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Pretty Good Number One: An American Family Eats Tokyo by [Matthew Amster-Burton]

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Matthew Amster-Burton

Pretty Good Number One: An American Family Eats Tokyo Kindle Edition

by Matthew Amster-Burton (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Everyone knows how to live the good life in Paris, Provence, or Tuscany. Now, Matthew Amster-Burton makes you fall in love with Tokyo. Experience this exciting and misunderstood city through the eyes of three Americans vacationing in a tiny Tokyo apartment. Follow 8-year-old Iris on a solo errand to the world’s greatest supermarket, picnic on the bullet train, and eat a staggering array of great, inexpensive foods, from eel to udon. A humorous travel memoir in the tradition of Peter Mayle and Bill Bryson, Pretty Good Number One is the next best thing to a ticket to Tokyo.

Now with a new afterword by the author, covering robotic sushi and spending the holidays in Tokyo.

“The layers of the city, its extraordinary food pleasures, its quirkinesses, emerge as the author and his family spend an intense month living in Tokyo and exploring widely…Warning: this book will make you hungry. You’ll yearn, as I do, to catch the next plane to Tokyo, so you can get eating.”

—Naomi Duguid, writer and traveler; her most recent book is BURMA: Rivers of Flavor (Artisan 2012)

“This is the book I've been hoping Matthew would write: smart, opinionated, and wickedly funny, crammed with in-the-know tips and observations about visiting Tokyo. From the intricacies of garbage sorting to the chirpy jingle for the local supermarket, the pleasures of pan-fried soup dumplings to the pain of junsai, I laughed, cringed, and got so hungry that I had to eat three bowls of cereal to make it to the end. I love this book.”

—Molly Wizenberg, author of A Homemade Life and blogger, Orangette

Print length

266 pages
Language

English
Publication date

February 16, 2014
File size

1776 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fast-paced, rollicking work that's chock full of delicious humor and insights." --Andrea Nguyen, VietWorldKitchen.com

"Matthew Amster-Burton is one of the funniest writers I know. He comes up with the kind of one liners and clever descriptions that makes me stop and say to myself damn, I wish I'd thought of that." --Kenji Alt, SeriousEats.com

"A consistently riveting book that might make you want to slap the bed as you laugh." --Shauna James Ahern, author of Gluten-Free Girl Every Day

From the Back Cover

"Pretty Good Number One will put a smile on your face quicker than you can say 'Arigato!'... Perfectly sums up all of the reasons why I myself fell in love with the country, and why, once you have been, you will want to return again and again."

--Rachael Hutchings, LaFujiMama.com

"A must-read for anyone traveling to Tokyo or dreaming of that future trip."

--Yukari Sakamoto, author of Food Sake Tokyo

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00C9T9X2Q
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mamster Books; 2nd edition (February 16, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 16, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1776 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 266 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #491,515 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #86 in Japanese Travel
- #274 in Gastronomy Essays (Kindle Store)
- #309 in General Japan Travel Guides

Customer Reviews:
206 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		74%
4 star		15%
3 star		8%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Lynda

Funny funny funny, surprise surprise!

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2019

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Come for the food, stay for the laughs. This guy and his cheerfully unruffled kid are a pair of characters.

I laughed a little too loudly at 2AM and possibly woke up my neighbors. (Sorry, person living in Apt 209.) I got food envy and made improvised ramen out of what was in my pantry. I tried to figure out the pronunciation for words that I don't understand and am definitely still not saying right.

Food aside, the best part of this book is probably eight-year-old Iris making friends with the entire population of Tokyo in a month. She wins over an entire grilled eel restaurant, a busload of schoolgirls, and a neighbor kid with an English vocabulary of three words and enough swagger to be the main character in a movie about rap artists. (She also totally got me, in case you couldn't tell.)

Matthew's account of other stops on the trip--for example, the local supermarket and its... interesting English jingle, or the pachinko parlor (one of very few places he doesn't recommend visiting, if you value your hearing)--are also vividly recounted.

Even Laurie, Matthew's somewhat skeptical wife, warms up to Tokyo by the end of their trip. I have to imagine that Matthew and Iris's enthusiasm would be ridiculously contagious in person, because it is in print.

In short, I have this to say about Pretty Good Number One: you should read it. Even if you're not a foodie, you might get a funny surprise.

One person found this helpful

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Sitting in Seattle

Delightful and hilarious memoir about a month of food in Tokyo

Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2013

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If you enjoy humorous but sympathetic accounts of gaijin (foreigner) life in Tokyo -- and especially if you are fascinated by the food there -- this is a must-read. It's not a guidebook at all, but an amusing diary/blog style account of a Seattleite's time in Japan.

The author recounts the various adventures spent by his family in Tokyo when they rented a small apartment in Nakano for a month. He dearly loves Tokyo and Japan yet is also keenly aware of some of the absurdities. The adventures include restaurants, grocery stores, pachinko, and just generally being out and about Tokyo. I annoy my wife and keep her awake by laughing out loud repeatedly when reading it in bed!

As with any such book, I could complain about a few minor annoyances. Early on, he challenges the reader to name any tourist attractions in Tokyo ... and claims you can't (although I certainly can). He claims that a particular supermarket is "the best in the world" which turns out to mean something different (I'll let him explain). But those are minor issues, and the book is suitable for both Japan newbies and the experienced expat set.

In fact, if you've visited Tokyo a few times and tried to get out and explore, I think you'll enjoy the book even more. I got the printed version (just fine) and it would also be perfectly suitable for Kindle. Yonde kudasai! ("Read it please!") And even better, pick out a few of the adventures and go explore them yourself Tokyo!

8 people found this helpful

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tri2sing

Amazing account of the culinary delights of Tokyo

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2019

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I wish I had read this book before I went to Tokyo. I am like the author's wife. Before going to Tokyo, I had only eaten Japanese food in USA. But, then Tokyo opened my eyes.

Next time I am able to go to Tokyo, I am going to try as many things as I can from this book.

This is a funny and educational piece of work, and a mandatory reading for anyone wanting to explore Tokyo.

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Frequent Amazon Shopper

We went to Japan because of this book!

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2013

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This book is a fun AND informative read! Granted, I always wanted to go to Japan but after reading this book earlier this year, we booked a 8 night-9 day visit to Tokyo with our almost 9-year-old. We flew home TODAY, and I couldn't wait to write this review. The book is accurate and enthusiastic. Another reader wrote that this is not really a guide, but I beg to differ. We took the book with us on our trip and referred to it for ideas of things to do and places to go. At times, Amster-Burton (my husband and I call him Matthew now ;) gave better descriptions and directions than some of our guide books. We even went to the Nakano neighborhood where the Amster-Burtons stayed just to check it out. Hope it doesn't sound too creepy (a la "Single White Female"). This book will make you hungry and make you want to go to Japan. And, you should! Tokyo is crazy and fun! You will not go hungry. I am recommending/giving this book to family members and friends.

One person found this helpful

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Y. Rennie

You didn't know 7/11 was a major tourist attraction, did you?

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2013

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When people set sails for far away places, they make a checklist of things they must see there. Eiffel tower: check. Trevi Fountain: check. The travel writers encourage that by giving you "Top 10 sites" and telling you what you must squeeze in if you are only in that city for 3 days. Matthew Amster-Burton does just the opposite, and oh, what a breath of fresh air it is in travel writing. He invites you to experience Tokyo, not put another check mark in your travel itinerary. In Tokyo, beauty and perfection are found not only in Michelin starred restaurants but in any 7/11. On my recent trip, I couldn't get over the shock that any 7/11 could cook better hard-boiled eggs than high end restaurants in the US. Pretty Good Number One made me re-live the 7/11 experience, my favorite meal at an izakaya, melt in your mouth beef, a heart warming bowl of ramen, better French pastries than France herself could produce, and yes, the best toilets in the world.

Tokyo is indeed one of the most kid friendly places I've ever been to. It's clean, safe, has amazing toys, and very accessible food. The only chapter missing was "How to entertain your kids on the plane and deal with jet lag."

3 people found this helpful

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Mint

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Pretty Good Number One

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2016

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I thoroughly enjoyed reading Pretty Good Number One! It was an utterly charming book, and I found it a great mix of humorous, whimsical and informative. I wouldn't use this as a travel or food guide to Tokyo by any means, although there are some great tips in here if you feel like jotting them down while you're reading. Either way, I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining this book was and recommend it to anyone who is interesting in Japanese culture, food or travel in general.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Tyzaa

Drop tourist guides, buy this book instead

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2015

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I can't recommend this book enough - I enjoyed every single page of it, and went back to it more than once during my trip to Japan.

Ditch your tourist guides, Matt shares with us his real experience with his family in Tokyo. Instead of listing restaurants, he talks about his discoveries, his experiences, the mistakes he made to avoid you making them. I tried some food I wouldn't even have considered, or visited some places that I hadn't planned, all that thanks to this book.

One person found this helpful

Anthony J. C. Graham

Interesting. A good quick read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 21, 2017

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Interesting food oriented view of central Tokyo (Nakone) from an American Family's point of view. Foods covered were generally of the more basic type..... but a good read

One person found this helpful

The Value Guru

Transported to Japan

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 22, 2015

Verified Purchase

I have visited Japan on numerous occasions, this is very easy and enjoyable read. Very quickly takes you to standing in Japan and experiencing all the smells and vistas,if you love this watch Jiro dreams of Sushi.

Geoffrey Lam

This will make you want to go Japan NOW!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 29, 2014

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We uses this book as a reference for eating like a local & sightseeing in Japan! Excellent book that is well written with a good dash of humour & this will instantly transport you into Japan.

Pretty good!

Reviewed in Canada on March 11, 2018

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This book, well written and laced with humour, brought back happy memories of Tokyo. While mostly about food it also introduces readers to some of the popular tourist areas such as Asakusa and Hakone. I enjoyed reading about the meals (meat, meat, seafood and meat) even though my (vegan) dining experiences are usually more challenging.