Customer Reviews

National Parks of Japan

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It is regrettable that this book is no longer in publication. It is an exquisite compilation of the national parks of Japan, stating at the northeast tip of Hokkaido island, and proceeding south to Iwo Jim and the Ryukyu island chain that reaches almost to Taiwan. It includes active volcanoes, even one that erupts almost every day. The climates range from sub-arctic to tropical. Also found are sand dunes, hot springs, waterfalls, forests, scenic calderas similar to Crater Lake, picturesque seashores of all sorts, and beautiful mountains, among them the incredible Fuji.

The parks are divided into geographical groups. Each park is described separately, and most have detailed maps. The written text is excellent, but the highlight is the photography. Many of the photographs are done in four-color format to accentuate the highlights.

Even if you never make it to Japan, and I haven't, you will derive hour after hour of enjoyment from this esceptional travel book. I strongly recommend its acquisition, and equally,
against loaning it out.

...is the collective expression of a people probably more deeply sensitive to nature's infinite moods than the inhabitants of any other land." Mary Sutherland and Dorothy Britton, the joint authors of this book, make this assessment of the Japanese people in the introduction to this work, and I would concur.

The authors were long term residents of Japan; Britton was born there and Sutherland lived almost all of the `70's in the country. They literally traveled from one end of the country to the other gathering the material for this book. In the far north, in Shiretoko National Park, one can literally see the Russian (occupied?) island of Kunashiri. (Is Okinawa "occupied"?). At the other end of the country is Iriomote, close to the Tropic of Cancer, and less than 200 km from Taiwan. The first edition was published in 1980, and I picked up the second printing in 1984 when I was there. As the currently only other reviewer says: If you have a copy of the book, don't loan it out!

Japan is a highly industrialized country, yet has preserved "nature's infinite moods," along with its varied terrain, in 27 national parks. The authors have done a superlative job in covering each of the parks, which includes a personal visit. They decided to forego their personal photographs. Instead they selected three or more quality pictures from the photographic agencies to highlight, literally in the best possible light, the salient features of each park. The authors accompany the photographs with thoughtful 3-4 page narratives which cover the topography, flora, fauna and significant historical events which occurred in the park, or adjacent to it. They is also a detailed map of each park placed with the narrative, and on the two pages of the inside front cover, there is another map of overall Japan, with the location of each park. I found the later particularly valuable, since, like many English speakers, I have a hard time keeping the Japanese names straight, so this map was referenced numerous times in the reading.

Being non-Japanese, it was perhaps natural that they covered the impact of Westerners on the country, from Walter Weston, a missionary, who pioneered the sport of mountaineering in the "Japanese Alps," to Isabella Bird, an extremely peripatetic Englishwoman of the 19th century. The authors convinced me to place Bird's Unbeaten Tracks in Japan: The Firsthand Experiences of a British Woman in Outback Japan in 1878 on my "must read" list.

If you purchased this book solely for the photographs, it would be worth the price, and more. Likewise, if you purchased it only for the thoughtful, erudite narratives on each park, it would be worthwhile. And together, as the Michelin guide says about its highest rated restaurants, this book could easily inspire a journey, or even two, because you sure won't cover them all on one trip. The patrimony of Japan is impressive, best savored in one of their numerous hot springs. `Til then, this book is the next best thing. Definitely 5-stars.