《The Roads to Sata》

Sata is the cape at the southernmost tip of Kyushu in southwest Japan. Booth, an Englishman living in Japan, walked there from Cape Soya at the northernmost tip of Hokkaido in northern Japan. It took him 128 days, following a mostly rural route down the eastern side of the islands. His book is a delightful series of encounters with and impressions of local people who were astonished to find a foreigner speaking Japanese. He was treated as a friend by many, and as a freak by some. Booth has much to say about modern Japanese life that fails to come out in the more numerous books on urban and industrialized Japan. And thanks to Booth's ability with both Japanese and English, his book is much more enjoyable to read. Recommended for all libraries wanting good books about Japan.