∎ Descargar Hokkaido Highway Blues Hitchhiking Japan Will Ferguson 9781841952888 Books

Hokkaido Highway Blues Hitchhiking Japan Will Ferguson 9781841952888 Books

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Hokkaido Highway Blues Hitchhiking Japan Will Ferguson 9781841952888 Books

There are some seminal travel books about Japan that are important in the incisive observations the authors make about Japan and its inhabitants. Perhaps, the best example of this is Donald Richie's To The Inland Sea. That being said, I would rank Alan Booth's The Roads to Sata right up there with Richie's masterpiece. In fact, it was this book that inspired a later day classic, Will Ferguson's Hokkaido Highway Blues (1998). Booth walked from Hokkaido's Cape Soya to Cape Sata in Kyushu, and Ferguson has hitch hiked from Sata to Soya during the hanami (cherry blossoming viewing) season chasing the cherry blossoms as they spread north. I'm impressed he did around the time I first came to Japan in the late 90s and I'm glad that I waited to read his account because I am now more familiar with the country and have visited many of the places that he has-however not all and some of his descriptions have identified places that I want to visit (Sado Island in Niigata and Hirosaki in Aomori, and Hakodate among others). Ferguson's tone and style are much lighter than that of Richie and Booth, but he can also make astute observations about Japan and its people. Perhaps the biggest dichotomy he analyzes is whether or not the Japanese are arrogant or insecure, a topic he brings up with some of his driving companions and to which one of drivers responds that they are both. There are many memorable passages for insights or humor and I wish I had taken note of a few more of them to illustrate what i mean. However, there many other interesting stray observations he makes like the fact that the Ainu people (indigenous to Hokkaido) were not officially Japanese citizens until 1992, he also muses on the head-scratching "Engrish" that one encounters in Japan-"Let's Coke!", and gives background on famous areas sights and traditions like bull fighting in Uwajima in Shikoku, Himeji castle in Okayama among many others. It was an entertaining and insightful book and can be considered a classic and required reading for anyone interested in Japan.


Tags : Hokkaido Highway Blues: Hitchhiking Japan [Will Ferguson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. It had never been done before. Not in 4000 years of Japanese recorded history had anyone followed the Cherry Blossom Front from one end of the country to the other. Nor had anyone hitchhiked the length of Japan. But,Will Ferguson,Hokkaido Highway Blues: Hitchhiking Japan,Canongate Books,1841952885,Asia - Japan,Bill Bryson; Lost Japan; Alex Kerr; The Meaning of Rice; Michael Booth; For Fukui's Sake; Sam Baldwin; The Roads to Sata; Looking for the Lost; Alan Booth; Michael Palin; Lost in Translation; self discovery; hitchhiking; hidden Japan; Memoirs of a Geisha,TRAVEL Asia Japan,TRAVEL Essays & Travelogues,Travel,Travel writing,TravelAsia - Japan

Hokkaido Highway Blues Hitchhiking Japan Will Ferguson 9781841952888 Books Reviews

My family and I have recently ski trekked through Honshu and Hokkaido, chasing Japanese culture and powder.Once home we read Hokkaido Highway Blues. Will Ferguson has got it perfect.A beautiful country,mysterious polite,generous people.
i accidentally purchased this book in both the american and british versions, oops! will ferguson has lots of very interesting experiences during his travel in japan, and it was an entertaining read. at times a little slow, but overall an enjoyable book.
One of the funniest, best travel books I have ever read. A must read. I have bought and given away ten copies already.
I love Will Ferguson's writing style - full of interesting information about some of the places in Japan less traveled, often humorous.
I think the book is a tad bit too long. Really great stories in here but I lost interest about 3/4 of the way through. If you are a hitchhiking, travel, or japanese culture enthusiast its definitely worth a read! I was very interested in how the author is treated by the Japanese people.
I have lived in Japan about 8 years and have read several books about Japan. I enjoyed Booth's "The Road To Sata" but he chose to walk the whole way so he did not have as many encounters with Japanese people as Will Ferguson did (Will hitchhiked most of the way). I really enjoyed Will's witty writing style and he mentioned so many things that foreigners experience while living in Japan. Some reviewers commented that the author often makes fun of the Japanese and does not show enough respect for their culture. But I think anyone who has lived here a while has to develop a sense of humor and laugh at certain things or they will go crazy. Will pokes fun at himself quite a lot too and there are some very touching moments like when a Japanese man talks about his experience as a POW. I also recommend Dave Berry Does Japan, Learning To Bow, and The Road To Sata.
In fact, I love this book so much that I've owned at least 6 or 7 copies of it (under its current name Hitching Rides With Buddha). I keep giving it away to friends. Just ordered another two copies; one as a gift, and another for myself to KEEP.

After reading it for the first time in '06, just before deciding to move to Japan myself, I wrote to the author, Will Ferguson, and asked for his advice. He was so friendly and helpful, I was blown away. Helped me to realize that moving to Japan was definitely the thing to do at that stage in my life.

While this book may not be for everyone, it's certainly my style. Love it. Highest recommendations. (And thanks again, Will.)
There are some seminal travel books about Japan that are important in the incisive observations the authors make about Japan and its inhabitants. Perhaps, the best example of this is Donald Richie's To The Inland Sea. That being said, I would rank Alan Booth's The Roads to Sata right up there with Richie's masterpiece. In fact, it was this book that inspired a later day classic, Will Ferguson's Hokkaido Highway Blues (1998). Booth walked from Hokkaido's Cape Soya to Cape Sata in Kyushu, and Ferguson has hitch hiked from Sata to Soya during the hanami (cherry blossoming viewing) season chasing the cherry blossoms as they spread north. I'm impressed he did around the time I first came to Japan in the late 90s and I'm glad that I waited to read his account because I am now more familiar with the country and have visited many of the places that he has-however not all and some of his descriptions have identified places that I want to visit (Sado Island in Niigata and Hirosaki in Aomori, and Hakodate among others). Ferguson's tone and style are much lighter than that of Richie and Booth, but he can also make astute observations about Japan and its people. Perhaps the biggest dichotomy he analyzes is whether or not the Japanese are arrogant or insecure, a topic he brings up with some of his driving companions and to which one of drivers responds that they are both. There are many memorable passages for insights or humor and I wish I had taken note of a few more of them to illustrate what i mean. However, there many other interesting stray observations he makes like the fact that the Ainu people (indigenous to Hokkaido) were not officially Japanese citizens until 1992, he also muses on the head-scratching "Engrish" that one encounters in Japan-"Let's Coke!", and gives background on famous areas sights and traditions like bull fighting in Uwajima in Shikoku, Himeji castle in Okayama among many others. It was an entertaining and insightful book and can be considered a classic and required reading for anyone interested in Japan.