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Dave Barry Does Japan
by
Dave Barry
"One of the funniest peole ever to tap tap on a PC."
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Not since George Bush's memorable dinner with the Japanese prime minister has the Land of the Rising Sun seen the likes of a goodwill ambassador like Dave Barry. Join him as he belts out oldies in a karaoke bar, marries a geriatric geisha girl, takes his first bath in public, bows to just about everyo...more
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Not since George Bush's memorable dinner with the Japanese prime minister has the Land of the Rising Sun seen the likes of a goodwill ambassador like Dave Barry. Join him as he belts out oldies in a karaoke bar, marries a geriatric geisha girl, takes his first bath in public, bows to just about everyo...more
ebook, 224 pages
Published
July 28th 2010
by Ballantine Books
(first published 1992)
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I always find Dave Barry funny, but this book was not in my opinion one of his best. He makes no apologies that it isn't a travel guide- but never says what he intends for the book to be. I felt like he didn't really achieve anything. There were several thoughtful and "serious" moments, but they were so quickly stuffed in among jokes that they were out of place. Furthermore, the book wasn't in a linear timeline from his arrival to departure, he just threw in stories from anywhere in his travels...more
Dave Barry is upfront that this is a not a travel guide, nor is it likely to give Japan it's fair shake. But what I love about this book is that it is a perfect depiction of a foreigner's first early likely experiences in Japan.
I read this book after I had been living in Japan for a while. Dave does a fantastic job of capturing the overwhelming affect all of the differences, large and small that literally smack you in the face once you get off the plane. It was almost like reading my own travel...more
I read this book after I had been living in Japan for a while. Dave does a fantastic job of capturing the overwhelming affect all of the differences, large and small that literally smack you in the face once you get off the plane. It was almost like reading my own travel...more
Back when I was in middle school, I remember thinking that Dave Barry was a pretty funny writer. I haven't read him in quite some time, but in my mind liken him to Bill Bryson. So, when I saw he had a book about his travels to Japan, I thought it would be a perfect fit for my armchair travel goals for the year. Looking at the cover alone, however, should have tipped me off as to what I was in store for. To be fair, this book was written in 1992, which must have been a very different time in the...more
This book is Dave Barry's hilarious account of his trip to Japan. He runs into so many cultural things that any foreigner runs into. He repeatedly accounts that he doesn't really know anything about Japanese culture/language, but he shares his experiences - from sqatty potties (according to Dave, "a hole in the ground where they forgot to put the toilet) to food to places.
Having lived in Japan for just over a year now I found the book hilarious. I did listen to it in the car on audio book. I re...more
Having lived in Japan for just over a year now I found the book hilarious. I did listen to it in the car on audio book. I re...more
Mar 29, 2009
Judy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone
Recommended to Judy by:
bookcrosser
Shelves:
my-2009-books,
non-fiction
Very funny, classic Dave Barry. Everything he noted about Japan was really dead-on, which is what makes it the funniest. Japan is a wonderful place, and also very, very different...
The funniest thing for me is that I've had all of these experiences when visiting Japan. I've been to Japanese baths and stayed at traditional country inns, I've eaten all kinds of weird food (including blowfish, which is poisonous if not prepared just so), I've travelled all over by subway and train, been to lots of...more
The funniest thing for me is that I've had all of these experiences when visiting Japan. I've been to Japanese baths and stayed at traditional country inns, I've eaten all kinds of weird food (including blowfish, which is poisonous if not prepared just so), I've travelled all over by subway and train, been to lots of...more
1 like · like · see review
Barry gives a somewhat pessimistic view of his adventures in japan, while at the same time he uses his dry sense of humor to make up for it and give the reader a good time. He shows that unlike America, Japan is "an exclusive club" meaning unless you are Japanese (your ethnicity) you will never be considered Japanese. In America if you are of Japanese descent you would still be considered American. With the Japanese it wont ever be like that because of the concentrated number of the same ethnici...more
Very funny, if sadly outdated, account of Barry’s three-week trip to Japan. Were we (and by we I mean Americans) really afraid of Japan in 1992 the way we’re now afraid of China? Huh. It’s amazing—and encouraging—how much opinions can change in 16 years.
This book isn’t really a travel guide—it’s a humor book, and has no pretensions of being anything else. Still, I wish Barry had been a little more willing to try Japanese stuff, rather than simply observe and freak out every time someone tried to...more
This book isn’t really a travel guide—it’s a humor book, and has no pretensions of being anything else. Still, I wish Barry had been a little more willing to try Japanese stuff, rather than simply observe and freak out every time someone tried to...more
My husband is Japanese. When we got married I didn't want to throw this book out but I also didn't want him to find it and possibly be offended by it. However, I came home one evening and he was reading it and laughing very hard. I can't think of a better endorsement!
Note: I often read Dave Berry's column growing up as a teenager (I was on the school paper and was curious about that fact that he could write in his off-the-wall style and be published and paid for it) and always appreciated how ha...more
Note: I often read Dave Berry's column growing up as a teenager (I was on the school paper and was curious about that fact that he could write in his off-the-wall style and be published and paid for it) and always appreciated how ha...more
May 01, 2011
rabbitprincess
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who have been to Japan
Hilarious! I laughed out loud several times per chapter, and at least one of those laughs was an actual roar of laughter. The chapter on Japanese was especially funny as the boyfriend and I recently took a Japanese course, and the chapter on music was quite entertaining as well. Dave writes very amusingly, with plenty of quips to go around for both sides of the culture divide -- he frequently pokes fun at his and his family's perspectives, especially trying to find their train at the train stati...more
Oh my god! Not since the posters warned of "yellow peril" during the second world war has anything so racist been passed publicly and widely as if it were comedy! I had always liked Barry's columns and books, and picked this up w/o even thinking. One of my children is half Japanese, and I am so glad she didn't see this crap.
Dave? Time to recognize some issues and hopefully deal with them better than this. If not, don't air them anymore than you would with anti-Black or anti-Jewish literature.
It...more
Dave? Time to recognize some issues and hopefully deal with them better than this. If not, don't air them anymore than you would with anti-Black or anti-Jewish literature.
It...more
Well, this one's not exactly the kind of end-to-end humour book you would otherwise expect from Dave Barry.
Some of the chapters make for silent reading and taking in a lot of insights, especially for someone like me, who has not been to Japan but has heard a lot about its vast difference for an outsider.
And being of vegetarian food habits, some of the items of menu described in some detail don't go well. Be warned not to read these chapters before your meal or immediately afterwards
But the book...more
Some of the chapters make for silent reading and taking in a lot of insights, especially for someone like me, who has not been to Japan but has heard a lot about its vast difference for an outsider.
And being of vegetarian food habits, some of the items of menu described in some detail don't go well. Be warned not to read these chapters before your meal or immediately afterwards
But the book...more
In September of 2008, I went to Hiroshima with The Boyfriend. I knew it would be a more serious place to visit than a lot of the other places I've been to in Japan, for obvious reasons, and as I thought about it, I remembered this book. You see, while Dave Barry is enormously funny, and I always have a hard time holding in my laughter when he writes, he also knows exactly when to turn off the funny and talk seriously about a topic. Such was the case with this book, and the chapter on visiting Hi...more
For what it is, it's pretty brilliantly written. The humor is sharp and concise and actually, this is basically how a gaijin often feels that first two weeks they're here, especially for those of us who actually stayed and thought, WTF did I get myself into? Dave Barry makes certain things that you don't notice (or at least, consciously) hilarious, especially the aspects of it that are supposedly reverent or traditional.
The book is dependent on certain aspects to make it funny, some of which, u...more
The book is dependent on certain aspects to make it funny, some of which, u...more
I loved this book! First book that I'm giving full marks this year! Laugh out loud funny. Pokes fun at Japan but in a nice way, makes me want to visit even more. We were going to go this year, with Japanese speaking friends(I'd never be brave enough to go with my limited grasp of the language - hello, yes, what and thanks for the food) but we had to move which kinda ruined the plans. Boo! :( Will be checking out more books by Dave Barry because a book hasn't made me laugh like that in a long tim...more
This is, without a doubt, the most accurate depiction of what you'll experience when you visit Japan. After we had been a week in Japan, I handed this book to my husband to read on the shinkansen on the way back from Hiroshima. He about died laughing on that train because it's all TRUE--the bowing, the random tentacles in food, all of it. It's not all laughs, though--the chapter on Hiroshima is contemplative, capturing the feel of visiting the memorial. If you visit Japan, you MUST read this boo...more
I liked this book better than the last Dave Barry book that I read because it told a complete story and wasn't just a random collection of his columns. Yes, it was still a collection of anecdotes from his trip to Japan with his wife and son, but it felt more complete and the stories fell in a context that stitched them all together. He is, as always, amusing and has a way of stating things in that perfect Regular Joe manner that made him famous. Not gut busting and at times the jokes were predic...more
So funny!!!
..And some of his honest opinions about Japan, I am 100% agree, i.e. the historical events have become more like the carnivals that in another fifty years, they will have lost all their meanings.
He also mentioned about the drawbacks of my country which I, myself, often feel uncomfortable with.
" Too many bloody rules" to obey..
..And some of his honest opinions about Japan, I am 100% agree, i.e. the historical events have become more like the carnivals that in another fifty years, they will have lost all their meanings.
He also mentioned about the drawbacks of my country which I, myself, often feel uncomfortable with.
" Too many bloody rules" to obey..
Usual Dave Barry, which is to say, you will laugh out loud! Watch that you are not imbibing fluids with a person opposite you when you read this book. Other places not to read this book: In bed if someone is sleeping beside you. On public transport. In cafes. Trains. Planes. Automobiles. Basically anywhere where there is a person who could be startled by your open peals of mirth.
It's always interesting to read how one perceives a foreign culture.
I believe I know more about Japanese customs and culture compared to Barry, so some of his thoughts seem to be too... ridiculous. However I can appreciate some snappy comments, especially about kabuki.
I mean, come on. I just found out that the story line in kabuki is so... well. So funny, in a way. :D
I believe I know more about Japanese customs and culture compared to Barry, so some of his thoughts seem to be too... ridiculous. However I can appreciate some snappy comments, especially about kabuki.
I mean, come on. I just found out that the story line in kabuki is so... well. So funny, in a way. :D
Classic (and thus quite random) Dave Barry observations on a country, its culture, its quirks, and how America compares. I spent some time in Japan just a few years before this book was published, so it was easy to see exactly what he was talking about. There are a couple serious moments in the book, but otherwise it's just laugh-out-loud, zany fun.
A funny and superficial look at visiting japan. Most westerners will relate to his experiences. There is no in-depth insight into the Japanese people or their culture here, but it is worth a laugh. It was particularly appreciated after living in the culture for a while. Laughing at our own lack of understanding is always a good thing!
Fascinating and funny! Mr. Barry makes being completely out of your element as entertaining as only he could make it, while providing intriguing insights into the Japanese culture. (Or as much of it as one can see in three weeks!) I would very much like to see him do a follow-up some day, because this book was written in the early 90's.
Dave Barry's humor often strikes me as adolescent, but he still manages to make me laugh out loud at times, and this book is no exception. Interspersed with the smart-mouthing are nuggets of insight about Japan (e.g., when he describes "The System") as well as a lot of general information about the country. I enjoyed it.
I read this book (listened to the audiobook) at the end of last week and while traveling for school. Very light and silly book that feels more like a 3.5 to me. On par with other Dave Barry books, with the flippant humor style that I've come to appreciate in Dave Barry books. I'd recommend to people that appreciate Barry's sense of humor.
I enjoyed this. It was a quick read, and offered some fun outsider perspectives on Japan, its culture and its language. There were a few serious moments (fittingly, the chapter on Hiroshima has no humor in it) and I think they balanced out the sillier parts nicely. A quick, fun, travelogue kind of read.
I made the mistake of starting to read this on the train one day. Woooah boy. Lemme say up front that I'm not ashamed to show how I feel about a book. I will cry, yell, gasp and laugh out loud when necessary. This makes reading in public places... uncomfortable sometimes. So after I started convulsing on the train I had to force myself to close the thing until I got home so I could explode to my heart's content. Anyone, and I mean ANYONE who has a vague idea about Japan and Japanese culture shou...more
Surprisingly on target for a book on Japan written in the early nineties. I'd recommend it for someone traveling to Japan, wanting a quick and easy overview, an American's perspectives on the country and its customs. Mostly funny, somewhat irreverent, often insightful.
This would be a three-star funny-but-uninventive travel book, were it not for Dave Barry's chapters on Hiroshima, and his concluding reflection on cultural differences. These two chapters add something genuinely unique to Dave Barry's take on Japan that make it worth the read.
Dave Barry presents himself to be an idiot. Don't bother with this book unless you are looking for a travelogue written by someone who hardly spent any time in the country, didn't seem to attempt to understand anything, and is not even remotely funny.
There was a time when I was a bit of a Japanophile. I even took a Japanese Culture class at the University of Portland.
Anyway, I can't remember what attracted me to reading this. It's not bad. Funny in parts. A little Dave Barry goes a long way, though.
Anyway, I can't remember what attracted me to reading this. It's not bad. Funny in parts. A little Dave Barry goes a long way, though.
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Dave Barry is a humor columnist. For 25 years he was a syndicated columnist whose work appeared in more than 500 newspapers in the United States and abroad. In 1988 he won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Many people are still trying to figure out how this happened.
Dave has also written a total of 30 books, although virtually none of them contain useful information. Two of his books were used as...more
More about Dave Barry...
Dave has also written a total of 30 books, although virtually none of them contain useful information. Two of his books were used as...more
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Aug 15, 2012 07:29am