This post was recovered from an old blog that I had while going to college at Oregon State University. I’ve only updated misspellings or dead links, but left any cringe worthy things or immature thoughts. I’ve decided to leave them as a snapshot of who I was and to see how far I’ve come. Any photos have been freshly edited and so are not the same as what was originally posted. Over the years I had several blogs, most lost to time, and I wanted to recover some lost memories and reflect on my life.

really enjoyed this book and was easily able to digest it in a weekend. I never wanted to put it down as there was always something around the next bend.

The author does an incredibly good job at looking at Japan from an unbiased perspective. He grumbles about kids yelling at him as he hikes, yet he writes affectionately about loving obasan’s at the ryokans. I enjoyed the humor within, but I admit it may not be for everyone, I mean he does have the British sense of humor.

While the book may be 20 years old I think it provides a good glimpse at the constant contradictions of Japan. How polite Japanese people may be, but how they subconsciously look down on other countries (don’t we all have our national pride?). Of the “foreigner in Japan” books I’ve read this is THE best. Others may praise Japan, some may despise Japan, Booth experiences Japan.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5