Customer Reviews

Moon Living Abroad in Japan

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although I have lived in Japan in my youth and I can speak the language and have recently traveled to Japan more frequently to visit my Japanese friends, I found much new and helpful informatation that was helpful for making my plans to live in Japan again. Ruth Kanagy illustrates her guidebook with beautiful original photographs and makes accurate descriptions and background explanations of social customs and the lifestyle you can enjoy in Japan. This book is comprehensive in scope. It can serve as a useful guide for planning a quality short holiday trip including important money saving traveling details you need to make before you leave that a travel agency won't tell you, as well as serving as an excellent reference guide for anyone making plans to live and work there and even to permanently make their home in Japan. I recommend this to anyone planning any type of trip to Japan, even to veteran travelers who can speak the language.

I had so much fun reading this book! Having grown up in Japan, Ruth Kanagy has all kinds of tips and interesting comments about the quirks of living in Japan. I especially loved the page in the introduction titled: What I Love About Japan. It's full of bullet points that just capture all the pleasures of everyday life in Japan that one can take for granted if you don't stop and notice them.

This book is well organized with all the topics one would expect and has a very thorough resource guide at the end packed full of more interesting info to explore. A definite must for someone considering moving to Japan.

I was flipping through this book at the bookstore the other day. Although it does have some very useful information, the medicine section is shockingly inaccurate. The book says to bring a six-month supply of whatever medicine you need with you. I am in the process of moving to Japan, and in reality, it's nowhere near that simple. You are only legally allowed to bring a one-month supply of prescription meds and a two-month supply of over-the-counter meds, unless you apply for an import certificate called a Yakkan Shoumei. Even so, there are certain medicines that are never allowed into the country, like anything with a stimulant (methamphetamine, amphetamine, pseudoephedrine).

If you have ADD, you're SOL--you can literally be arrested on the spot without a warrant for bringing Adderall into Japan.

The book makes no mention of allowable quantities, the Yakkan Shoumei, and what is illegal. For this glaring oversight, I cannot give it more than two stars.