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Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXJPN98. Buy these 6 items as a set for $91 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Eyewitness Guide Japan

Eyewitness Guide Japan

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 408 PAGES

Dazzling illustrations, architectural cutaways and color photographs, along with useful local maps, give this guide to Japan's many attractions a distinct edge. (JPN130, $28.00)

The Inland Sea

The Inland Sea

by Donald Richie

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 255 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Richie's masterpiece, more than a travel account, is a beautiful reflection on all things Japanese by one of its most acute observers. (JPN13, $16.95)

Japan, A Traveler's Literary Companion

Japan, A Traveler's Literary Companion

by Jeffrey Angles

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

This geographically-organized anthology introduces both Japan and its best contemporary writers. (JPN187, $14.95)

In Praise of Shadows

In Praise of Shadows

by Junichiro Tanizaki

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 73 PAGES

An earthy meditation on traditional Japanese art, architecture and design, this essay by the great Japanese novelist, first published in 1933, offers tremendous insight into Japanese aesthetics. Most illuminating. (JPN19, $16.00)

The Art and Culture of Japan

The Art and Culture of Japan

by Nelly Delay

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES

Lavishly illustrated, this handy pocket encyclopedia introduces the art, architecture and culture of Japan. With 165 archival and modern illustrations and a section of original documents. (JPN51, $12.95)

Japan Map

Japan Map

by Periplus Maps

  • 2009
  • MAP

This convenient map covers the island nation at a scale of 1:2,000,000, with insets of the major cities. (JPN06, $8.95)

 

South Korea Map


by ITMB

  • MAP

A convenient folded map of South Korea at the very good scale of 1:550,000. (KOR09, $12.95)

Fodor's Tokyo's 25 Best

Fodor's Tokyo's 25 Best


by Fodor's Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES
  • COMING IN JUNE

A shirt-pocket map and practical guide. (JPN05, $11.99)

Insight Guide South Korea

Insight Guide South Korea


by Insight Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 374 PAGES

With stunning, color photography on every page, hundreds of maps and indepth essays on history, culture and attractions. (KOR37, $23.99)

Japan Bilingual Map

Japan Bilingual Map


by Kodansha International

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER

This full-color double-sided map includes the entirety of Japan at a scale of 1:500,000, as well as individual maps of Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya and Fuji-Hakone. (JPN209, $14.95)

Lonely Planet Japanese Phrasebook

Lonely Planet Japanese Phrasebook


by Yoshi Abe

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 259 PAGES

A handy palm-sized guide to pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler. (JPN136, $8.99)

Old Kyoto, A Guide to Traditional Shops and Inns

Old Kyoto, A Guide to Traditional Shops and Inns


by Diane Durston

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

Wonderful, elegant essays on carefully chosen shops, often in out-of-the-way neighborhoods. (JPN24, $22.00)

A Traveller's History of Japan

A Traveller's History of Japan


by Richard Tames

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A lively and concise narrative history of Japan and its transformation from Shinto, Shogun and Samurai traditions to 20th-century powerhouse. (JPN09, $14.95)

Embracing Defeat, Japan in the Wake of WWII

Embracing Defeat, Japan in the Wake of WWII


by John W. Dower

  • HISTORY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 676 PAGES

A social and political history of the postwar years in Japan. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, it's an eye-opening account by a leading scholar of Japanese-American relations at MIT. (JPN54, $19.95)

Everyday Life in Traditional Japan

Everyday Life in Traditional Japan


by Charles J. Dunn

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

This detailed evocation of traditional Edo Japan portrays all walks of life -- samurai, farmers, courtiers, priests, outcasts and merchants -- with hundreds of marvelous black and white illustrations. (JPN331, $16.95)

Getting Wet, Adventures in the Japanese Bath

Getting Wet, Adventures in the Japanese Bath


by Eric Talmadge

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2006
  • HARD COVER
  • 256 PAGES
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

Tokyo-based Talmadge journeys from seaside resorts to mountain retreats and megaplexes in this cultural history of Japan through the tradition of the bath. (JPN197, $22.00)

Hiroshima

Hiroshima


by John Hersey

  • HISTORY
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 152 PAGES

Never sensational, this 1946 classic by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Hersey puts a human face on the unthinkable. Hersey explores the tragedy through interviews with residents, scientists and politicians. (JPN20, $7.95)

Inventing Japan, 1853-1964

Inventing Japan, 1853-1964


by Ian Buruma

  • HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 194 PAGES

A favorite writer with keen insight about Japan, Buruma offers an admirably succinct, dramatic history of Japan's transformation from feudal state to host of the 1964 Olympics, with a focus on World War II. (JPN139, $12.95)

The Rules of Play, National Identity and the Shaping of Japanese Leisure


by David Leheny

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2003
  • HARD COVER
  • 188 PAGES

A cultural and political portrait of contemporary Japan by a Princeton professor of East Asian studies. (JPN376, $36.95)

Think Global, Fear Local: Sex, Violence, and Anxiety in Contemporary Japan


by David Leheny

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 248 PAGES

A cultural and political portrait of contemporary Japan by a Princeton professor of East Asian studies. (JPN375, $21.00)

Zen and Japanese Culture

Zen and Japanese Culture


by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 503 PAGES

Suzuki describes Zen, its ideas, origins and practice in simple, poetic language, conveying how the Zen emphasis on simplicity has shaped a Japanese aesthetic. A classic by the hugely influential Zen master, first published in 1959. (JPN338, $29.95)

Japanese Architecture, A Short History

Japanese Architecture, A Short History


by A. L. Sadler

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

Sadler's classic study, first published in 1941, is a lucid introduction to Japanese architecture from prehistory to the modern Edo period. With black and white illustrations. (JPN363, $19.95)

Japanese Gardens

Japanese Gardens


by Gunter Nitschke

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 240 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

In keeping with the aesthetics of a Japanese garden, Gunter Nitschke has produced a simple but elegant tribute with this collection of photographs. (JPN270, $14.99)

Learning to Bow, Inside the Heart of Japan

Learning to Bow, Inside the Heart of Japan


by Bruce Feiler

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 321 PAGES

As surprising, helpful and informative as it is funny, this is an insightful account of travels and teaching in Japan. Feiler presents anecdotes on the rituals, personality traits and cultural peccadilloes of the Japanese. (JPN111, $13.99)

Black Arrow

Black Arrow


by I. J. Parker

  • MYSTERY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

Detective Akitada must solve a series of brutal slayings in the northern city of Echigo. (JPN201, $15.00)

Japan, Through Writer's Eyes

Japan, Through Writer's Eyes


by Elizabeth Ingrams

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

These tales by both Japanese writers and visitors, including Pico Iyer, Junichiro Tanizaki and Jan Morris, illuminate the history and culture of Japan. (JPN351, $33.95)

Memoirs of a Geisha, A Novel

Memoirs of a Geisha, A Novel


by Arthur Golden

  • LITERATURE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 434 PAGES

The runaway best-selling novel about a geisha in the celebrated Gion district of Kyoto. A major feat of literary impersonation, the novel is rich in period detail and ceremony. (JPN45, $15.95)

South of the Border, West of the Sun

South of the Border, West of the Sun


by Haruki Murakami

  • LITERATURE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Murakami stirs jazz, neon-lit streets, out of the way shrines, hustle and bustle and wonder into this lyrical tale of love in contemporary Tokyo. (JPN213, $14.95)

The Hell Screen

The Hell Screen


by I. J. Parker

  • MYSTERY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

Suguwara Akitada returns in another mystery of 11th-century Japan, with rich ambiance and superb historical detail. This time, a murder in a temple catches Akitada unprepared. (JPN327, $14.00)

The Samurai

The Samurai


by Shusaku Endo

  • LITERATURE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

This historical novel by one of Japan's best-known modern writers is set in the world of the 17th-century Samurai. A Roman Catholic, Endo explored Christianity and morals in his many novels and stories. (JPN157, $14.95)

Thousand Cranes

Thousand Cranes


by Yasunari Kawabata | Edward G. Seidensticker

  • LITERATURE
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 147 PAGES

This novella by the great Kawabata may be Japan's best-known literary work, a story of love, grief and redemption. Kawabata's prose is as economical as the tea ceremony itself, and very beautiful. (JPN34, $13.95)

A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North-East Asia

A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North-East Asia


by Shimba Tadao

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 512 PAGES

Featuring 800 color photographs, up-to-date range maps and notes on identification. (JPN264, $40.00)

Birds of East Asia: China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Russia

Birds of East Asia: China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Russia


by Mark Brazil

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 520 PAGES

Brazil's comprehensive guide, featuring 234 color plates, includes Japan, Taiwan and the islands along with the adjacent areas of Asia from Kamchatka to Korea. (JPN332, $39.95)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.