This is a book that I would recommend to anyone who loves Japan and art. It is AMAZING! It contains all hand drawn maps and scenes from around Tokyo, all done in pencil crayon.

Florent Chavouet joined his girlfriend in Tokyo while she was on a 6 month internship. Instead of getting a job, he went out every day with his sketchbook and pencil crayons and would draw the scenery around him. What makes this so special, in my opinion, is that the majority of it was not done from photographs but from him actually sitting and drawing from the location itself.

At every location he begins the chapter with a drawing of the police box, along with a map showing all of his favorite spots, and places he has been. There are many drawings of people, and parks and even of SMAP!! (no Arashi unfortunately)

I was excited to see that in one of the maps he includes a “Freshness Burger” which (at least last May) had the best Avocado burgers ever! Also, since I stayed in East Shinjuku I used his map for that location. (Shinjuku Gyoen is really beautiful by the way)

This May will be year since I was in Tokyo. I’m really missing Japan right now. Hopefully one day I will be back. In the meantime, I can look at Florent’s work and smile when I see the places I’ve been and let him inspire me to try to do something similar the next time I find myself in Japan.

Perfectly drawn dragons granting wishes to muscular man. Flawless cute girls singing sweet high-pitched tunes that make even strawberries taste salty in comparison. They make Japan seem like a safe haven where nothing could possibly go wrong. Que in the Yakuza. Japan’s organized criminal organisation. It’s listed in the national phone book and visible on the streets in the most seedy areas in Japan.

Most of us have heard about the Yakuza one way or another. But very few of us have come into contact with them. And perhaps it seemed that way too for Jake Adelstein, born Joshua Adelstein, when he traveled from the USA to Japan more than 20 years ago to study Japanese and learn more about martial arts. Becoming one of the first foreign journalists to write for Japan’s biggest newspaper at the time, Jake tells the extraordinary tale of his life as a crime reporter and his contact with the Yakuza in his book “Tokyo Vice“.

In Tokyo Vice Jake takes you from the safe streets of Japan into the gruesome world of the Japanese Yakuza. The beginning of the book starts with a conversation Jake had with a so called enforcer of the Goto-gumi. Threatening to hurt him, but not before they hurt his family, if Jake decides to publish an article. Sparing no details other than those to keep his friends, contacts and sources safe, Jakes tells his story in an informal style: covering the ins and outs of Japanese life as a slave to the Japanese workforce, the drinking parties, the drugs, the sex, the violence and the effect it had on his marriage.

The book is amazingly well written, loaded with dark humor and self-reflection. It leaves you with no question up until when you finished the book. That is where you ask yourself wether Jake has the balls of an elephant, a peanut instead of a brain, or perhaps both. If you want to know what goes on in Japan in perhaps the most intriguing world, that of the Yakuza, Tokyo Vice cannot be skipped.

This book was illustrated and written by Florent Chavouet, a graphic artist, who at the time was taking part in an internship in the city.  Each day he would set out in the various neighborhoods around Tokyo and sketched his observations.  Throughout the book, he captions many of his drawings with obvious and quite often, hilarious commentary.  Each neighborhood in the book is introduced by a koban aka local area police station.

One of my favourite parts of the book are the maps that he draws of various neighborhoods.  Some of the maps include Tokyo itself, Machiya (location of his first apartment), Shinjuku, Yoyogi, Harajuku and Shibuya plus many more.  The maps are exactly how I would draw them, full of buildings and land marks.

Besides the awesomeness of the maps, most of the book is full of odd findings and experiences that the author found himself in. Things that most likely peaked his interest at that current time.  I find the book to be pure genius and I am very happy that I picked it up without a second thought.  It’s all the little additions in the book that make it most worthwhile and I think it makes a great addition to any collection of books.  Though, as cool as it is, I wouldn’t advise using it as any sort of travel guide while out and about in Tokyo.  I mean, you probably could, but I’d suggest looking at it before you go out because if I recall correctly, he draws the buildings close to accurate representation.  n_n

If you’re looking to practice your Japanese, this isn’t the best book for that.  As you probably have seen, all of the commentary is in English (a French version is also available) though all buildings, signs, flyers, tickets etc. stay in their true form with kanji, hiragana and katakana included.  This book is just something that is nice to look at, laugh a little and dwell on the times when you go ‘oh yah, I remember that.’  Check out your local bookstore or online retailer of choice if you’re interested in grabbing yourself a copy.

Also, check out Florent’s home page (which is pretty cool by the way) as it includes more illustrations, photography and a link to his blog.

]]> http://yonasu.com/tokyo-on-foot-travels-in-the-citys-most-colorful-neighborhoods/feed/ 11 http://yonasu.com/1q84/ http://yonasu.com/1q84/#comments Sat, 10 Sep 2011 10:17:08 +0000 Amy http://yonasu.com/?p=17527

I was reading Elle Canada (a fashion magazine) last night and came across a “quiz” about Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 book. The book is finally translated and set to be released on October 25^th in North America!

1Q84 or One Q Eighty-Four or ichi-kew-hachi-yon  was originally published in three volumes in Japan between 2009 – 2010. The first book released in June 2009 sold over 100,000 copies in the first week!

The english language edition will be released as one book, the first two parts translated by Jay Rubin and the third by Philip Gabriel.

The quiz in my magazine was titled “worth reading?” I knew right off that the book was worth reading, as I have already read many of Murakami’s books, but I decided to go over this “Quiz”. I soon came to find out that it was the “Quiz” that was NOT worth reading, with such questions as : “Your knowledge of Japanese culture comes from…”?  Godzilla (5) or Gwen Stefani (10). HOW DO I ANSWER THAT ONE!?! Of course my knowledge of Japan does not come from them, even though they are part of what I know about Japan.

Here is another great question. Does the name Nutmeg Akasaka make you giggle? Yes (5) Of course! (5) Um, why 5 points for both answers?

And “Do you like the Beatles Norwegian Wood”? John Lennon’s Eastern-influenced songs are his most powerful works (5) The one with the sitar? I’ll pass (0)

The scoring is also kind of strange.

If you scored 100+ points “ You will definitely enjoy 1Q84. Also, you’re a bit of a weirdo.

66-99 points – Ease into Murakami by reading Norwegian Wood first.

40-65 points – Maybe you’re more of a Cormac McCarthy fan. Pick up “The Road”.

Less than 40 points – The twilight saga: Breaking Dawn part 1 in theaters November 18^th.

Even though I could not answer the whole quiz properly due to the kind of questions they were asking, I know for a fact that I will definitely enjoy 1Q84… which apparently  makes me a weirdo (>_<) Oh, fashion magazines, why do I read you?

What do you all think about 1Q84? Who is as excited as I am to get their hands on a copy of this book? Any of you already read it in Japanese?

This book takes place in modern day Japan, and is a series of 10 short stories written by Justin Isis.

Before my review I just want to make it known that I am not a writer, nor am I literary critic. I am simply reviewing this book as a book lover, and to share my thoughts with everyone. I will read just about anything, but if it has anything to do with Japan, no matter how small, I will definitely pick it up.

I was really excited to be able to take part in reviewing this book for yonasu.com and chomu press, I couldn’t wait for my copy to arrive in the mail. When I finally got the book and opened it up I suddenly felt totally out of my league.

First of all, these stories were very different from what I would normally read. I’m always open minded about when it comes to reading, but the only thing close to this is some of the strange stories my best friend (who is taking her Masters) makes me read.

The fact that I had not encountered anything like this put me off at first and to be completely honest, I didn’t think I would like it. I read the first story “Nanako” and felt, well, disgusted. I found myself disliking the narrator, and the way he spoke of Nanako. However, reading further, it seemed much more complex than what I had originally thought.

The stories have a disturbing feel to them, and I can’t quite place my finger on the exact emotion that I feel when reading. It’s something like disgust, fear and curiosity. It’s like I am witnessing something I shouldn’t be.

I have to say that I really enjoyed “The quest for Chinese people“ and “Garden of sleep“. I feel out of the whole book, those were the best stories. While as a whole I experienced more negative like feelings while reading, I found these two really piqued my interest. I wanted to know more about the main characters, and why they were doing the things they were doing. What prompted them? It’s hard to say much without re-telling the story, but they really kept my attention. They were quirky, but still believable.

I think for most of us here, these stories are very different from what we would be used to. Assuming we are not all taking our Masters Degree in literature? I think that Justin Isis was able to engage me in his stories in a different way than I am used to. They were definitely not written to give us a feel good feeling, but almost to challenge us to face subjects that are a bit strange and disturbing, and not the norm.

If you are interested in something different, give it a try.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. (cue the reading rainbow music)

Chomu Press

In this order (orders actually), I got the 5 books seen above.

Idle Idol

Not quite the “idol” I usually refer to, in this book it refers to the nationwide mascots, such as Anpanman, Doraemon and the Kappa. This is a part of the Japanese culture that I definitely need to study more, there are so many of them, so this book will definitely do me good.

Idle Idol: The Japanese Mascot

Drainspotting

If you’ve been to Japan, you’ve most likely noticed that the Japanese like to design their manhole covers. This book guides you through those cool manhole covers in pictures, there’s a map even in case you want to see them in person.

Drainspotting

Urawaza

This is a book I’ve been wanting to get for over a year now, and now I’ve finally got my hands on it. The slogan “Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan” pretty much says it all. It’ll help you get those zits off your face, teach you how to swim backwards, make a baby stop crying and much more.

Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan

70 Japanese Gestures

A guide to Japanese body language. It can be frustratingly difficult to explain yourself or understand someone if you don’t speak each other’s body language. For example, “me” and “ugly” has a very similar gesture in Japan ;)

70 Japanese Gestures: No Language Communication

Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential

Perhaps the book I’m most interested in reading, it includes pretty much everything about the different kinds of Japanese teenagers, such as idols, sailor girls, cover girls, gyarus, actresses and much more.

Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential: How Teenage Girls Made a Nation Cool

I will post about these books again as I finish reading them so I can give them a good full review. Just thought I’d do a short introduction post, in case you’d want to get your hands on some of them yourself!

All three books look really interesting, I’ve flipped through them a bit, and just started reading My Darling is a Foreiger which is hilarious so far.

And it’s not just funny, I’m sure you’ll learn a thing or two by reading it as well!

I wasn’t sure what to expect of The Otaku Encyclopedia, but now I know that it’s quite possibly the most useful book I’ve ever held in my hands. There are so many useful words and names in this book that I’m still not familiar with, and I’ll definitely have a lot of fun learning these. Aside from the words, there are also many interviews with otakus, idols, tarentos and other people featured in the book.

I’ve been to a few arcades in Japan so I’ve got a taste of what they have to offer. But Arcade Mania seems to be a good read both for people who have never been to one, and to those who go there regularly. There’s a lot to learn from this book about the history of arcades, the people behind them and the players themselves.

So if you’re looking for a good read, these books are highly recommended!

If you don’t have an account on White Rabbit Press yet, click here to register and then order these books!^^

Arcade Mania! ($25) – The Otaku Encyclopedia ($22.50) – My Darling is a Foreigner ($16)

There’s supposedly some Swedish otakus in the first book, haven’t seen them yet, but I’m definitely interested in seeing what that looks like. I don’t really have any crazy otaku friends around here, except for a couple of gaming otakus.

I do like the design of the books a lot, both the cover and the inside, it’s very nicely done! But content is king after all, and it really is king in this case.

I’ve never cosplayed myself, but I do enjoy looking at other cosplayers, so OTACOOL 2 is just perfect for me^^

The books are both in Japanese and English and about 130 pages long. Sadly, I’m not in the books myself, but I guess I can’t say that I’m much of an otaku, not in comparison with these people at least! There are some really sweet setups to look at if you need inspiration for your own room. Oh and both books include interviews with Danny Choo as well!

Most of the cosplayers have included names, age, years of cosplaying, website, their cosplaying name and a message. Some of them have two full pages and some share one page, so it’s a good mix of text and pictures, feels like browsing through a magazine.

I’m gonna have a lot of fun looking through these two books, that’s for sure. So if you haven’t bought them yet, I definitely recommend them, they aren’t that pricey either.

You can buy them both from White Rabbit Press, see the links below. If you buy them now, White Rabbit Press has a 21% discount on OTACOOL 2! And get some Japanese candy while you’re at it ;)

OTACOOL: Worldwide Otaku Rooms - OTACOOL 2: Worldwide Cosplayers