Hokkaido Highway Blues: Amazon.ca: Will Ferguson: Books

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From Publishers Weekly

The author had been teaching English in Japan for two years before he decided to hitchhike from one end of Japan to the other and then write about it. His goal was to follow the trail of cherry blossoms that, at the start of spring, crest in a wave from Cape Sata in the south to Cape Soya in the far north. Ferguson hitchhiked with "a decidedly limited arsenal of Japanese, most of which seemed to revolve around drinking and the weather." Although many of the people he encountered not only went out of their way to transport him long distances, offering him meals and opening their homes to him, there were times when he was treated as if he were a stereotypical Westerner. After a sailor called him "Henna gaijin!" ("Weird foreigner!"), Ferguson replied by asking the sailor whether he was Korean. This is one of a few incidents throughout the book that touch on Japan's caste system, which stigmatizes Japanese-born ethnic Chinese and Koreans. Most of the writing, however, is less concerned with social issues, and the general tone of the book is irreverent as Ferguson encounters wild monkeys, visits the famed Bridge of Heaven and shares a drunken, emotional evening with a former soldier who had been a POW captured by the Americans during WWII. It all makes for a pleasingly witty and offbeat travelogue.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Ferguson (The Hitchhiker's Guide to Japan, Tuttle, 1998) was teaching English in Japan when he decided to follow the cherry blossoms as they bloomed from south to north. To get to know the Japanese people better, he opted to hitchhike the whole way. Hitchhiking is technically illegal in Japan, but Ferguson had little trouble getting rides. He not only provides some insight on Japanese manners and mores but really captures what it is like to be a foreigner in Japan. As a gaijin, he played various roles: the honored guest, the entertainment (kids at the zoo find him more interesting than the animals), the temporary escape from Japanese society, and the rude barbarian. But the one thing he wanted most he could never have: to feel as if he belonged. He captures all of this with great humor, a touch of sarcasm, and a clear affection for Japan. This book is an updating of Alan Booth's The Roads to Sata (1986), which remains the standard. Highly recommended for travel and foreign studies collections.?Kathleen A. Shanahan, American Univ. Lib., Washington, DC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

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3.9 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Out of Tune, Aug 30 2002

By

James R. Hoadley "Nagano Jim" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hokkaido Highway Blues (Paperback)

I think I would have liked this book better had I read it before I lived in Japan for 7 1/2 years. Then I wouldn't have nitpicked it so much. However since I did, I must say that it is the little things about this book that bothered me. I appreciated his humorous explanation of his fluency and how he dealt with it in the book, but then later in the book, it really seemed as if he believed his own bull...er...PR. I don't know Mr. Ferguson's fluency, but from his description it is close to my own, and based upon that I highly doubt that everything that he insists was said actually was.

The author tries very hard to pass himself off as the consummate Japan expert. That's fine, if it's true, but if it's not, it is merely annoying and distracting to catch him in an error. Just as an example, he mistakenly claims that the Northern Japan Alps are located in Tohoku. During the 4 1/2 years I lived in Nagano, I saw the Northern Japan Alps every day, and they are not anywhere near Tohoku. This would have been easier to take had Mr. Ferguson showed a bit more humility and not come across as such a know-it-all.

Finally, the author's dealings with women really angered and disgusted me. He laments his inability to find love, but he never really considers that he might be part of the problem. He is so in love with himself that there is no room in his heart for anyone else.

Having said all that, the book is better than a lot of other books that I have read in this genre. It's not Learning to Bow, but it is also not as bad as every book with "Fuji" in the title either.

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on travel in Japan, July 18 2002

By

Megami (Darwin, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hokkaido Highway Blues (Paperback)

Will Ferguson has managed a pretty special feat in the writing of this book - he has managed to be funny and poetic in turns, and show the different facets of Japanese life by telling us about the people he meets and the places he goes on his travel from the South to the North of Japan, following the Sakura (Cherry Blossom).

This is not your usual travel book. For starters, Ferguson travels (mostly) by hitch-hiking, and therefore meets a wide variety of everyday Japanese people in his travels. The only musuem he writes about is one that has a rather large stone vagina. He is in turns dimissive and exhultant about Japanese culture. He is, in other words, typical of most of us who spend any time in Japan - he realise that he both loves and hates the place, and that the sooner you come to terms with this the better.

This is not your typical book about Japan, and is all the better for it. Some books written by Westerners about Japan end up being love stories written about a country that doesn't really exist. Some end up being rants about an evil empire, that similarly doesn't exist. Ferguson brings us Japan as he sees it, and to me it is believable.

And by the way - this is a very funny book. Insightful and humourous. What a bargain.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Get over yourselves already., July 2 2010

By

Anime Domo "Anime Domo" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hokkaido Highway Blues (Paperback)

This is more a review of some of the more negative reviews seen here than of the excellent book itself, but to get that out of the way, Hokaido Highway Blues AKA Hitching Rides With The Buddha is an excellent travelogue filled with mild adventure, humour, and cogent insight. Together with other western writers about Japan, such as the droll British cyclist Josie Dew, Mr Ferguson is being victimized by people who apparently spend their lives quivering with repressed rage about racism and who burst out with (for instance) bad Amazon reviews at the slightest opportunity. Well, Mr F is patently no racist and merely describing things that people might not want to hear does not make him even a little prejudiced. If anyone for instance imagines that there is an island culture anywhere that doesn't have insular attitudes, you may want to get off your own island.

Please keep the good stuff coming Mr Ferguson!

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Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Stereotypes & Caricatures
When I began reading Hitching Rides with Buddha (originally published under the more suitable title Hokkaido Highway Blues), I was immediately impressed with Ferguson's easy wit,... Read more

Published on Mar 28 2010 by Andrew R. Deane

3.0 out of 5 stars A sad and uncharitable view of life and Japan.
I laughed many times at Will's facility with words as he touched on many funny bones of Japanese life. However the further I read the sadder it became. Read more

Published on April 5 2004 by Donald J. Simons