ALAN BOOTH'S CLASSIC OF MODERN TRAVEL WRITING
Traveling only along small back roads, Alan Booth traversed Japan's entire length on foot, from Soya at the country's northernmost tip, to Cape Sata in the extreme south, across three islands and some 2,000 miles of rural Japan. The Roads to Sata is his wry, witty, inimitable account of that prodigious trek.
Although he was a city person—he was brought up in London and spent most of his adult life in Tokyo—Booth had an extraordinary ability to capture the feel of rural Japan in his writing. Throughout his long and arduous trek, he 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. Traveling 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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From Library Journal
Sata is the cape at the southernmost tip of Kyushu in southwest Japan. Booth, an Englishman living in Japan, walked there from Cape Soya at the northernmost tip of Hokkaido in northern Japan. It took him 128 days, following a mostly rural route down the eastern side of the islands. His book is a delightful series of encounters with and impressions of local people who were astonished to find a foreigner speaking Japanese. He was treated as a friend by many, and as a freak by some. Booth has much to say about modern Japanese life that fails to come out in the more numerous books on urban and industrialized Japan. And thanks to Booth's ability with both Japanese and English, his book is much more enjoyable to read. Recommended for all libraries wanting good books about Japan. Harold M. Otness, Southern Oregon State Coll. Lib., Ashland
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"A marvelous glimpse of the Japan that rarely peeks through the country's public image."—Washington Post Book World
"An illuminating book."—The Economist
"Alan Booth has given us a memorable, oddly beautiful book."—Asian Wall Street Journal
"Fluent in the language, well-informed and disabused, [Booth] is in the fine tradition of hard-to-please travelers 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."—Frank Tuohy, Times Literary Supplement
"Alan Booth was not only the best travel writer on Japan, but one of the best travel writers in the English language."—Ian Buruma, author of The Wages of Guilt
"[Booth] achieved an extraordinary understanding of life as it is lived by ordinary Japanese....Frequently brilliant in his insights."—F.G. Notehelfer, The New York Times Book Review
"One of the best foreign observers of Japan today...his book is unsurpassed."—Far Eastern Economic Review
"To Travel with Alan Booth is to travel in very civilized company indeed, but also close to the ground. He has a mind that illuminates and enlivens everything it encounters."—Nigel Barley, author of The Innocent Anthropologist
"Booth's capacity for rueful, discerning observation will keep him in the front ranks of travel writers for years to come."—Kirkus
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
It was late in June so most of Japan was dripping and gray-the rainy season was at its height. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
It was late in June so most of Japan was dripping and gray-the rainy season was at its height. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By gakusya
Format:Paperback
This book is really boring. I had read several books on Japan/Japanese before this one, the most recent being Will Furgeson's Hitching Rides with Bhudda. Since Furgeson is a comedy writer, at the time I read this book I might have just been coming off a comedy high, so of course then it would seem inane just by contrast. So I read about half and then had put it down. I came back several months later, ready for more Japan, but could only read about half again before having to put it down. This book is just really boring. Alan merely describes what he's doing. Sometimes he points out something interesting. But that's all he does, he just points it out. No interesting follow up discussion just "I went here, I saw that. Then I found this really interesting thing. And then I left and went over there." I read half the book and I have no idea what type of person Alan is, other then he has a unconscious penchant for terseness. Seriously, why did he write this? The diary of a 15 year old angsty teenager would contain more insight and pathos. A passport would be a better piece of travel literature then this.
Pros:
1) You can use it to make a fire
2)A good read for testing your tolerance for boredom
Cons:
1)Alan has nothing to say in this book.
Maybe you can say that's sort of the point, that its supposed to be as unembellished as possible like some sort of "minimalistic" style. But how could a book written like that possibly be a good book?
Pros:
1) You can use it to make a fire
2)A good read for testing your tolerance for boredom
Cons:
1)Alan has nothing to say in this book.
Maybe you can say that's sort of the point, that its supposed to be as unembellished as possible like some sort of "minimalistic" style. But how could a book written like that possibly be a good book?
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Having lived in Japan for a long time I found this book disappointing. As another reader stated above it is written from a man's perspective and experiences in Japan. I had a hard time relating to much of his book. Alan writes for the gaijin man in Japan. I know if a gajin woman were to repeat his journey the tale would be much different. I am sure many long-timers would agree.
By pwb
Format:Paperback
This book builds slowly giving an almost daily account of the authors' impressions of the people and places of Japan. It offers many interesting insights into Japan and the author himself. Mr. Booth is a fun person to travel thru Japan with.
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4.4 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A journey through the heart of Japan
Part of me wondered throughout this book why this gaijin decided to walk through the Japanese inaka (countryside) for four months sleeping in Ryokans and drinking sake. Read more
Published on Feb 25 2003 by Jerry Sanchez
5.0 out of 5 stars
A journey through the heart of Japan
Part of me wondered throughout this book why this gaijin decided to walk through the Japanese inaka (countryside) for four months sleeping in Ryokans and drinking sake. Read more
Published on Feb 25 2003 by Jerry Sanchez
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captivating
Alan Booth has written probably the most beautiful excuse for every lover of Japan. He doesn't whitewash his subject - the Japanese are a severely 'exceptionable' (a word I didn't... Read more
Published on Dec 3 2001 by "unhelpful"
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very accurate description
The late Alan Booth was married to a Japanese woman, spoke fluent Japanese and had lived in Japan for quite some time when he decided to walk all the way from the north to the... Read more
Published on Aug 2 2001 by Linda Oskam
5.0 out of 5 stars
A walk worth remembering
I've been scouring the literary shelves for books about Japan in preparation for an upcoming trip to this fascinating country. Read more
Published on July 16 2001 by N. A. Horan
5.0 out of 5 stars
What an Experience!
Mr. Booth gives a wonderful account of what it is like to be a foreigner in Japan as he goes by foot from north to south. Read more
Published on Feb 19 2001 by Dave-in-Asia
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining & Insightful
"The Roads to Sata" is a foreigner's (British) account of his 2,000 mile walking journey from the country's northernmost to southernmost tip along the, mostly rural,... Read more
Published on Jan 24 2000 by Todd Bass
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful read about a beautiful journey
I enjoyed this book very much. The writing keeps pace with the author's careful look at Japan. His British humor adds wonderful moments, my favorite of which involve rainy nights... Read more
Published on Nov 10 1999 by Jason Kelly
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vivid account of Japan by man as demented as the Japanese
The difficulty with many of the classic accounts of Westerners travelling through Japan is a tendency to either High Seriousness or clowning. Read more
Published on Dec 14 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply wonderful
I was lucky enough to receive my copy of this book from his wife. Reading the book, though, told me volumes more about the man than any person could. Read more
Published on Sep 13 1998
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