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Tokyo Junkie: 60 Years of Bright Lights and Back Alleys . . . and Baseball

Robert Whiting

4.40 · Rating details · 45 ratings · 17 reviews

Tokyo Junkie is a memoir that plays out over the dramatic 60-year growth of the megacity Tokyo, once a dark, fetid backwater and now the most populous, sophisticated, and safe urban capital in the world.

Follow author Robert Whiting (The Chrysanthemum and the Bat, You Gotta Have Wa, Tokyo Underworld) as he watches Tokyo transform during the 1964 Olympics, rubs shoulders wit ...more

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ebook, 384 pages

Published April 20th 2021 by Stone Bridge Press

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Mar 14, 2021 Erin Loranger rated it it was amazing

Having lived in Tokyo from 2010-2015, I was very intrigued by the description of Robert Whiting's memoir Tokyo Junkie and was delighted to receive a copy from NetGalley and Stone Bridge Press so that I could provide an honest review.

Whiting writes with an insider's knowledge and the perspective of having lived in Japan for over 60 years. I loved reading about how the country has changed and how the arc of history has impacted cultural institutions such as baseball, yakuza and Japanese politics ...more

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Apr 06, 2021 Books on Asia rated it it was amazing

Upcoming Release (Stone Bridge Press, April 20, 2021)

Review for Books on Asia by Mark Schumacher

Since the 1977 release of his first book The Chrysanthemum and the Bat, author Robert Whiting has remained the “go to” guy for entertaining and educating and enlightening books about Japan. His many English books and articles, once translated into Japanese, have hit the bestseller lists in Japan. Whiting resonates on both sides of the Pacific.

This book is Whiting’s memoir of his adventures (often riot ...more

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Mar 09, 2021 Geoffrey rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, history, nonfiction, asia

(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)

Author Robert Whitling’s account of his experiences living and working in Japan’s capital city turned out to be a surprisingly engaging read that is a combination of memoir, history, and love letter to Tokyo. I was both wholly absorbed within its pages and also to keep myself from constantly pausing to look up everything from specific temples and other local historical sites of note, to various aspects of Japan’s crimin ...more

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May 17, 2021 Daniel Warriner rated it it was amazing

Robert Whiting’s Tokyo Junkie covers the author’s ties to Japan’s megacity over a period of more than half a century, including his relationships and notable encounters with all sorts of people and his work on several popular books and articles about Japanese culture, sport, and politics since the 60s. Whiting doesn’t pull punches, and he gives us an honest sizing up of many Tokyo layers and key figures and events, from the construction boom leading up to the 1964 Summer Olympics to the doings o Robert Whiting’s Tokyo Junkie covers the author’s ties to Japan’s megacity over a period of more than half a century, including his relationships and notable encounters with all sorts of people and his work on several popular books and articles about Japanese culture, sport, and politics since the 60s. Whiting doesn’t pull punches, and he gives us an honest sizing up of many Tokyo layers and key figures and events, from the construction boom leading up to the 1964 Summer Olympics to the doings of yakuza syndicates and behind-the-scenes workings of the Yomiuri Giants, to foreign ballplayers in Japan, press freedoms (or lack thereof), government screw-ups and shady deals, wrestling, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and plenty more, with his personal experiences and Tokyo itself taking turns at center stage.

When I heard Whiting was releasing a memoir, I was eager to read it (plus surprised he’d beaten me to the punch, as I’d recently finished writing the first draft of a novel I’d titled Tokyo Junkie.) When I moved here in the mid-90s, a “gaijin-house”-mate passed on to me what was then a selection of current required reading in English on various things Japanese, most of which had been written by “foreigners” who’d dug deep into topics across a spectrum of focus areas. Among these were Alex Kerr’s Lost Japan, Ian Buruma’s The Missionary and the Libertine and, of course, Robert Whiting’s You Gotta Have Wa. And they were instrumental in shaping my views and helped to make sense of a place and culture which from every direction confounded me to varying degrees. I still have (and prize) some of these books (I somehow lost the above Buruma, regrettably; if anyone has a first edition they’re willing to abandon, do let me know).

I also enjoyed Whiting’s Tokyo Underworld (1999). It’s arguably the most compelling book about the city’s seamier sides. Alongside Jake Adelstein’s Tokyo Vice (2009) perhaps. And some choice bits in Tokyo Junkie are Whiting’s recollections of Nicola Zappetti interviews and the author’s accounts of brushes with the yakuza. Occasionally (maybe unavoidably) repetitive but consistently absorbing and informative, it’s a book you can either barrel through or sip at, with its countless, roughly two- to three-page chapter sections. I’ve shelved Tokyo Junkie next to Ian Buruma’s memoir, A Tokyo Romance (2018), and I’d recommend it to anyone familiar with Whiting’s work and/or enchanted by (or addicted to) Tokyo. ...more

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May 03, 2021 Bernie Gourley rated it it was amazing

Tokyo is the river that runs through this book, which for large tracts reads like a memoir and at other turns reads like a broad overview of things Japanese. I’ve only been to Tokyo once, for about a two week stay, but it’s impossible to miss the almost alien level of distinctiveness of the city. It’s the largest city in the world, but in many ways feels like a small town. The subways shut down at midnight, creating an alter ego to the city, aptly depicted in Haruki Murakami novels.

Whiting’s To Tokyo is the river that runs through this book, which for large tracts reads like a memoir and at other turns reads like a broad overview of things Japanese. I’ve only been to Tokyo once, for about a two week stay, but it’s impossible to miss the almost alien level of distinctiveness of the city. It’s the largest city in the world, but in many ways feels like a small town. The subways shut down at midnight, creating an alter ego to the city, aptly depicted in Haruki Murakami novels.

Whiting’s Tokyo journey begins with his time posted there in the military, a time which happens to correspond with the city being readied for the 1964 Olympics, through the present day COVID Pandemic challenges (which happens to correspond with the 2020 Tokyo Summer games being delayed -- and it remains to be seen whether these games will ever happen given the fact that the COVID virus is not taking our plans for vaccine-driven herd immunity sitting down.)

As Whiting’s book is part memoir, it gives particular scrutiny to the subjects of his earlier books, in as much as those topics touch upon life in Tokyo. One of these subjects, the more extensively discussed, is baseball and the very different way the game is played and reported upon in Japan. The other key subject is organized crime and the legendary Yakuza. Crime in Japan is a captivating topic because it is both invisible and infamously brutal. I enjoyed the view through these niche lenses because (particularly) the latter is not so conspicuous, but is riveting stuff. [When I was in Japan, I was taken to a bathhouse (not considered strange in Japan as it sounds to an American.) Before we went, I was told that if I had big tattoos, I couldn’t go; and, if I had a small tattoo, I’d need to use a washcloth to keep it covered the whole time. This is apparently because reputable establishments don’t want the taint of Yakuza on their premises. So, this is how much they keep things on the down-low.]

Whiting led various lives in Tokyo, he was an airman, a student, a salaryman, an unofficial advisor to a Yakuza gang, a journalist, and a nonfiction writer. These allowed him to see the changing city from a number of varied perspectives, offering much deeper insight than the run-of-the-mill expat.

In addition to the modern history of Tokyo, Japanese baseball, Yakuza, and Whiting’s various lives in the city, the book makes a lot of fascinating dives into a range of Tokyo topics, such as: sumo wrestling, the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, the city’s distant history, salaryman drinking habits, the demographic crisis (i.e. its aging population has been approaching the point of too many retirees per working taxpayer,) etc. The book offers a no-holds-barred look at the good, the bad, and the ugly underside of the city. It at once praises the city’s politeness, cleanliness, and smooth-running order and rebukes its dark side – dirty politics, toxic workplaces, xenophobia, etc.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. It offered great insight into Tokyo, Japanese culture, as well as many niche areas that I probably would never taken the time to investigate, otherwise. If you are interested in learning about Tokyo, particularly modern Tokyo, this is an excellent read. ...more

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Mar 07, 2021 Janet rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2021-rev-when-i-read, k-e-k

Date reviewed/posted: March 7, 2021
Publication date: July 6, 2021

When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end, you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #secondwave ( #thirdwave ?)is upon us, superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour, so yes, I have read the book … and many more today.

I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for Date reviewed/posted: March 7, 2021
Publication date: July 6, 2021

When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end, you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #secondwave ( #thirdwave ?)is upon us, superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour, so yes, I have read the book … and many more today.

I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review.

From the publisher, as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸.

Tokyo Junkie is a memoir that plays out over the dramatic 60-year growth of the megacity Tokyo, once a dark, fetid backwater and now the most populous, sophisticated, and safe urban capital in the world.

Follow author Robert Whiting (The Chrysanthemum and the Bat, You Gotta Have Wa, Tokyo Underworld) as he watches Tokyo transform during the 1964 Olympics, rubs shoulders with the Yakuza and comes face to face with the city’s dark underbelly, interviews Japan’s baseball elite after publishing his first best-selling book on the subject, and learns how politics and sports collide to produce a cultural landscape unlike any other, even as a new Olympics is postponed and the COVID virus ravages the nation.

A colourful social history of what Anthony Bourdain dubbed, “the greatest city in the world,” Tokyo Junkie is a revealing account by an accomplished journalist who witnessed it all firsthand and, in the process, had his own dramatic personal transformation.

Tokyo is truly the greatest city in the world (Sorry, New York, London, etc.) - it is so fascinating and I cannot wait for this COVID-crap to go away so I can go back and visit my sister! The book is written in an inviting style and draws you in and I, for one, was sad when it ended. It will be interesting to see when/if the games ever happen as this virus is really, really evil.

Since we will all be armchair travelling for a while, take this book to the beach (or your back yard, porch or balcony) and enjoy it - just wear a tonne of SPF110 as you will lose track of time as you read this. - If we are in the 3rd or 4th wave/mutation of COVID19 by then, stay inside: no tan is worth dying for.

As always, I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I simply adore emojis (outside of their incessant use by "🙏-ed Social Influencer Millennials/#BachelorNation survivors/Tik-Tok and YouTube Millionaires/snowflakes / literally-like-overusers etc. " on Instagram and Twitter... Get a real job, people!) so let's give it 🍣🍜🍱🗾🌸 ...more

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Mar 31, 2021 Samantha rated it it was amazing

It’s Robert Whiting at his finest in Tokyo Junkie, which is essentially a memoir largely focused on Whiting’s life in Japan and on Japanese culture, particularly as it relates (or sometimes doesnt) to the way we see the world as Americans.

I’ve been on an All Things Japan kick lately and thus this book came at a perfect time for me. I’m also a huge fan of Whiting’s baseball writing, and there’s plenty of baseball-related content in Tokyo Junkie too.

That said, this one probably isn’t for everyone. ...more

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Apr 16, 2021 Leah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, japan

As someone who has lived in Japan for a few years out of every decade since the ‘80’s, Robert Whiting’s book Tokyo Junkie brought back a lot of memories. Even his stories from the ‘60’s and ‘70’s brought to mind stories my father, uncle, and brother told of the times they were stationed in Japan right after the war, and again in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Mr. Whiting has had a front row seat to the resurrection of a nation from the ashes of defeat to becoming to second largest economy in the world. ...more

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Mar 10, 2021 Sara rated it liked it

2.5 stars, really. Tokyo Junkie is a memoir of the author's time in Tokyo with a large part of it being devoted to baseball and the criminal world. I found the parts about life in Tokyo in his earliest days to be the most interesting and more of a story of Tokyo than his later years.
Some will find this memoir offensive as it is very much the tale of a white man in Japan at a time when such men were unusual and as such had way more privilege than they deserved. Whiting is very honest about how he ...more

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Mar 23, 2021 Ted rated it really liked it

Shelves: asian-american

-I received a digital review copy courtesy of Edelweiss and Stone Bridge Press-

Tokyo Junkie: 60 Years of Bright Lights and Back Alleys...and Baseball is truth in advertising as it’s a memoir mostly of Tokyo from a bygone era-roughly the early ‘60s through the ‘80s bubble. Whiting does later enter the realm of the 21st century and provides coverage of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Covid-19 and the predicaments of hosting the 2020/1 Olympics. Early on, Whiting seems right on target with -I received a digital review copy courtesy of Edelweiss and Stone Bridge Press-

Tokyo Junkie: 60 Years of Bright Lights and Back Alleys...and Baseball is truth in advertising as it’s a memoir mostly of Tokyo from a bygone era-roughly the early ‘60s through the ‘80s bubble. Whiting does later enter the realm of the 21st century and provides coverage of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Covid-19 and the predicaments of hosting the 2020/1 Olympics. Early on, Whiting seems right on target with his insight “...the Japanese already have their own religion: Japan and the idea of being Japanese.” As a writer, he is most of all a journalist, and he frequently writes in broad strokes. Without the singular focus of his two most notable books which examined the Tokyo underworld and Japanese baseball, this one is more ramshackle, but certainly more heartfelt, homespun and obviously personal.

With Tokyo being so highly advanced on many levels, it’s hard to reconcile the prevailing thought during the time of his arrival in early ‘60s Tokyo that the city was sadly considered a backwater (by deployed American clergy and military factions). However, I appreciated learning more about Sophia University as Whiting fondly recounts his time studying there and connecting him to work opportunities (i.e., English teaching) in the rapidly rising, expanding and multi-layered city. Whiting writes with appreciation on how Tokyo formed him for the better after leaving the limiting environment of Eureka, CA and the regimentation of the Air Force. He also exhibits the spirit of adventure and curiosity that was embodied by the late Anthony Bourdain who he mentions as a symbolic fellow traveler. Days turn to decades in Japan and Whiting further elaborates on what he thought propelled the Japanese during the formative era of Tokyo as he cites their inspiring effort, determination, honesty and Gaman. (I was not previously aware of Japan’s women volleyball team defeating the Soviet Union for the Gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.) He also ventures deep into the Yakuza underworld and their lucrative connections to Tokyo construction, supposedly based on planned obsolescence, and by turn corrupt and entrenched politics.

His smattering of recollections range from “had to be there” moments to the distinctive experiences regarding the overall rise of Tokyo to what many consider (including myself) as the most exciting and preeminent city in the world (with Osaka being a close runner up). Whiting’s mention of the “abundant hydrangeas” in the early summer evoked memories for me of being in Japan for the first time. He even details the rockabillys in Shibuya’s Yoyogi Park which were featured in Wim Wenders’ documentary Tokyo-Ga. The architecture of Kenzo Tange, former New York Yankee and good guy Roy White who made the effort to learn the language and Ayumi Ishida, singer of Nippon standard “Blue Light Yokahama,” all make appearances in Whiting’s first-hand accounts. Whiting does have the tendency towards focusing on the sordid at times and presents some old guard unsavory Americans that are downright embarrassing. However, I did come around to baseball player Daryl Spencer-once he returned to Kansas.

Like most of East Asia in this century, there is a palpable excitement and optimism about the future in Tokyo which stands in marked contrast to the repetitive and perfunctory patterns found in the United States. As a dynamic megacity which challenges attempts at comprehension, Whiting understands that Tokyo needs to be ever-evolving into something it has never been before. Still, many doubted how Tokyo was going to feasibly conduct the Summer Olympics and Paralympics even before Covid-19. With no international spectators, things will be done much differently than attempts to reach the sky high standards set by Beijing in 2008. Facing another seemingly insurmountable challenge, Tokyo and the Japanese will once again characteristically rise to the occasion with wa and go well beyond expectations. ...more

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Apr 20, 2021 Dan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

My thanks to NetGalley and Stone Bridge Press for an advanced copy of this memoir.

Robert Whiting's memoir Tokyo Junkie is a love story to a city that the author has watched grow, change, and grow into the megacity that it is today. For over 60 years Mr. Whiting has lived in Tokyo, with some interruptions in other world capitals, but has since a young man considered Tokyo his true home. Joining the army at a young age, he was assigned to Japan in the early 1960's and fell I love with the culture, ...more

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May 19, 2021 bookcaked rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Tokyo Junkie is a memoir during a time in Japan I find fascinating- the 1960’s. The author, Robert Whiting, recounts his time living there during the 1964 Olympics, before and after, during a time when Tokyo underwent a massive transformation into the beautiful and safe hub we see today. While told from an American perspective, the author clearly has a deep love for the city and Japan.

As a casual lover of Japanese history and culture, there is much I don’t know about Japan and its history, and I ...more

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Jun 02, 2021 Steve rated it really liked it

I've enjoyed his other books on baseball (can't remember if I read Tokyo Underworld) and was interested in reading about someone's life in another country. There is some great history on Japan in general as well that made me understand some things (including baseball) more. The book is mainly focused on his early years then then sort of breezes through the rest at times. But overall, it was a good read for me, well structured and enough different stories to keep things interesting. He definitely ...more

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Apr 14, 2021 Miriam rated it liked it · review of another edition

I received an advanced ecopy of this book courtesy of NetGalley.

Tokyo Junkie is a memoir of the author's time in Tokyo Japan starting after WWII and moving onward. It is an interesting study of what Japan was like and how it has evolved as a country. However this book very much feels like it is written from an older white man and it doesn't feel fully authentic to me. The author is very up front with the fact that he is an outsider's look on Japan which is important but did end up being a DNF f ...more

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Jun 11, 2021 Julene rated it really liked it

Tokyo has a vast history that is playing out in today’s changing economy. Living in Tokyo during this time has been an interesting experience and the book helped open my eyes to the layers of the city I now call home. Because of the COVID crisis we’ve all played on the Japanese team during our time living through a health challenge. It’s great to hear from the author why he continues to come back to the mega-city and how resilient and resourceful it can be. Looking forward to seeing how the next ...more

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May 22, 2021 Brandur rated it really liked it

A nice memoir of an interesting life spent in Japan. For those of us a little younger than Whiting, it's also a historical record, as many of the scenes described are set squarely in a Tokyo of the past that are hardly imaginable today. I have little interest in baseball, and so lost the thread a little in those sections, but even for a non-enthusiast understanding the country's relationship with this particular sport is interesting. ...more

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Jun 10, 2021 Louise Gray rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Try to keep up as the author shares why Tokyo has fascinated him and why it should fascinate you. Part social history, part biography, this book offers a lot of entertainment to a variety of readers. I liked the fast paced writing style which was not overblown in any way. Very enjoyable.

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About Robert Whiting

Robert Whiting

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Robert Whiting is a best-selling author and journalist who has written several successful books on contemporary Japanese culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W...

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