Books, CDs, Videos related to this trip
Related links
Available materials
Here is a list of materials (books, CDs, videos, etc.) that may be of interest if you like to get a feel for our destinations.
For most of the music CDs I have included a sample, but be aware that some of these samples are kinda' large, so if you click on "Sample" it may take a while to download, depending on your Internet connection speed.
| Title | Publisher / Producer | Notes |
| Departures | Yoojiroo Takita | 2009 Academy award winner, best foreign film |
| Shall We Dance | Miramax (VHS) | The original, in Japanese with subtitles. |
| Dream World: Reflections on the Japanese Garden | Smithsonian (VHS) | Quiet, reflective insights into the design of Japanese gardens. |
| Title | Artist | Notes |
| Lapis Lazul | Iruka | Kinda' folky, hippie, jazzy, rock-y collection Sample |
| Iruka Hits | Iruka | More orchestral; mellow, pleasant Sample |
| Best Selection 16 | Iruka | Wide variety of styles. Sample |
| Koto | Junko Shigeta | Terrific instrumental work by Denver artists Sample |
| Innocent | Satoko Ishimine | One of my favorite J-pop singers, pretty accessible Sample |
| Closet | Satoko Ishimine | Very rock-y, wail-ing, edgy collection of songs. An aquired taste, not for everyone. Sample |
| Imagination | Satoko Ishimine | Overall a lighter collection of music. Sample |
| Title | Author | Notes |
| Gai-Jin | James Clavell | Historical novel: merchants in Japan in the 1860's. |
| All She Was Worth | Miyuki Miyabe | A young woman disappears; her fiance asks his uncle, a retired detective, to track her down; but is she who she says she is? |
| Audrey Hepburn's Neck | Alan Brown | A rural Japenese young man moves to Tokyo and becomes involved with two American ex-pats in surprising ways. |
| The Wind-up Bird Chronicle | Haruki Murakami | Book cover: "a detective story, an account of a disintegrating marriage, and an excavation of the buried secrets of World War II" |
| Memoirs of a Geisha | Arthur Golden | Fiction, supposedly based on accounts from an actual Geisha, the provenance is somewhat controversial; made into a movie. |
| American Fuji | Sara Backer | An American man comes to Japan to find out about his son's death. He teams up with an American ex-pat woman as they unravel a story of illicit organ donation and the local yakuza. |
| The Concubine's Tattoo | Laura Joh Rowland | Detective story set in 1690 in Japan. A bit of a bodice-ripper, but an interesting who-dun-it. |
| Title | Author | Notes |
| Japanese in Action | Jack Seward | Insights by an American ex-pat who has lived in Japan over 40 years. Heavy on language intricacies, but some perceptive insights into culture. |
| The Donald Richie Reader | Donald Richie | Insights by an American ex-pat who has lived in Japan over 50 years. Skip the longish introduction and get to the meat of the book. |
| Confessions of a Yakuza | Junichi Saga | Non-Fiction; Yakuza are the Japanese version of the mafia. Published in 1991 |
| Confucius Lives Next Door | T. R. Reid | Non-Fiction; Life in Japan for a Washington Post bureau chief; he now lives in Denver and is a member of the Denver Takayama Sister City Committee |
| The Dolls of Japan | The Japan Foundation | Stunning pictures with brief descriptions of various dolls and doll styles (16 pages) |
| Dave Barry Does Japan | Dave Barry | Dave Barry travels to Japan; although a humor book, he hits the nail on the head in a number of areas. Still, sometimes tries too hard. |