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littlesprite21's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
pianorunner421's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting tour of Japan. I found many of the stories amusing and thought provoking.
princewales's review against another edition
4.0
A cool book with a lot of wonderful stories full of humor, philosophy, silence. And another look at Japan :) And sakura.
heathernj9's review against another edition
4.0
Very funny and revealing portrait of Japanese people. I read this before my recent trip to Japan and it gave me a real feel for what I was about to experience (on a smaller scale).
kimu's review against another edition
4.0
I read this while on vacation in Japan, so half of the appeal was seeing how his experiences matched up with what we were doing. The author followed the "cherry blossom front" as it advanced northwards through Japan, hitchhiking along the way. We were there in the spring, also following the cherry blossom front (but mostly taking trains). The book was very reminiscent of a Bill Bryson book in tone & style. Overall, a very enjoyable book.
baklavopita's review against another edition
4.0
After living and teaching in southern Japan, Ferguson sets out to follow sakura (cherry blossoms) as they bloom from south to north, all while hitchhiking. When I read that Ferguson is a humorous travel writer, I was concerned that the work wouldn't have much weight. No worries! He's not just a smart ass, but he is also truthful. Through Ferguson, I came to know Japan and its people in ways I had not before.
lizlogan's review against another edition
4.0
Hilarious and poignant. Ferguson manages to be both very funny and very beautiful in his writing. The whole journey is very poetic - going through highs and lows, his attempts at haiku, his dreams of Buddha. His ending is very open-ended and very much am curious to what happened after the book, but alas that is not for us to know. I have immediately ordered another book of his to read, and hope it is as good.
melanie_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Coronavirus book review #8 – 3 stars
While there are a lot of literal laugh out loud moments, this book dragged a bit, especially near the end. It was somewhat anti-climactic, and I would have liked a reading list at the end to reference some of the books, ideas and history Ferguson mentions throughout the narrative. I was also surprised by how much it lacked in detail about the history of the Japanese sakura front.
I was also very curious about his day job as an English teacher for a Japanese corporation. That piqued my interest and went unfulfilled.
Since I’ve had extra time for navel gazing, I was overwhelmed with the sadness of how much the experience of travel has been taken over by selfie culture and Instagram. As I read, I kept picturing what Ferguson’s Instagram feed would be like. I’m happy he didn’t include any photos since it kept my imagination alive. Yet, I can’t help but think what travel writing books, the thick tomes of ideas like those Ferguson mulls over, will be like 10 – 15 years from now. Will they be as dense with human connection or littered with everything people saw?
Bonus, I've added two places to my bucket list:
1. Devil's Washboard in Miyazaki
2. The Bridge to Heaven in Miyazu Bay (Kyoto Prefecture)
While there are a lot of literal laugh out loud moments, this book dragged a bit, especially near the end. It was somewhat anti-climactic, and I would have liked a reading list at the end to reference some of the books, ideas and history Ferguson mentions throughout the narrative. I was also surprised by how much it lacked in detail about the history of the Japanese sakura front.
I was also very curious about his day job as an English teacher for a Japanese corporation. That piqued my interest and went unfulfilled.
Since I’ve had extra time for navel gazing, I was overwhelmed with the sadness of how much the experience of travel has been taken over by selfie culture and Instagram. As I read, I kept picturing what Ferguson’s Instagram feed would be like. I’m happy he didn’t include any photos since it kept my imagination alive. Yet, I can’t help but think what travel writing books, the thick tomes of ideas like those Ferguson mulls over, will be like 10 – 15 years from now. Will they be as dense with human connection or littered with everything people saw?
Bonus, I've added two places to my bucket list:
1. Devil's Washboard in Miyazaki
2. The Bridge to Heaven in Miyazu Bay (Kyoto Prefecture)
vilhelmr's review against another edition
5.0
Read it for the third time, and it still makes me laugh out loud.
cynthias's review
3.0
got bored and didn't finish it. Probably better for someone more interested in Japan.
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