With thanks to netgalley and the author for allowing me to review this book.

I’ve always want to travel to Japan for many years and ‘off the beaten tracks in Japan’ allows me to do this, well from the comfort of my arm chair.

Off the the beaten tracks is a brilliant book about travelling around by train but not to touristy parts of Japan, that most people know, which makes it more enjoyable.

A great book

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book.This book has some interesting spots and history about the various trains and depots in Japan. I enjoyed reading about the history as well.

Off the Beaten Tracks in Japan is a rare thing, a good solid readable and enjoyable travel book. The journey from the very top to the very bottom of Japan is easy to recreate using this book which has just the right amount of interesting facts, personal memoir, and good descriptions along with the humour of a convivial travel companion. If more travel books were as good as this one the genre would not stagnating in the doldrums.

This was a really wonderful read I enjoyed accompanying the author on his trip.Sitting at home while getting to tour Japan was wonderful .The author has a wonderful writing style& a sense of humor that I really enjoyed.A charming informative read.#netgalley #stonebrigepress

Just returned from Japan and ready to go back to experience this west coast 'slow train,' experience. I guess I have a reason to return! Wonderful writing.

Having lived and worked in Japan for several years 30 years ago, this book called out to me as a way to reminisce. I was a little disappointed that the journey only featured the West Coast, as I lived on the East Coast, however, culturally the island if Kyushu was still familiar and very enjoyable to read about. I loved the little cultural anecdotes that brought back so many wonderful memories for me, and the deep seated love of nature that is an intrinsic part of Japanese culture. Thank you. Recommend fir anyone who has lived in haoan or is interested in travelling there

What a joy it was to have been taken along on John Dougill's journey by rail as he traveled from far North to far South along the coast of the Sea of Japan. This peek into the road less traveled featured stops at castle towns, historical sites and tiny villages where he shares glimpses into the beauty of the surroundings and the people. I smiled throughout this book at the charming way that Dougill wove anecdotes and history of these lesser-known destinations that made them come to life. Travel writing at its inspires or satisfies wanderlust and Off the Beaten Tracks in Japan certainly succeeded in doing both.

Quick synopsis:
A travel memoir of touring through some of Japan’s more remote and less travelled locations along the Japan Sea, highlighting bits of geography, history, culture, and the wonderful and unexpected adventures you have when you slow down your pace.

My Thoughts:
Travelling through Japan is on the top of my bucket-list and this book was the perfect companion to my “someday” planning. A book that begs to be read and enjoyed at a slower pace, the author (a British who has lived in Japan for 30 years) will take you on a charming, enjoyable, and often amusing meander through Japan. Highly recommend!

Many of Japan’s most famous sites are on the southern Pacific coast and, indeed, this is where the largest cities are, greatest investments have been made, etc. Our author decides to travel the length of Japan via the northern shore (facing Russia and Korea and China) using the Japanese train system. Many of the places mentioned sound wonderful and it does encourage you to think about visiting places beyond the typical tourist itinerary.

What follows are a series of vignettes of the various towns/cities that the author travelled to on the trains. If you’re a train aficionado looking for details of rolling stock etc., this isn’t included. If you’re looking for lots of descriptions of the Japanese countryside viewed from the train, this also isn’t often included. What we have then are a series of selective pen portraits of each of the places (the stops) rather than the journey itself, per se. These pen portraits include the items that the author thinks most encapsulate their time in the place rather than being a conventional guidebook to each place, with particular focus on the local food. As with other reviewers, we need more maps/photos to help set the context as these are less familiar places/dishes.

Overall, an entertaining read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a fun and interesting book that made me want to just dump everything and book my next trip to Japan. Then again, I want to do that just about everyday, but this book made the urge even stronger than usual. I would love to have a similar experience one day. However, I do have to agree with some of the other reviewers in that I would have liked to have seen more photographs, maps, etc. Also, I agree that this would make a great documentary. That being said anyone who loves travel memoirs or is interested in Japan will find this to be a great read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Off the Beaten Tracks Japan begins in the snowy, far, north of Japan, Hokkaido. Just miles from Russia, this sparsely populated area has a long history and is home to the Ainu people. Dougill will travel the length of Japan using the railways on his way south. A lovely travel journal from a seasoned traveler, Dougill’s fresh look at a country full of tradition. Japanophiles will adore this book.. Reading about the day to day life outside of the large cities and how to navigate a foreign country.

I love books about or featuring Japan. This was a really entertaining and readable experience of a less travelled path during the Covid pandemic.

I wish there would've been more maps, pictures, photos or illustrations to accompany the text.

It will make you want to book a holiday asap 😁

Thank you netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book much much more than I anticipated! It is so well-written and humorous that I actually wish I had such a book for every and any future trips to any country. John Dougill gives very good insights about Japan from the point of view as a foreigner who has lived there for a long time.

5 stars from me.

As a previous resident of Kyoto and Tokyo, I've long loved reading anything about Japan, so I eagerly dived into this book. After reading the first few sections, I stepped away and admonished myself to read more slowly and cherish the moments of the journey, because it was obvious to me that it was the kind of book that I'd want to stay cozily immersed in and feel quite sad when it came to the end. (Side note: We can all be happy and relieved that Mr. Dougill could continue journeying around Japan and write many more volumes!)

I think that any reader with an interest in Japan will enjoy this book greatly. For a small country, there is just so much to explore and take in. If you know nothing about Japan, this book will give you an appealing taste of what a journey to Japan could look like. But for those of us who HAVE lived in Japan for a number of years, the book will be, perhaps, even more appreciated. Mr. Dougill is a long-time resident, a passionate teacher, historian, and lover of all things cultural. He adeptly feeds us tidbits to entice us into, possibly, our own journeys. No matter how much you think you know about Japan, experiencing it through Mr. Dougill's eyes will help you open your own eyes. His dry humor in his interactions are also much appreciated. Never once does he become preachy but he doesn't shy away from addressing sensitive issues either.

If there were more books written in this vein about various countries around the world it would go a whole lot further in enhancing global understanding and motivating travel to different lands, even if it is only from one's armchair.... or zabuton.

Thank you to NetGalley, Stonebridge Press, and John Dougill for an advance copy of this book. John, please take out your train map and start planning your next journey!

Amo il Giappone, e sono sempre alla ricerca di guide che mostrino luoghi fuori dagli itinerari più battuti, sia nelle città (che nascondono molto al visitatore occasionale) sia, soprattutto, fuori di esse. Perché è vero che il Giappone ha molti volti, e vorrei conoscerli tutti. Questa è una guida perfetta: luoghi particolari, da raggiungere in treno, poco conosciuti e frequentati soprattutto dagli occidentali, corredata da descrizioni precise e bellissime foto, per iniziare a viaggiare prima di prendere l'aereo.

Delightful experience, useful and joyous at the same time. I will definitely consider visiting those places as this book made me dream and yearn for adventure. Recommended.

When I started reading the book I thought I was going to find another format and I think that was what played against me a bit.

Here we have a very detailed trip through much of Japan (I would love to imitate this trip, you really go through a lot of interesting cities and places), and it took place during the COVID-19 pandemic when you couldn't travel abroad so the government boosted domestic tourism (well done).

What happened here is that I would have liked it to be accompanied by images, maps, illustrations of something related to what is being told, images of food, things like that! That would have enriched it a lot and given it a special touch. I know that it requires another type of budget, and that this is missing does not mean that it has not been a more than interesting read.

It would be great to see a documentary like this. Calling Netflix.

Thank you very much Stone Bridge Press for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I strongly recommend this book to any one that loves Japan. An interesting read
Thank you to John Dougill, NetGalley and Stone Bridge Press for the arc of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. These are my own thoughts:
The author is a delight here, with enough dry humor directed at himself as he takes in Japan. I think I just about died at "Too tall to pet, I joked, then regretted it as it was explained to me that petting was not allowed."

I greatly enjoyed this, but I think some of the humor and charm will be lost on those who haven't lived in Japan before.