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A Gaijin's Guide to Japan: an Alternative Look at Japanese Life, History and Culture

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A Gaijin's Guide to Japan: an Alternative Look at Japanese Life, History and Culture (Paperback)

by Ben Stevens (Author)

2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Price:	�5.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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This item: A Gaijin's Guide to Japan: an Alternative Look at Japanese Life, History and Culture by Ben Stevens

In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan by Patrick W. Galbraith

In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

This item: A Gaijin's Guide to Japan: an Alternative Look at Japanese Life, History and Culture by Ben Stevens
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan by Patrick W. Galbraith
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

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Product details

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: The Friday Project Limited (1 May 2009)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1906321213
ISBN-13: 978-1906321215
Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2 cm

Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 22,557 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category:
#7 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > Asia > Japan

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Product Description

An alternative look at Japanese life, history and culture Your Rough Guide or Lonely Planet book can tell who where to stay or what to see, but how do you really get under the skin of Japan? In this book Ben Stevens explores the serious and the frivolous, the history and the obsessions of a fascinating nation. Taking an A-Z walk through Japanese culture, A Gaijin's Guide To Japan looks at everything from akachochin bars to chikan (the weird blokes who touch you up on trains), geisha, inari shrines, karaoke, omikuji (sacred lottery) and ending up at zen. With a fair sprinkling of celebrity mentions - from David Beckham to soap opera star Yong-sama - and handy guides to kanji and sushi this is the perfect book for the Japanophile in all of us. Ideal for readers planning a visit to Japan but also to armchair fans of Japanese culture.

About the Author

Ben Stevens splits his year between homes in Japan and London. He has been fascinated with Far Eastern culture all his life and his first book, From Lee To Li, a guide to martial arts heroes is published in spring 2009

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	61% buy the item featured on this page: A Gaijin's Guide to Japan: an Alternative Look at Japanese Life, History and Culture 2.7 out of 5 stars (3) �5.49
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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

2.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars unstuffy fun, 3 Jun 2009

By	D. Pawley - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book is an introduction to many different aspects of Japan, arranged in an A-Z format, from Sada Abe to Zen. Topics covered range from mythology to culture to etiquette to politics (thanks to Mr Stevens for reminding me of Tokyo's eccentric governor, Shintaro "French people can't count" Ishihara). It's a fun and informal read which never goes too deeply into any subject, although you could use it as a springboard for some Googling if you want to get a bit more in depth. It's a good capsule picture of life in Japan, and great for dipping into.
It's not all perfect - the copyediting is a bit sloppy, and the humour can be hit and miss, but the best thing I can say about this book is that I wish I'd had a copy before I moved to Tokyo. At the time all I could find were travel guides and dry treatises on the correct angle to bow at when handing over a business card (also covered here!), and this book would have been great when trying to settle into a strange new city.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Read, just not a guidebook or story.., 3 Sep 2009

By	R. Lambert (Winchester, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I rented A Gaijin's Guide to Japan from the local library.

It's actually a really good book with some useful information contained within it. It's formatted in an A-Z style with lots of emphasis on culture and beliefs and customs. I've never been to Japan to use the information contained but it looks pretty conscise. It's certainly not a reference or guide book but a supplemental book.

The writing style is light-hearted and fun. I found it quite tricky to read sometimes because of the sentence structure but that's a minor niggle really. It didn't take me long to blast through the book but I did find myself wavering in the middle. This was mainly due to the A-Z style rather than a personal story format. There's no story bringing me back. It's just references but not in a guide book style.

Other than that though I liked the book a lot and I thought the author, Ben Stevens, has written a great little read. Just don't rely on it for all your facts for Japan. Also - was not impressed to find no mention section on Bento (obento).

For the price it's on at Amazon it's definitely worth a punt.

Rob..

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0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A joke that is not funny, 18 May 2009

By	Jackal (Singapore) - See all my reviews

Some bloke teaching English in Japan decides to make some extra cash by writing an A-Z about Japanese culture. A better book could have been written in two weeks.

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