"Yo, Dave Barry, Loudly Make It Fly"!

When a book about Japan, comes out, it can be usually put in one of two categories: either as a "travelogue" or in the nihonjinron section. (Nihonjinron being the name given to the kinds of books or articles which focus deeply on an aspect of Japanese culture.) Both types are of a sensationalist nature –how can a book about a foreign culture afford not to be? So the travelogues take on subjects like the Japanese mafia (yakuza), while the nihonjinron books, although slightly more intellectual and better researched, sometimes make outlandish remarks, such as saying that the Japanese brain is different to any other. However, saying that they are sensationalist does not mean that they are of bad quality. Quite the opposite, in fact –many of which I have read are well written and very entertaining.

Nevertheless, for a book to be truly inspired it must provide insight into the subject it undertakes. So it was refreshing to find Dave Barry’s book on Japan, which accomplishes this with some ease. The book details Dave Barry’s three-week journey with his family throughout Japan’s main island, Honshu, mainly around Tokyo and the Kansai region (which includes Kyoto and Osaka, among other sites).

Frequent readers of Mr. Barry’s books and column will be familiar with his prose: a flowing style, some deviation from the subject at hand, and, most importantly, plenty of hilarious moments. And Dave Barry Does Japan does not disappoint; in fact, it may have some of his funniest anecdotes ever. Take the visit to a stand-up (or rather, kneel-down) comedy show for example, or his extremely funny retelling of part of a kabuki play. The events in the book are evidence of why the New York Times called him, "the funniest man in America".

What differentiates this book from all other travelogues, however, is how deeply Dave Barry delves into the subject of Japanese culture itself. Although his stay of three weeks is rather short for any kind of research, (a fact he states repeatedly), one can see that he has done a lot of research into it. He inserts various quotes from scholarly works such as Karen van Wolferen’s The Enigma of Japanese Power –further deflating his own statement that "this book is not authoritative". In other words, Dave Barry is not happy in just making, like most other travelogues, a "highly subjective account" of his trip. Rather, he is interested in tackling issues which, although the book is almost ten years old, are still crucial in understanding Japan.

Dave Barry not only tells accounts of his stay at a traditional Japanese inn, his bemusement at the popular sports and music, and the yakuza, but also at the political system and the difficult visit to Hiroshima. The chapter given to Hiroshima is the only serious moment in the whole book, and it has been accomplished particularly well. It shows how seriously he took upon the subject.

However, the strength of the book, and what really makes it shine, is that it does not aspire to the lofty goals of other books which try to force their philosophies upon the reader. Dave Barry Does Japan focuses on one single aspect that can appeal to everybody. That is, how Japan was seen by most of the world, especially the United States, before falling into recession in the ‘90s: as a very hard-working, high-tech country, seemingly on the verge of taking over the world. This theme is displayed prominently in the book, right from Dave Barry’s hilarious introduction, in which he somehow links the Japanese economy to Captain Video. His decision to focus on this topic shows us why he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize: he is a fantastic writer, with a great feel for what makes a book interesting.

The book has its weaknesses, of course, namely the numerous rimshots about translating words in Japanese. Still, these faults are minor –bordering on the insignificant. Dave Barry Does Japan is a truly insightful, perceptive book, full of extremely funny stories, incredible experiences, and a great way to begin to understand Japanese culture.