The Land of the Rising Yen, George Mikes
-lovingly pointing our the foibles of this nation too

Zeit für Japan, Gert Anhalt
- the non-standard guide to Japan

World Food - Japan, lonely planet
- especially good on local variations and practical tips

Japan, lonely planet
- ditto, well researched and masses on every area

Japan, Dorling-Kindersley Eyewitness Travel Guide
- the standard, but beautifully illustrated, guide to Japan

Japan, Bucher Verlag
- beautiful pictures of ancient and modern Japan

Ando by Masao Furuyama, Taschen
- the only architect who really knows how to do concrete

TimeOut: Tokyo
- excellent guide by insiders

Kunst aus Japan, Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Berlin/New York
- dig those Kimonos with Mickey Mouse

Japanische Farbholzschnitte, Taschen Verlag
- poor quality pictures and long boring texts on fascinating subject

Darum nerven Japaner, Christoph Neumann
- thing you wish you didn't know about the Japanese

Mobile Suit Gundam, Kazuhisa Kondo
- classic Manga comic

At Home with Japanese Cooking, Elizabeth Andoh
- excellent manual for all Japanese staples

Japans 99 irdische Paradise
- boring: grey texts, maps and pics - no paradise

Haruki Murakami e.g. A Wild Sheep Chase
- weird stories by the Japanese master

Ryokan, Gabriele Fahr-Becker
- the concepts behind the traditional inns

The Hotel Book - Great Escapes Asia, Christiane Reiter
- these look so good it makes you want to go there

Sex and the Floating World, Timon Screech
- academic treatise on woodcuts used, ahem, "in conditions of solitary pleasure"

Pons, Japanisch Powerkurs fuer Anfänger
- you're not going to learn Japanese in a hurry

Gateway to Japan, Kinoshita & Palevsky
- encyclopaedic guide to Japan

Japanese Cooking A Simple Art, Tsuji
- don't be put-off by the fact that this book is over 25 years old, has few photographs, more than 500 pages and that it "takes 20 years to acquire enough experience to make truly perfect rice"!

Tsukiji, Ted Bestor
- the world's biggest fish market (described by boring academic)

Merian Japan
- more useful hints for the traveller

Mondtränen, Bürohelden und Küchengerüchte, Schmitt
- less useful, longwinded articles

Wrong about Japan, Peter Carey
- a father discovers Japan through travels with his son

The Xenophobe's Guide to the Japanese, Sahoko Kaji
- what is likeable and less likeable

Taishita koto nai jinsei, Helga Sentivany
- talks with aged Japanese ladies

Railway Timetable, JR Group
- indespensable for the Rail Pass user

Inemuri - wie die Japaner schlafen, Brigitte Steger
- academic treatise on the instant nap/meditation at work






And now enough theory ...

Here follow the Crudities, those hastily consumed and as yet undigested morsels of events, for the nourishment of the reader - live from our trip ...

[Thomas Coryate, 1611]