Rating: 
Summary: Simply wonderful
Review: I was lucky enough to receive my copy of this book from his wife. Reading the book, though, told me volumes more about the man than any person could. Yes, the book is a wonderful epic of a journey along the length of Japan. But more than that, the book (to me) was about the inner journey of man trying to find his place in culture that views outsiders as ... outsiders. It's a telling tale, similarly encountered by those who have traveled the distant corners of the world and the challenges they face trying to bind the different fabrics of world culture into one piece of harmonious tapestry. If you manage to get a hold of them, his articles for his Asahi column (That's All Folks) written in the months before his death(due to cancer) is as revealing and thought-provoking as this book.
Rating:
Summary: A walk worth remembering
Review: I've been scouring the literary shelves for books about Japan in preparation for an upcoming trip to this fascinating country. Alan Booth's book has given me a lot of insight regarding what to expect even though he completed his trek more than 15 years ago.
Rating:
Summary: A walk worth remembering
Review: I've been scouring the literary shelves for books about Japan in preparation for an upcoming trip to this fascinating country. Alan Booth's book has given me a lot of insight regarding what to expect even though he completed his trek more than 15 years ago.
Rating:
Summary: What an Experience!
Review: Mr. Booth gives a wonderful account of what it is like to be a foreigner in Japan as he goes by foot from north to south. It reminds me that when a culture is observed by an outsider, many important idiosyncracies are identified even though they are easily overlooked by members of that culture. DeToqueville's observances of the USA come to mind as a comparison. This book makes me want to follow in Mr. Booth's footsteps by taking the same journey some 15 odd years later to see how much or how little has changed!
Rating:
Summary: What an Experience!
Review: Mr. Booth gives a wonderful account of what it is like to be a foreigner in Japan as he goes by foot from north to south. It reminds me that when a culture is observed by an outsider, many important idiosyncracies are identified even though they are easily overlooked by members of that culture. DeToqueville's observances of the USA come to mind as a comparison. This book makes me want to follow in Mr. Booth's footsteps by taking the same journey some 15 odd years later to see how much or how little has changed!
Rating:
Summary: A journey through the heart of Japan
Review: Part of me wondered throughout this book why this gaijin decided to walk through the Japanese inaka (countryside) for four months sleeping in Ryokans and drinking sake. But I really enjoyed this book. I too have walked through much of Japan and can confirm many of the struggles and experiences that being a gaijin in Japan brings. But I cannot say I will be walking through Japan anytime soon. Alan Booth already did that for me and allowed me to really live through the journey through his beautifully- written book. This is a charming book that I think portrays an accurate picture of Japan and its people. But, what did his wife think about all of this?
Rating:
Summary: Vivid account of Japan by man as demented as the Japanese
Review: The difficulty with many of the classic accounts of Westerners travelling through Japan is a tendency to either High Seriousness or clowning. In "The Roads to Sata" Alan Booth avoids both of these pitfalls. He loves Japan, but he does not take it seriously. Neither does he feel the need to poke fun at the Japanese, feeling that they will do this themselves. The only flaw in the narrative is the creeping certainty the reader is bound to feel that Booth is something of a fanatic about his walking. He calmly reports all manner of aches and pains that would send most people hobbling to a doctor, at one point remarking in an offhand manner that the trip caused several toenails to fall out! Still, perhaps it takes a fanatic to understand Japan; a country that produces fanatics in weirdly assorted job lots. Provided that the reader is not moved to emulation "The Roads to Sata" is fine introduction to a part of Japan generally not discussed.
Rating: 
Summary: A very accurate description
Review: The late Alan Booth was married to a Japanese woman, spoke fluent Japanese and had lived in Japan for quite some time when he decided to walk all the way from the north to the south of the country. He walked gruelling distances (up to 40 kilometers a day with a heavy backpack) and slept in real Japanese ryokans, eating Japanese food, soaking in Japanese baths and drinking Japanese drinks. The ultimate Japan experience.I read this book while travelling through Japan and it described exactly what I was experiencing. I did not speak a word of Japanese (this in stark contrast to the author). People were very friendly and helpful, but you always felt the distance they were keeping because to Japanese foreigners are really strange. Alan Booth has at times hilarious accounts in the book of ryokan-owners who do not want to give him a room because "he does not speak Japanese" (the conversation is in Japanese), "a foreigner cannot sleep on a futon" (he has one at home), " a foreigner will not like Japanese food" (he has been living and eating in Japan for a long time) and 1001 other fake reasons. On the other hand he meets lots of very friendely people who overcome their xenophobia and help him along. The book mainly focusses on the first part of his hike. At the end of the book the account of the trip becomes too intermittent for my taste: I wanted to learn more about the southern part of the country. If you decide to travel to Japan, read this book, it will make you understand better what is happening to you. And if you do not travel to Japan, read it anyway because it a wonderful account of a hiking-trip through a very special country.
Rating: 
Summary: Presents just one side of the Japan experience
Review: This book builds slowly giving an almost daily account of the authors' impressions of the people and places of Japan. It offers many interesting insights into Japan and the author himself. Mr. Booth is a fun person to travel thru Japan with.
Rating:
Summary: Fun Travel Thru Japan
Review: This book builds slowly giving an almost daily account of the authors' impressions of the people and places of Japan. It offers many interesting insights into Japan and the author himself. Mr. Booth is a fun person to travel thru Japan with.
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