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elvenrapier's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
3.0
protoman21's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book better than the last Dave Barry book that I read because it told a complete story and wasn't just a random collection of his columns. Yes, it was still a collection of anecdotes from his trip to Japan with his wife and son, but it felt more complete and the stories fell in a context that stitched them all together. He is, as always, amusing and has a way of stating things in that perfect Regular Joe manner that made him famous. Not gut busting and at times the jokes were predictable, but entertaining nonetheless.
alidottie's review against another edition
4.0
Really really fun. This book was written over 20 yrs ago, but I know just from Gracie's letters home from Japan each week that some things have not changed. I enjoy this light look at a pretty serious country. Can't wait to go!
mantissabolt's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Dave Barry takes a trip to Japan in 1991. This is an entertaining book, but very much a book about the relationship between the US and japan in 1991, which is now VERY different. His conclusion make the rest of the book worth the read. Good, not great.
lizchan's review against another edition
5.0
This book is hilarious, yet it also shows that Dave Barry can write about serious things. Makes me want to go to Japan and visit the plastic food district.
alundeberg's review against another edition
4.0
Written in 1992, this book is undoubtedly dated, but many of Barry’s observations of Japanese and American cultures remain true today (although with its bizarre game shows, ramen noodle baths, and anime culture, Japan seems to have heeded Barry’s advice to “lighten up”). He discusses the disparity of both cultures and how challenging it is for an American to penetrate Japanese culture (when one only has three weeks to do so). Entertaining and informative and reminds us to not take ourselves too seriously when visiting.
kricketa's review against another edition
3.0
oddly enough, my life has been thus far untouched by dave barry. one of my teens recommended this to me when she saw i was reading "japan ai." it's a very amusing if slightly shallow travel memoir, and the audio version is well narrated. nice light listening for the car.
monkiecat2's review against another edition
2.0
Up until now I've always really liked Dave Barry, and this one did have its funny moments, but the narration was just... so horrible. The constant caricature accent a la Mickey Rooney started out cringey and went downhill from there. I could have dealt with it being a little offensive, but this was worse - it was grating and obnoxious and just so unfunny. Besides this, it was about how you'd expect, Dave Barry going to Japan, experiencing culture shock, acting very American, and then mostly just poking fun at his own ignorance. A couple transphobic statements thrown out randomly, nothing particularly clever, an unhealthy obsession with tentacles. Definitely not his best, but probably tolerable in written form.
raemelle's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book! It's a bit outdated (24 years old as of my reading), but that doesn't spoil the fun. I was laughing out loud a lot. I've always enjoyed Dave Barry's articles, and he keeps it up in this short book about a three week trip to Japan with his wife and ten year old son. It was a bit disconcerting when he was explaining what Nintendo is to the reader, but it was written in the very early nineties, so it kind of makes sense for anyone who may have been living under a rock at the time.
made_in_dna's review against another edition
3.0
Reality-based comedy. Dave Barry isn't a guru on Japanese culture by any stretch of the imagination, and this book is now pretty dated as it was published about ten years ago, but it was a funny read back in the day. And now that I live in Japan, I think I might give it a read again.