Japan - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

This book seemed a little more balanced than most in its approach to discussing and explaining the ins and outs of Japanese culture. At first, I thought it seemed negative and even possibly sarcastic at times. I was annoyed and almost offended. I wasn't sure I wanted to keep reading. But I was finding things in it that I hadn't learned from discussions, animes, online information, or the other books I had read such as "The Japanese Way" and "Japanese Cultural Encounters." It didn't include personal stories nor was it academic-style. It is easy to read and easy to find what you're looking for. It's worth reading, re-reading, and keeping as a reference. It contains some useful information, including dos and don'ts and some of the not so glamorous realities of Japanese life, culture, economy. I did find some typos, which was surprising, but not anything big. The writing style was less personal and has a "unique" style compared to other Japanese culture books. I liked it a lot and found it a good addition to my collection of books to understand the Japanese mind and way of life. I recommend adding it even if you have other culture books. I will note that it seems aimed at probably Americans or Europeans who have not lived in Japan, who do not speak Japanese, and who have not traveled to Japan. It's not extremely in-depth, but more a small, compact guidebook to get out when you need it and a quick, handy read overall.

On a recent trip to Japan, my travel companion had this book. I referenced it almost nightly to understand some of the things we were seeing and read it thoroughly on my return. I should have had it first, but in any case it was perfect for what I wanted-which was a quick understanding of the customs and some of the 'different' things that we saw-I would definitely recommend it.

This is a very helpful book that explains the culture very well. Every aspect that most wouldn't even know about.

This was a great resource. It was easy to read, and I finished the whole book in a couple of hours on the plane to Japan. It had a lot of helpful tips about things that would be rude. Since it is easy to break social rules but the Japanese people will never tell you that you are being rude, it is pretty nice to have this info in your pocket. I thought some of the info was a little out of date, especially considering it was published recently. I didn't think this would be a problem, since a common assumption about Japanese culture is that it doesn't change much over time. Many of the things that I found incorrect had to do with gender and how women are treated. However, we spent most of our trip in Tokyo, so it may be that the culture there is considerably more dynamic and Westernized. All in all, I would definitely pick this book up if you are going to Japan for travel or business. It gives good advice, and shares enough Japanese history to explain many of the cultural values and etiquette.