Japan for some time now, and lately that has been coalescing into a plan to go there and cycle-tour. So a book about someone cycle-touring around Japan, how could I say no?

Oh dear. This book is dire. Really dire. Not the content per se (though much of it is tosh, of the recycled 'ooh, how funny are those crazy Japanese' you get from many foreign visitors to Japan) but the writing style. show more It is so twee, contrived, and annoying. For example, before we even get close to Japan, we get pages of twaddle about Dew's knee problems. And it is written in the following style:
'To kneecap it all my creaky knee was not so much playing up as sailing straight on off up the creek. Forced to dismount, I found myself floating, or, rather, limping around utterly lost without my wheels.'
Yes, pages of this guff. I am not a fan of Bill Bryson's travel writing, but he comes across as an equal to Nabakov or Tolstoy compared to Dew.
There is some great travel writing out there about Japan. There is some great travel writing out there about cycling. There are probably some great guides out there to cycling in Japan. This book in no way makes it into any of those groups. Avoid it. show less

Also posted on my book blog, Rinn Reads.

Having read the first of Josie's books on Japan, A Ride in the Neon Sun, as well as her travel writing on cycling through the USA (Travels in a Strange State), I was delighted to find she had written more - especially on the topic of Japan.

Like a female Bill Bryson on wheels, she writes with great wit and humour, and manages to make even normal, everyday situations sound amusing. I really admire her as a person in general, not just as a writer - for show more fearlessly going out to these countries alone, and travelling by herself, everything she needs on the back of her bike. And she covers such tremendous distances too.

Yet whilst most of the book is very funny, there are some rather shocking parts too. Guangzhou, where Josie starts off her journey sounds horrific, as do the cramped ferries with passengers excreting all kinds of bodily fluids over the compartments. However, the good moments definitely outweigh the bad. It is absolutely amazing how Josie is treated by the Japanese - with such respect and kindness, almost everyone goes completely out of their way to give her gifts or help her out. She spends half the book riding around with cabbages and radishes dangling off the back of her backpack, after some kind old ladies spotted her cycling past their field. One school girl even tries to give Josie her own Hello Kitty watch! It also makes me think that, were she doing this in the UK and from elsewhere, she would not be treated in that way, which is quite shameful.

Some moments did make me wonder if everything was 100% true, but in the end it makes for entertaining reading, so I'm not too bothered! I would also have liked some clearer distinction between when Japanese and English were being spoken - although Josie claims her Japanese was very basic, from the conversations she had it seemed almost fluent.

Whilst the ending is very abrupt - I turned the page with a good chunk of the book left, and found it was a glossary and index - it is also understandable since her brother announced he was getting married in a matter of weeks.

Definitely a must read for fans of travel books, Bill Bryson, or those wanting to read about Japan. From the overly generous gifts and invitations (including being offered a place to sleep in a couple's shop, right next to the unemptied cash till and the freedom to help herself to the food in the shop), to impromptu Beatles tributes and chasing down flashers, Josie has some hilarious adventures that are definitely worth reading about. show less

One of the more inspiring books I've read in recent years. Josie Dew has a great sense of the written word. She's funny, poignant, and weaves history and the clash and merge of cultures into her stories of travel and adventure. This book, of her ride around Japan, is wonderful. A must read for the traveler, the traveler at heart, Japanophiles, and bicycle lovers everywhere.