A series of short snippets and mundane anecdotes about Japan. Informative if you know little about Japan, yet often repetitive. A non essential component to visiting the country.

This was very boring.However, I did enjoy seeing all the pictures that were throughout the book but I felt like I would have been better off just searching online and reading general information instead of reading this. Because most of this just feels like internet research instead of feeling like a first hand account from someone who was living there.

Comprehensive, brilliant book about Japan - her culture, her history, her geography, and her people. Love this book which I can't seem to shift from my coffee table to the bookshelves because I love it so much.

A must read book for the people who are fascinated by Japanese culture. You will come to know all about the history of Japan, their culture, their festivals, their religions and philosophies. The language formation of Japan and the various symbols that are use used there. Right from the Martial arts to the Tea Ceremonies. You can get the overview of almost everything related to the Japanese.When I read the book, I realized that I had many misconceptions regarding this wonderful country. The code...

Like a geek, I spent my whole weekend reading this wonderful book. And I feel like I have been in Japan over the weekend, walking around Tokyo, the stores, the gardens.People who are interested in Japan must read this book. I learnt so much. It has subjects about everything: Japanese customs, a bit of history, places that we must visit; manga and anime and so many others. There are things that I've already known because of manga, doramas; like stuffs about their school system, food, etc. Other t...

A Geek in Japan is one of those books I saw on the shelf at my local bookstore and just had to have. I love Japan and I love to learn more about it. A Geek in Japan is deceiving though, in that it contains much more information than you think at first glance. Hector Garcia has obviously put a lot of time and effort into researching this book, which delves into many aspects of Japan. It includes history, social structures (I learned more from this book than I did from six years of Japanese), cult...

I was impressed by this brief introduction. Although I have fragmentary knowledge and some introductory understanding of Japanese culture, this book consolidates core facts that are both comprehensive and entertaining. It also included much I did not know, such as the cultural use of the word "chotto." Once making it to the section on Japanese economy and work, I expected this to be the most boring part of the book; but it was absolutely fascinating learning about their economy and work culture....

A decent read for an overall view of modern Japanese culture with an emphasis on Tokyo. Based on the title, I was hoping for more about otaku culture. It would be a nice first read on modern Japan and would make a good supplement to a guide book if you're going to the Tokyo region.

Perfect book to read before traveling to Japan. After reading it I feel fully prepared for my trip. Book includes a lot of general information written in engaging and concise way which makes it a page-turner. Book includes chapters about history, traditional arts, Japanese culture and mindset, food, music, anime and manga and way more - basically everything there is to know about this fascinating country :) Last two chapters are aimed specifically at tourist planning their trip, they are packed

A Geek in Japan is a great, cursory cultural guide to the country. It's not going to be of any use to a traveler, but it is interesting.

A Geek in Japan: Discovering the Land of Manga, Anime, Zen, and the Tea Ceremony is such a great introduction to Japanese culture — and the modern cool Japan we are coming to know as well as the historic Japan.The book is a fun read and may even surprise readers familiar with Japan with a few new explanations of culture and history.Don't let the title fool you -- A Geek in Japan really offers up a whole lot of quick highlights of what makes up life in Japan. It touches on broad topics like tradi...

This would probably have been more helpful if I was actually going to Japan. I'm not anytime soon so......yeah. Some of the passages were very repetitive. I got a weird sense of deja vu about 20 times throughout reading this because some sentences were repeated more than once. It provided a very broad, very brief overview to the complete history and culture of Japan. Pretty much everything you can think of is covered, even including brief tourist guides and recommended walks. However, I felt at

p26. "During the Edo Period, when Japan received almost no influence from foreign cultures, a number of unique arts or disciplines were developed. For instance, kabuki theater appeared as a consequence of the need to entertain an increasingly flourishing society with more and more free time."So much for diversity being a strength...p144 is the start of a chapter on Odaiba, one of Japans many small islands. In the top left corner there is a picture of the Statue Of Liberty. This confused me at fi...

A good book, particularly if you, say, just so happen to be moving to Japan. Unlike other Japanese culture books, this book provides the "why" behind the customs in addition to sharing what the norms are.

Comprehensive text of what to do or not to do in Japanese society for confused foreigner.

This is a very detailed book that explores the state, heart and culture of Japan. The author has done a great job in explaining essential Japanese terms, ideals and essence of Japan. As evident from the title, the author talks about everything about Japan that we hear or see in popular culture- Geisha, tea ceremony, Zen, Work culture, Manga, anime etc. The majority of the chapters can be read as a non-fiction book and final chapters can be used as a tourist guide book when you are travelling to

This will not be so much a review of the book as my attempt to remember a gazillion facts and new Japanese words, which overwhelmed me despite already knowing some from anime and manga and being used to the sound of the language.Almost everything below is a quote.History of Japan(view spoiler)[ Legend tells that Japan was born of the love between two deities, Izanagi and Izanami. These two deities had a daughter, Amaterasu, and the long dynasty of Japanese emperors descends from her. T...

A geek in Japan is packed with information, personal anecdotes and pictures, which makes it a great starting point for learning about lots of Nihon-related topics, with the final two chapters handing out travel advice - which may be a bit dated, but are interesting to read

Great insights on Japan's unique culture This book was a godsend when we travelled Japan. Mainly for the distilled cultural insights which would have required several years living there as an expat. I often found myself reading a section (on a train) then chuckling to myself as I realized I had noted that exact same peculiarity but had no idea of the meaning or had simply passed it off as a trivial thought.

A Geek in Japan: Discovering the Land of Manga, Anime, Zen, and the Tea Ceremony by Hector Garcia Puigcerver was a delightful surprise for me. I initially saw the title and wrongfully assumed it was something that would appeal to gamers and hardcore Manga and Anime fans. It turned out to be a well-written description and analysis of what makes Japan what it is from the history, people, culture, food, as well as the Manga and Anime in the title. Having lived in Japan for three years in 1969-1972