Living in Japan (Paperback)

by Joy Norton (Author), Tazuko Shibusawa (Author) "I reach for the door, but the knob is not there..." (more)
Key Phrases: reverse culture shock, many expats, expat community, United States, Social Readjustment Rating Scale (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This is a fact-filled guide to Japanese society and life in Japan. It offers practical advice on settling in, easing culture shock and finding a home. It also features contemporary information on organizations, schools and services for the Western traveller's needs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; Rev Exp edition (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804832889
• ISBN-13: 978-0804832885
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #874,662 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Totally unhelpful and a big downer., July 12, 2004

By	"jet-1582" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

It's mindboggling that these authors found a publisher. This book touts itself as a full guide to living in Japan. This could not be farther from the truth. Lacking specific information about the process of finding a home, work, etc, it's basically a dreary account of all the difficulties that await you in Japan, with an intense focus on the psychological trials, which the book seems to portray as inevitable. Worse still, the only advice offered in coping with the pessimistic, matter-of-fact list of challenges is shockingly trite. I do not know why these two authors wrote this book, because it really seems as though their objective was dissuading people from living in Japan, rather than offering solutions.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for mental well being, but not what I expected, February 14, 2004

By	betilted (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

An easy read based on the psychology behind coping, culture shock, and how it will affect you and those around you when you move to Japan, or anywhere else for that matter! Not very helpful as a knowledge base about actual life in Japan, but it is insightful regarding how our minds work when presented with an alternate reality.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Depressing and no practical, specific information, August 19, 2006

By	S. Hoefer "monkey" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

To be fair, I thought I was buying "Living Abroad in Japan". Please, don't make the same mistake I did.

First of all the entire mood of the book is depressing about how hard it is for foreigners in Japan all the time. Good luck finding something positive. The section entitled "Why go through it at all?" is a short paragraph. As someone who's spent a year in Japan and enjoyed most of it, this book made me think I must be hallucinating.

While the subtitle is "A Guide to Living, Working, and Traveling in Japan", it doesn't give any advice or tips in any of these things, other than saying it's possible. (I'm not even sure it ever mentions traveling. About 85% of the book seems to reference general culture shock and social research, with the remaining 15% being specifically about Westerners in Japan. Replace "Japan" with "France" and most of the book would make sense. It offers no specific advice like how to look for an apartment or open a bank account, but does have charts with labels like "Mortar shells of criticism" and "wall of hurt"

Lastly, the entire focus of the book seems to be for expats to fit in with the expat community. While useful for some, I would have liked to have some information on how to culturally explore Japan rather than form an American cocoon for myself.

The only general information that might be useful to some is exploring the motivations and reactions to tag-along wives/husbands/children (ie: People who didn't really choose to go to Japan) and how to deal with it.