Japan: True Stories of Life on the Road
by Donald W. George (Editor), Amy G. Carlson (Editor)
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Description
What is it about Japan that so beguiles foreigners? It is a small country and yet an economic powerhouse, a land of great natural beauty -- from green-cloaked mountains to glistening rice paddies -- a place of intricate arts and crafts and amazing cuisine, and home to a people whose kindness and sensitivity surprise westerners at each turn. It is no wonder that Japan simultaneously astonishes, delights, and frustrates travelers, and the diverse tales in this book reveal the nation in all its show more contradictions: a place of tranquil temples and high-tech toilets, exquisite ancient inns and lurid love hotels, where electric baths sit beside indoor ski slopes, and cherry blossoms fall on kindly grandmothers, cynical salarymen, wise monks, and wild lovers alike. Gathered in this collection are pieces by several notable authors, each offering anecdotes that tell of encounters to be had or avoided, each with uncommon insight to enrich the traveler's experience. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
There are some fine pieces here. Unfortunately, there's a lot of pieces that haven't really aged well since first seeing the light of day in other places.
There is a bit too much earnest material, confusing sentimentality with cultural sensitivity. (And do we really need another appearance by Lafcaidio Hearn?) I think future volumes could be improved greatly if some of the older stuff from the economic bubble era could be thinned out (the David Berry piece in particular could be deep-sixed. It's not very funny and not very insightful) and more contemporary post-crash voices added.
There is a bit too much earnest material, confusing sentimentality with cultural sensitivity. (And do we really need another appearance by Lafcaidio Hearn?) I think future volumes could be improved greatly if some of the older stuff from the economic bubble era could be thinned out (the David Berry piece in particular could be deep-sixed. It's not very funny and not very insightful) and more contemporary post-crash voices added.
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Travelogues in Japan
22 works; 3 members
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Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Japan: True Stories of Life on the Road
- Important places
- Japan
- Original language
- English
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Statistics
- Members
- 127
- Popularity
- 256,219
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.63)
- Languages
- English, Japanese
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
- UPCs
- 1
