Preparing for your trip to Japan is important fun. Your local book store (on or off line) will have hundreds of titles. Below is a short list of books that we have enjoyed over the years.
Japan
: A Bilingual Atlas
by Atsushi Umeda
A highly recommended comprehensive atlas for English-speaking
travelers in Japan. It is particularly helpful in those areas
of the country where English signs are few and far between.
The
Rough Guide to Japan
A great book for normal people who are looking for straight
forward information about Japan and what to see and do.
Frommer's
Japan (Complete Guides)
The one of the most popular travel guides to
Japan. Frommer's guide includes practical information on restaurants,
hotels, major tourist spots as well as useful glossary of Japanese
terms and phrases.
Memoirs
of a Geisha by Arthur S. Golden
A very well written and researched fictional story of the life
of a geisha in Kyoto. Golden takes you back in time and traces
in great detail the extraordinary rise to fame and power of
the geisha, Sayuri.
Classic
Japanese Inns and Country Getaways
by Margaret Price
An excellent overview of traditional Japanese inns or "ryokans."
This book is full of both practical information about and wonderful
descriptions of numerous ryokans throughout Japan.
Japanese
Inn
by Oliver Statler
This book follows the history of an actual inn that has been
in business for 500 years. It was started by a master-less samurai
who was forced to open his doors to the warlords of the Edo
period on the Tokaido Road.
Fallen
Flower
a novel
by Robert Imrie
Two American and Japanese detectives search for the murderer
of a young American mother in Osaka, Japan.
Review: "The author knows his Osaka inside out. Fallen
Flower takes you racing through the mean streets of Japan's
second largest city." Peter Tasker, author of
Buddha Kiss and Samurai Boogie
Taiko
a novel by Eiji Yoshikawa (translation by William Scott Wilson)
A fictional version of the story of Hideyoshi and taming of Japan at the end of 16th century Japan.
Shogun
a novel by James Clavell
Set just after the death of Hideyoshi (Taiko) about the raise of the Tokugawa Shogun.
