Imagine yourself living in Japan. You head home past vendors selling ramen to a traditional wood house, open your sliding door, and take off your shoes before stepping onto your tatami mats. You know the locals and speak Japanese with ease. You show visiting friends around with the confidence of one who belongs. Author Ruth Kanagy shows you how to make your dream take shape. She left her life as a Japanese teacher in America to live in Japan. While some give up—daunted by the financial, bureaucratic, and decision-making issues that accompany a move so extraordinary—you'll be led step-by-step through the information you need on visas, money, jobs, housing, safety, language, culture, and history. Ruth has done the research and made the mistakes—so you don't have to. There's a place that matches your budget, needs, and dreams: perhaps it's an apartment in the urban mecca of Tokyo, a seaside abode in the Hokkaido prefecture, or a home in the slow paced and traditional island of Shikoku. You can make it happen. With Living Abroad in Japan, it's easier than you think.
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"In contemporary Japan, you can wear your hair black or bleach it blond, slip on a pair of jeans or a yukata (cotton kimono), sip matcha (green tea) or a latte, and order French, Chinese, sushi, or pizza. After a day of hiking or snowboarding, you can soak in a rotenburo (open-air spa), relax with yoga or tai chi, and collapse onto your futon or bed. In Japan, the choice is yours."
About the Author
Ruthy Kanagy was born in Tokyo, spending her childhood in Japan and higher education in the U.S. She taught Japanese in the U.S. and English in Japan for 22 years. Currently, she is a freelance translator, editor, and writer in the UK and flies to Japan as often as someone buys her a ticket.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must Have Guide,
By
This review is from: Living Abroad in Japan (Paperback)
Ruthy Kanagy has produced a comprehensive and useful guide for those thinking of taking the plunge across the Pacific and moving to Japan. Living Abroad in Japan joins many other well-done titles put out by the publishers Living Abroad In. Kanagy, herself born and raised in Tokyo, approaches her subject as only an insider could. The book assumes the reader knows nothing but does not speak down to her-and is well written and full of detail. It is neatly broken into chapters on Japan (history, government, economy, people, culture), daily life (moving, language, health, employment, finance, communications, travel, and housing), and "prime living locations" (Tokyo, Hokkaido, Kansai, Nagano, and Hiroshima).
The back of the book too is filled with useful indices: contacts, a phrasebook, suggested reading/films, clothing sizes, and an index. Having lived in Japan-Tokyo and Kyoto-for 15 years, I thought this would be a guide for someone just off the boat (i.e., not for me). It most certainly is for those new to or thinking of coming to Japan; however, it is much more than that. Even for the long-term resident of Japan, this is an invaluable guide.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book that covers the "Real Japan",
By Ats "@nak(A)" (Kawasaki, Japan) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Living Abroad in Japan (Paperback)
An interesting enough book, that it's a great read not only for to-be-visitors of Japan, but for Japanese readers as well. Unlike other travel books which cover only the sightseeing aspect of Japan putting weight on traditional Japanese culture, this book is well balanced in describing everyday life, the real Japan today, The Japanese mind (important in getting acquainted with Japan), as well as the tradition. The book is also good at pointing out the interesting mixture of the past and present (for example, kimono-clad woman talking on a cell-phone). The facts and advice are all practical, up to date and accurate based on the author's actual experience living in Japan. As a Japanese citizen, I recommend reading this book whether you plan to visit/live in Japan or not, to find out what Japan is all about now. (which is not just Geisha, samurai, Toyota and Sony. :-))
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
intelligent, complete and entertaining guidebook,
By
This review is from: Living Abroad in Japan (Paperback)
I have lived 27 years as an American in Japan and I find Ruthy Kanagy's book to be accurate and complete. This book covers a wide breadth of important material succinctly without even one boring or pedantic line in the whole book. It contains interesting informatation ranging from Japanese history and geography to how to open a bank account or how to make conversation with a Japanese. It is written eloquently and intelligently with insight and information to benefit the experienced traveler or the first time traveler to Japan. The original photographs and descriptions are refreshingly fair and true to the experience of living in Japan today. A must read for anyone planning a trip to Japan.
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