Foot-Loose in Tokyo: The Curious Traveler's Guide to the 29 Stages of the Yamanote Line [Paperback]

Jean Pearce (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Pub; 1st edition (June 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 083480123X
• ISBN-13: 978-0834801233
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,832,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tokyo from the insider's view, August 31, 2001

By 

Eric Holeman (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foot-Loose in Tokyo: The Curious Traveler's Guide to the 29 Stages of the Yamanote Line (Paperback)

The Yamanote is the circle line of Tokyo's rail system. And from Jean Pearce's perspective, the line's 29 stations add up to a perfect tour of this marvelous underrated city.

Pearce, for 42 years a columnist for the English-language Japan Times, is the ideal guide for the tour. Her sharp eye misses few details, and her delightful style conveys her deep love for the city, its neighborhoods and its people.

Each chapter describes a walking tour of the area around the station, with a mix of historical background and current details. The chapter on Akihabara, Tokyo's electronics district, pays due mention to the area's famous hi-fi and TV purveyors, but wanders on, as you might, to the neighborhood shrines, and then on to neighboring bookshops and an Russian Orthodox church.

The book is long out of print, and it's possible that some of the shops described are no longer there--though in fast-changing Japan, it's always surprising what survives. But even after so many years, there's still no better armchair tour of Tokyo available, and when you do visit you'll no doubt be able to find the Tokyo that Pearce saw.