Books to read before visiting Japan

Cover image for I Am a Cat
Paperback

I Am a Cat

Soseki Natsume, Aiko Ito (trans.)

Written over the course of 1904-6, Soseki’s comic masterpiece, I Am a Cat satirizes the follies of upper-middle-class Japanese society during the Meiji era. With acerbic wit and sardonic perspective…

$34.99

In stock at 5 shops, ships in 3-4 daysIn stock at 5 shops

Cover image for Snow Country
Paperback

Snow Country

Yasunari Kawabata

Shimamura is tired of the bustling city. He takes the train through the snow to the mountains of the west coast of Japan, to meet with a geisha he believes…

$22.99

In stock at 6 shops, ships in 3-4 daysIn stock at 6 shops

Cover image for Memoirs of a Geisha: The Literary Sensation and Runaway Bestseller
Paperback

Memoirs of a Geisha: The Literary Sensation and Runaway Bestseller

Arthur Golden

Summoning up more than 20 years of Japan’s most dramatic history, the geisha’s story uncovers a hidden world of eroticism and enchantment, exploitation and degradation. It moves from a small…

$22.99

In stock at 3 shops, ships in 3-4 daysIn stock at 3 shops

Cover image for Building Waves
Paperback

Building Waves

Taeko Tomioka,Louise Heal Kawai

In her early forties, married, and childless by choice, Kyoko has no compunction about getting what she wants. But when she begins a relationship with a man who is as…

$40.99

Available to order, ships in approx 4 weeksAvailable to order

Cover image for The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches
Paperback

The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches

Matsuo Basho

Presents travel writings which chronicle the author’s perilous journeys through Japan and also capture his vision of eternity in the transient world around him.

$14.99

In stock at 4 shops, ships in 3-4 daysIn stock at 4 shops

Cover image for People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo--And the Evil That Swallowed Her Up
Paperback

People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo–And the Evil That Swallowed Her Up

Richard Lloyd Parry,Parry, Richard

In 2000, a tall, blonde, 21-year-old went missing in Tokyo, and her remains were found several months later. Questions arose about her friendships, her career, and her intentions.

$43.99

Available to order, ships in approx 2 weeksAvailable to order

Cover image for In The Miso Soup
Paperback

In The Miso Soup

Ryu Murakami

It’s just before New Year, and Frank, an overweight American tourist, has hired Kenji to take him on a guided tour of Tokyo’s nightlife. But, Frank’s behaviour is so odd…

$21.95

In stock at 4 shops, ships in 3-4 daysIn stock at 4 shops

Cover image for An Artist of the Floating World
Paperback

An Artist of the Floating World

Kazuo Ishiguro

It is 1948. Japan is rebuilding her cities after the calamity of World War Two, her people putting defeat behind them and looking to the future. The celebrated artist, Masuji…

$24.99

In stock at 3 shops, ships in 3-4 daysIn stock at 3 shops

Cover image for Spring Snow
Paperback

Spring Snow

Yukio Mishima

The closed world of the ancient aristocracy is being breached for the first time by outsiders - rich provincial families, a new and powerful political and social elite. Kiyoaki has…

$22.99

In stock at 4 shops, ships in 3-4 daysIn stock at 4 shops

Cover image for The Guest Cat
Paperback

The Guest Cat

Takashi Hiraide

An international bestseller. A charming and wonderful novel about a cat that brings joy into a couple’s life

$19.99

In stock at 4 shops, ships in 3-4 daysIn stock at 4 shops

Cover image for After the Quake
Paperback

After the Quake

Haruki Murakami

Tales of upheaval and confusion, longing and love in the aftermath of the Kobe earthquake. For the characters in after the quake, the Kobe earthquake is an echo from a…

$22.99

In stock at 6 shops, ships in 3-4 daysIn stock at 6 shops