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lorna_harrison 's review for:
Abroad in Japan
by Chris Broad
An interesting and entertaining read about one man's life in Japan. The first section deals with his time teaching in a Japanese school with some interesting thoughts about the differences between Japanese school children and their society and that of the UK.
The second part of the book deals with him moving away from the school and becoming a You Tuber and film maker about life in Japan. He doesn't hold back in his criticism of Japanese life - the blatant discrimination against foreigners in securing accommodation for example. He also doesn't hold back on the praise for their ingenuity in devising ways to use all parts of an animal and their stoic way of carrying on in the face of natural and other disasters.
He has a few interesting anecdotes but I wasn't impressed by his encounters with Japanese celebrity and felt he didn't really flesh out any of the side characters sufficiently well especially his friend who he credits with helping to integrate fully into Japan culture.
There is precious little about the countryside or even the towns he is in except a nod to whatever the local delicacy is. He barely touches on Tokyo and his ride across Japan on a bike is covered in a short chapter which focuses on how hard it was to do and edit rather than on what he encountered.
The section when he is at the school feels more complete and rightly takes up two thirds of the book. The rest feels rushed and reads more like an advert for his You Tuber channel than a book about the rest of Japan. I'm sure he could have got at least another two books out of his experiences.
The second part of the book deals with him moving away from the school and becoming a You Tuber and film maker about life in Japan. He doesn't hold back in his criticism of Japanese life - the blatant discrimination against foreigners in securing accommodation for example. He also doesn't hold back on the praise for their ingenuity in devising ways to use all parts of an animal and their stoic way of carrying on in the face of natural and other disasters.
He has a few interesting anecdotes but I wasn't impressed by his encounters with Japanese celebrity and felt he didn't really flesh out any of the side characters sufficiently well especially his friend who he credits with helping to integrate fully into Japan culture.
There is precious little about the countryside or even the towns he is in except a nod to whatever the local delicacy is. He barely touches on Tokyo and his ride across Japan on a bike is covered in a short chapter which focuses on how hard it was to do and edit rather than on what he encountered.
The section when he is at the school feels more complete and rightly takes up two thirds of the book. The rest feels rushed and reads more like an advert for his You Tuber channel than a book about the rest of Japan. I'm sure he could have got at least another two books out of his experiences.