Travelers Tales Japan

Travellers in search of the unexpected found it in Old Japan. Here was a strange land indeed, where women blackened their teeth, men wore tattoos in lieu of clothing, and the whole family bathed together “with as much freedom as a flock of ducks”. Visitors came in thousands and eagerly put pen to paper, commenting on everything Japanese, from curios to coolies, sake to samurai, etiquette to earthquakes. They left behind—in letters, diaries and memoirs—personal impressions of Old Japan, sometimes as revealing of the writers themselves as the country they came to visit. This book features 74 of these traveller’s tales—many of them funny, others serious, but all a pleasure to read

What is it about Japan that so beguiles foreigners? It is a small country and yet an economic powerhouse, a land of great natural beauty -- from green-cloaked mountains to glistening rice paddies -- a place of intricate arts and crafts and amazing cuisine, and home to a people whose kindness and sensitivity surprise westerners at each turn. It is no wonder that Japan simultaneously astonishes, delights, and frustrates travelers, and the diverse tales in this book reveal the nation in all its contradictions: a place of tranquil temples and high-tech toilets, exquisite ancient inns and lurid love hotels, where electric baths sit beside indoor ski slopes, and cherry blossoms fall on kindly grandmothers, cynical salarymen, wise monks, and wild lovers alike. Gathered in this collection are pieces by several notable authors, each offering anecdotes that tell of encounters to be had or avoided, each with uncommon insight to enrich the traveler's experience.

Japan, with its old and ever-changing heart and soul, simultaneously astonishes, delights, and frustrates travelers. Visit the place of tranquil temples, exquisite ancient inns and lurid love hotels, where electric baths sit beside indoor ski slopes and cheery blossoms fall on kindly grandmothers, cynical salarymen, wise monks, and wild lovers alike.

What is it about Japan that so beguiles foreigners? It is a small country and yet an economic powerhouse, a land of great natural beauty -- from green-cloaked mountains to glistening rice paddies -- a place of intricate arts and crafts and amazing cuisine, and home to a people whose kindness and sensitivity surprise westerners at each turn. It is no wonder that Japan simultaneously astonishes, delights, and frustrates travelers, and the diverse tales in this book reveal the nation in all its contradictions: a place of tranquil temples and high-tech toilets, exquisite ancient inns and lurid love hotels, where electric baths sit beside indoor ski slopes, and cherry blossoms fall on kindly grandmothers, cynical salarymen, wise monks, and wild lovers alike. Gathered in this collection are pieces by several notable authors, each offering anecdotes that tell of encounters to be had or avoided, each with uncommon insight to enrich the traveler's experience.

Paris is one city that you should endeavor to know over the course of a lifetime, and not just in one or two visits. It is the center of the civilized universe, and it belongs to everyone—even to those who see it only in their dreams. The City of Light has bestowed on millions the gift of the incandescent present, an image or experience into which all life is condensed and reflected upon for years to come. Travelers’ Tales Paris captures the romance of the world’s favorite city through stories that entertain, inform, and touch the heart. John Gregory Dunne reveals the manic pleasures of driving in the city’s chaotic traffic. Joseph Diedrich and Katya Macklovich explore romantic encounters that could only happen here. Herbert Gold and David Applefield take aim at the nostalgia surrounding The Left Bank, one reveling in its literary past, the other urging the visitor to reach out to a new, modern Paris in the outlying area of Montreuil. Tim O’Reilly and Coleman Lollar evoke the appeal of unexpected tourist sites, and Marcel Laventurier recounts his harrowing escape from the Nazis on a train bound for occupied Paris in a tale you will never forget.

In this newly designed edition, acclaimed writers who have fallen in love with France--with the food, the land, the irrepressible French people--provide a mesmerizing literary tour of this special place. maps. Illustrations.

Essays by well-known travel writers--including Frances Mayes, Jan Morris, Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, and Ferenc MbtT--guide readers through the beautiful, sun-baked hills of Tuscany in search of friendly locals, breathtaking scenery, scrumptious dining, and award-winning wine. Original.