Cool Japan Guide: Fun in the Land of Manga, Lucky Cats and Ramen (Cool Guides)

A fun source for material of the creative Japanese

My nephew is planning a trip to Japan and was excited to get this illustrated book of tips!

Surprisingly such a short yet hugely awesome, practical, readable, absorbable guidebook to the culture and overall experience of Japan. My 9 yr old daughter and I read this as our evening reading a few pages at a time in the weeks before our trip to Japan. While in Japan we kept experiencing things that the book prepared us for like sweet bean rice cakes, bath rituals, and capsule toys. Knowing what to expect when we had these encounters let us experience the culture more deeply, with a little prior knowledge. Instead of staring in disbelief at the first Japanese bath we entered, we understood about the gender segregation and that we should bathe ourselves thoroughly BEFORE entering the communal bath. So, once in Japan, we plunged into all kinds of things and knew what to do (at least a little :). While in Japan we kept saying to each other, "Remember how we learned about this in the book?" And it's a short, illustrated book! How did the author fit in all of at useful knowledge? Plus, we both appreciated that the author's love of Japanese culture really came through in the book. As a result, my dusghter and I caught the love of Japan and Japanese people from this book and then we experienced it on our own when we visited. We look forward to returning and venturing further outside of our comfort zone in a place we now love :). Thank you Abby Denson for writing this excellent intro to Japanese culture. And thank you for sharing your experiences that truly enriched ours. We also felt sad to leave Japan and again we thought, "Remember that Abby felt like this too?" Lol. But seriously, this is a great guide book and a little taste of Japan before you get there... If you go w kids they will enjoy reading it too!

I purchased this book as I will be traveling to Japan in the next couple of months for vacation. Having known nothing about the country but still really excited to visit, I wanted to try to read up as much as possible to prepare for the trip. Abby's book does a great job of covering the basics of Japanese culture and places of interest. There are definitely unique bits of information in this book that you wouldn't normally find in a guidebook or may quickly skip over. (For example, Japanese hot spring etiquette) The drawings in this book were also very well-drawn and did a great job depicting the text. After I finished reading this, I gave my copy to my teenage cousin (13 years old) and he also thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Abby's book is definitely great for all ages and a good way to get younger kids excited about an upcoming trip. However, one problem with the book is that it doesn't go into as much detail as other travel books would. If you're looking for specific restaurant recommendations or tour programs, you will definitely need to do more research online or purchase other travel guides. I used this book as a quick way to get a summary of what to expect when in Japan and did further research to choose specific locations and places to visit.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s full of fun pictures, informative tips to enjoy travel in Japan, and it’s easy to take in. The author beautifully shares her enthusiasm. I like it very much.

I got this book for my 15 year old who wants to go to Japan next year. She read through it in about 2 hours and was more excited than ever! My husband and I both read it also! Awesome book! Very informative and all the information was presented in a way that was fun and memorable. I highly recommend this book!

This was a gift for someone going to Japan. They loved it. The design is also beautiful. Definitely a one to keep on the bookshelf :)

I bought plane tickets to Tokyo without knowing anything about the city. I had 2 things on my agenda, but outside of that I really had no idea what I was getting into or how I would spend my days. I used the Cool Japan Guide to plan a very full trip. The suggestions of places to visit are spot on, the tips for how to get around are perfect. My experience in Japan was much better with the Cool Japan Guide than it would have been without it. I wish I could give this book 6 stars!!

Cuando compré esta guía creí que iba a profundizar de una manera mucho más teórica en el concepto de "cool japan", sin embargo se limita a desplegar en sus viñetas una serie de situaciones estereotipicas propias de un "típico viaje a Japón". Los dibujos, bueno, son tal y como se ven en la portada, no hay ningún tipo de narrativa más allá de las viñetas.

Great info on Japanese culture that is useful to know when visiting Japan that is presented in a fun comic style. My wife liked this book so much that she wrote to say thank you to the author. I think she bought a couple of these books.

Libro interesante, aunque le puede faltar especificaciones.

My 11 year old is obsessed with Japan, this book was fun to read and full of interesting facts, pictures and information

外国の友人にプレゼントするには手軽で間違いないと思います。