I quite liked the Alain Corneau film adaptation of FEAR & TREMBLING. If you saw it and feel that it shortchanges the book in substantial ways, please let me know.

I recommend Pico Iyer, The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto. Iyer went to Kyoto to study in a monastery and gets comically entangled with the wife of a salaryman. Along the lines of The Roads to Sata, in that it's about a hapless foreigners adventures in Japan. Really well written; Iyer still writes about Japan, 20 years after the publication of this book.
Another really interesting older novel is The Broken Commandment by Toson Shimazaki, a member of the outcast burakumin. Written in 1906, it describes the attempts of a burakumin schoolteacher to hide his identity. Lots of insights into the older caste system in Japan, aspects of which still continue today. (Burakumin were considered defiled because of their contact with death; they slaughtered animals, tanned hides, etc.)

marya_, I got the book (Fear & Trembling) after having seen the movie. I enjoyed them both a great deal and thought that each stood on its own. Though I sometimes find it less than great to read the book after seeing the movie -- just too difficult to clear my mind of the actors' portrayals when reading the author's words.

Looks like you have plenty of suggestions to keep you busy. My favorite is Miyamoto Musashi by Eji Yoshikawa. It is often referred to as the Japanese "Gone with the Wind" and has many famous characters (many Japanese know the main characters by name). It has some great history, a Japanese style love story and it chronicles the life of Japan's most famous warior and his foes. Taiko, another other Epic novel by Yoshikawa is also awesome (this one about Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a famous peasant turned leader of Japan from the 15th Century).

Thank you for keeping these suggestions streaming in. I am just coming down the home stretch with SHOGUN and then look forward to turning to the other titles recommended above.

Longtime lurker, I had to throw in my two cents about this subject.
Japanese Inn: A Reconstruction Of The Past by Oliver Statler, also his Shimoda Story.
For those who enjoyed Shogun check out the Musashi series by Eiji Yoshikawa.
Many thanks to those frequent posters here whose advice and information I have enjoyed.
Leaving for Japan in three weeks!

Very good:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2364971.The_Commoner

Hello! What a wonderful thread!!!! Probably not enough time to read all those exciting recommendations (and you're probably on your way to Japan already) but hope that you manage to pick up Peter Carey's Wrong About Japan: A Father's Journey With His Son (http://petercareybooks.com/Wrong-About-Japan) sometime for a funny yet intimate look at modern-day Tokyo through the eyes of a foreigner.

Enjoy your trip!! i can't wait to read some of these books myself =)

From a very quick scan, I don't think I saw any of Yukio Mishima's works. The ones I would recommend are THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH THE SEA, THE SOUND OF WAVES, and SPRING SNOW (the first of a quartet, but I confess to never having the chance to complete it, but SPRING SNOW is a beautifully written--and translated--work). His novels capture a much earlier Japan.

What a delightful surprise to find some new ideas on this thread. I have been slowly working my way through earlier suggestions. So far, I have enjoyed PICTURES FROM THE WATER TRADE, SHOGUN, and I am finishing up one of Murakami's earlier books, THE WILD SHEEP CHASE. Thank you for keeping the recommendations flowing...

Thank you, jbeckstr, I am almost to the end of the 900 + page Taiko - I am very interested in that period of history - I saw the 2011 NHK Taiga - Atsu Hime - who was the daughter of Oichi, the sister of Oda Nobunaga - and when I was in Japan last November I was able to see a lot about their era in Nikko and Kyoto.

My recommendation is The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell - this is a historical novel about the Dutch on the island of Dejima in Nagasaki in the 1800's when that was the only place foreigners were allowed in Japan. When I was in Nagasaki this spring I was able to visit the Dejima recreation which was really magnificent after having read the book....

Check out Donald Keene's. He's an American scholar on everything Japanese, particularly their literature. Recently, he tried to obtain Japanese citizenship and had to jump through a lot of hoops!

The first time I traveled to Japan, I checked out one of his old paperbacks from my local public library, and loved it during the flight. It was like a collection of essays on Japanese literature, way of looking at life and art. Maybe it's out of print, but I don't recognize it on the list on Amazon. At that time, I loved the book so much that briefly contemplated of stealing it from the library. But no.

http://www.amazon.com/Donald-Keene/e...qid=1343256522

I just read the chapter on Hokkaido in Hitch Hiking with Buddha--light reading, brusque travels, some humor--to pepare for my trip in October. I'd want something deeper and literary. Anyone have a good recommendation on books on Hokkaido? Thanks!

Here's his interview with the Financial Times last year:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/9a0ebac8-0...#axzz21g5omjaR

His book on the Japanese Discovery of Europe (primarily via the traders at Dejima) is very interesting.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Japanese-D.../dp/0804706697

marya, you must be back by now....how was your trip to Kansai?

Aloha!

Konnichiwa, HT and all:

No! We are still here. We arrived in late June and leave in mid-August. I am writing from my apartment in northern Osaka on the Hankyu line. While it is challenging because I don't speak Japanese, I love it here. Some highlights:

* spending an afternoon with my son (visiting briefly) at Nanzen-ji temple complex where we went up to the shrines in the hills and walked along the aqueduct

* Spending another afternoon with him at Fushimi Inari Taisha, hiking up to the top just before sunset and coming down with the lanterns were lit and the bats emerging

* seeing a 5 hour kabuki theater performance -- enchanting even though I didn't understand the language

* taking the Nozomi superexpress to Hiroshima for a day and exploring the Peace Park, Peace Museum, A Bomb Dome (no time for Miyajima alas)

* attending a Takarazuka performance with my daughter (who also visited briefly). We were the only non-Japanese on the train and in the theater.

* savoring a lazy okonomiyaki lunch with my daughter in the Shinbashi area of Gion, followed by taking a bus to Ginkaku-ji (fabulous) and walking south along the Philosopher's Path until we could no longer take the heat

* visiting the Toda-ji temple complex in Nara

* going to Kyoto on July 15 to see preparation of Gion Matsuri parade floats and experience the evening promenade with so many people out in traditional dress

* seeing the Tenjin Matsuri fireworks over an exquisite dinner in Osaka

* going to a Hanshin Tigers game at Koshien stadium -- one needn't like baseball to enjoy this

* going to a oublic bath in Arima Onsen with my daughter

* learning (somewhat) the train system and going everywhere on these oh-so-wonderful trains

* finding the extraordinary ethnology museum somewhat hidden away in Senri Expo Park

* learning (somewhat again) to use the appliances and accomodate to the customs of a Japanese apartment. I wish that I could bring the entiire bathroom, the rice cooker, and the strict slippers policy back home with me. Why do we wear street shoes in the house and use soap/shampoo in the combined tub/shower anyway?

* eating. Lots of sushi, tempura, udon, green tea icecream, red bean buns, okonomiyaki, soba, barbecue.

So much more, but that's a taste of what I have been lucky enough to enjoy. As everyone knows, it is very expensive here so one chooses as wisely as possible. Having an apartment where we can cook makes meals more affordable. I do feel that I am spending an inordinate amount of money on transit -- loading up my ICOCA card (stored value train card) -- every time I turn around. Everything is accessible by train though and the punctuality/great organization of the railway system spoil you for life.

What a treat it is to be in Japan.

Kon-nichiwa, marya, and thanks for that wonderful slice of what makes Japan such a special place.

Shinbashi is at the top of my favorites list: it must be the most pleasant city area that I've run across.

And maybe you can't bring all the appliances and fixtures back home with you, but many of them are available in the States. I have a Zojirushi rice cooker and a Toto in my condo.

If you're not already familiar with H-Mart, you'll almost surely want to become so when you get home: the store is filled with Japanese (and Korean) foods, as well as some hard goods. (In Boston, H-Mart is in Burlington, though I understand that a new store is planned for Central Square.)

And finally, here's a video of the Hanshin Tai-gahs fans singing the team's song (Rokko Oroshi): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9CcpTA6L1E

Ohayou gozaimasu marya-san! Arigatou gozaimasu for the wonderful look at what are your special moments in Japan. I've always wanted to take in the Tennjin masturi and the magnificent fireworks show and didn't realize I could have seen bats at Fushimi Inari if only we had waited....It all sounds so great, really happy you are enjoying Japan with your family.

Yes, we have also installed the Toto in our bathroom and every house in HI comes equipped with a Hitachi,Sony rice cooker.

it may be too late for this but there are a few special train passes for the Kansai region available for tourists only which you can purchase in Kyoto to ease the constant feeding of that ICOCA card

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html

Gambatte kudasai!!

Good to hear that you are having a wonderful trip marya_. Would like more info on your Arima Onsen experience.

I just spent nearly two hours crafting a reply but it has vanished without being posted after I previewed it. Sorry. Fodor's editors -- can we find anything under my name?!