I read this whilst in Japan. It's written by an American comedian (I think?!) and in my view that will never be as good as a British commentator ;) But I must have found this at least moderately amusing else I wouldn't have kept it. I'm planning to pass this on to someone who is due to travel to Japan quite soon.

Actually on second thoughts I'm thinking I might not have read this - maybe I kept it in order to read... I am going to read it before I pass it along.

Well I surprised myself by actually enjoying this. It is a tongue-in-cheek account of a short stay in Japan, that talks about quite a lot of the funny, maddening or bemusing things one can encounter there. In the last few pages there was mention of the service one gets when driving into a gas station, which never failed to send me into fits of giggles, which always used to leave me rather embarassed when driving alone, as I invariably was. What I can say is that the humour is inspired by the crazy things that are a part of everyday life - they are not invented nor exaggerated! I'll be passing this one on.

I gave this to my colleague soon after I read it as her parents were due to go on a trip of a lifetime, off to Japan. It didn't happen due to the tsunami and subsequent events, but I hope they might still visit via these pages and other books I gave with it.