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The Roads to Sata: A 2000-mile Walk Through Japan (Origami Classroom)
 
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The Roads to Sata: A 2000-mile Walk Through Japan (Origami Classroom) (Paperback)

by Alan Booth (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £10.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Kodansha America; Reprint edition (1 Jun 1997)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1568361874
  • ISBN-13: 978-1568361871
  • Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14.2 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 206,045 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #78 in  Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > Asia > Japan

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Product Description

Review
Fluent in the language, well-informed and disabused, [Booth] is in the fine tradition of hard-to-please travellers like Norman Douglas, Evelyn Waugh, and V.S. Naipaul. A sharp eye and a good memory for detail...give an astonishing immediacy to his account. --Times Literary Supplement<br /><br />An illuminating book. --The Economist

An illuminating book. --The Economist

Product Description
Although Alan Booth was a city person (he was brought up in London and spent most of his adult life in Tokyo) he had an extraordinary ability to capture the feel of rural Japan in his writing. Throughout his long and arduous trek, Booth encountered a variety of people who inhabit the Japanese countryside, from fishermen and soldiers, to bar hostesses and school teachers, to hermits, drunks and tramps. His wonderful and often hilarious descriptions of these encounters are the highlights of these pages, painting a multifaceted picture of Japan from the perspective of an outsider, but with the knowledge of an insider. The Roads to Sata is travel writing at its best: illuminating and disarming, poignant yet hilarious, critical but respectful. Travelling across Japan with Alan Booth, readers will enjoy the wit and insight of a uniquely perceptive guide, and more importantly, they will discover a new face of an often misunderstood nation.

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The Roads to Sata: A 2000-mile Walk Through Japan (Origami Classroom)
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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars an extraordinary trek recounted by an extraordinary writer, 30 Mar 2001
This review is from: The Roads to Sata: A 2000-mile Walk Through Japan (Ulverscroft Large Print) (Hardcover)
The late Alan Booth was one of a relatively small number of foreigners to adopt Japan as his home. He was a fluent speaker of the language and well versed in many aspects of Japanese culture and history. As such he was well qualified to write a book about Japan and he avoids the cliches of oriental inscrutability so common to critiques of Japanese culture. The structure is suggested by the title - with the exception of a few trips by boat Booth walks from the northernmost point of Japan on Hokkaido to the southernmost point of the island of Kyushu. The route he takes is mainly a rural one - Booth consciously avoids the urban sprawl of Tokyo. Booth is clearly fascinated by the minutiae of life in small-town Japan, and his ability to speak fluent dialect, sing traditional enka karaoke music and imbibe copious amounts of beer and sake is the passport to many entertaining encounters along the way. Booth is easily the literary equal of Bill Bryson or Paul Theroux. In common with Bryson he manages to turn the telling of minor details and anecdotes into a fascinating narrative whole. The reader really gets an insight into Booth's experiences as a foreigner in Japan. His affection for Japan and the Japanese is mixed with frustration that he is so often treated as an outsider despite having lived in Japan for most of his adult life. This can take the benevolent form of people who fuss and take pains to treat him as an honoured guest. Sometimes it is manifested in less pleasant forms as he is refused lodgings or otherwise discriminated against. For anyone who has visited Japan, and especially for those who have lived there for any length of time, Booth's book will probably articulate so many of the things that make Japan so special (and sometimes infuriating). For those that have not, The Roads to Sata is a great piece of travel writing in its own right and will have you itching to go and see Japan for yourself.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent piece of travel writing, 5 Dec 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: The Roads to Sata: A 2000-mile Walk Through Japan (Ulverscroft Large Print) (Hardcover)
Alan Booth's talent - greatly missed with his all too early passing - was not just to write in a clear and entertaining style, but also to avoid generalising or romanticising his Japanese experience. He spent enough time living in the country and spoke Japanese well enough to have a very good level of insight, but also to appreciate that there were some aspects of life that he might never understand. The Roads to Sata is an absolute 'must read' for anyone with an interest in Japan and is one of the best pieces of travel writing that I have ever read. It will leave you wishing that his career was much longer and more productive.
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8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A Cynical Journey, 29 April 2005
By A Customer
This review is from: The Roads to Sata: A 2000-mile Walk Through Japan (Travel Library) (Paperback)
The title of this book gives the reader a good idea of what to expect from the content, and true, the author portrays this journey in sometimes delightful detail. Sadly however, an undertone of cynicism towards the Japanese people marrs the effect throughout; What could have been seen as the enchanting quaintness of the Japanese people's fascination of 'The West' and all it entails is brushed aside by the author as mere irritations. It is perhaps unfortunate the the author had lived so long in the country before attempting the expedition, since a fresh outlook may have been better able to appreciate and impart the experience. The general feeling by the end of the book, when even a press photographer showing interest in the completion of what is a remarkable endeavour is treated by the author Booth with disdain, is one of fatigue with the country. If you are a lover of travel novels this is one for you, but if you are seeking a book with insight into the 'real' Japan you may be sadly disappointed.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Charming account of rural Japan - insightful, evocative and accurate
Writing about Japan seems to be like walking a thin tight rope. Read Amazon reviews of other Japan books and you'll find that many authors get criticised - either for being too... Read more
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