Rating: 
Summary: Fairly typical view of Japan from Gaijin eyes, no depth
Review: As a frequent visitor to Japan I'm always trying to learn more about this fascinating country. Ms. Horn's book provides a series of vignettes which are illustrative of the country yet fairly run of the mill for anyone who reads much about Japan. The stories are well written and humorous. Her book would be much better if she tried to work on a few overall themes of how she viewed Japan from the perspective of an Israeli. These two cultures are quite different. The book reads quickly and will not cause one to look much beyond the surface. When she began to discuss Jewish life in Japan I felt as if she finally started to get below the surface of the two cultures and the book then moved beyond the "can you believe this happened to me" type of narrative.
Rating: 
Summary: A nice enough read
Review: Hello! I am the translator of this book and the reviewer is right, I am not familiar with the Japanese language; it woudl be nice if I were, but not really essential, since I translate from Hebrew to English. I transliterated the Japanese words from Hebrew and the author - who claims a deep and expert knowledge of all things Japanese - corrected them into what she assured me was the correct, phonetic English spelling.
My sincere apologies for any offence caused.
Rating:
Summary: pretty good
Review: I found this book to be a fun and easy read, but being one who has studied japanese history, literature, language, and culture for a while, I found the book to be vry superficial. This book is not intended for one who already has a decent knowledge of Japan, it would definately be better for one who has just gained an interest in Japan, because most of the information in this book is very banal and threadbare to one who has already studied Japan a good deal. The only new information I gathered from reading this book was of the Jewish community in Japan. My main complaint about this book is the horrible spelling of Japanese in romanji. vakarimasu instead of wakarimasu; Om Shinari-Kiu instead of the Aum Shinrikyo. I know this might seem like an unimportant matter, but some of the words written out in this poor romanji can be rendered unrecognizeable. I believe this to be the fault of the translator: she seems to have little familiarity with the japanese language. the book was translated from Hebrew by the way.
Rating: 
Summary: Japan Over-generalized
Review: I have to say that I was sorely disappointed in Ms. Horn's oversimplication of a very complex society. I lived in Japan for 11 years and am married to a Japanese man. Although she states that she has the utmost respect for the Japanese people, it is not reflected in her words.I agree with the other readers that a more detailed account of her life as a Jewish woman/diplomat would have been a much more interesting read. Finally, the horrible spelling of all things Japanese was unbearable and at times - believe it or not - made it impossible to understand what the author was referring to.
Rating:
Summary: Japan Over-generalized
Review: I have to say that I was sorely disappointed in Ms. Horn's oversimplication of a very complex society. I lived in Japan for 11 years and am married to a Japanese man. Although she states that she has the utmost respect for the Japanese people, it is not reflected in her words. I agree with the other readers that a more detailed account of her life as a Jewish woman/diplomat would have been a much more interesting read. Finally, the horrible spelling of all things Japanese was unbearable and at times - believe it or not - made it impossible to understand what the author was referring to.
Rating:
Summary: Glimpses of Japan
Review: I just finished reading this book, Shalom, Japan, and I must say that I was fascinated. Although I agree with the previous reviewer that there is not much in the way of in-depth analysis of the Japanese culture as a whole, I don't believe that the author intended to attempt such a feat. Horn basically has filled the book with little vignettes of her experiences and encounters while in Japan, and she is a very good storyteller. She covers everything,for example:super toilets that can tell you if you're pregnant, red-light districts, garbage collection systems, her experiences teaching the Hebrew language to the Japanese,the onsen (communal Japanese baths), and trying to accomodate Japanese food to her vegeterian way of life. There are also some stories about Jews living in Japan during WWII. There are a few passages which may come across to some as generalized statements about the Japanese people as a whole, but in retrospect, her observations are lighthearted and reflect the thoughts that entered her mind at the time. At no time does she ever condemn the Japanese. In fact, she makes it quite clear that she highly respects the Japanese people and tries diligently to understand their way of life. As an Asian American who has visited Tokyo several times, I enjoyed this book tremendously. It brought back many memories and also allowed me to experience Japan through the eyes of an Israeli. Please give this book a chance. Even though it will not win any prizes for deep comparative anthropologic analysis, it was genuine, fun, and thought provoking. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in Japan or the Jewish experience in Asia.
Rating:
Summary: Very thorough in facts about Japan, but somewhat crude
Review: I read this book when I was 13--just a few months before I actually went to Japan with a school group. Though a bit young for some of the adult content in the book, I took interest in this "insider's view of Japan." "Shalom Japan" assisted me to learn the ins and outs of the Japanese culture, and gave me some clue of how these people tick. I could have a decent amount of self-embarrassment went I went to Japan if it weren't for this book. The book elevated my interest in Japan, and I'm still interested in the country two and a half years after going there. Yes, there could have been some more Jewish content in the book. I think though that this book was more about Japan from an Israeli woman's perspective, not about Jewish Japan. I felt like Shifra was critisizing more than praising the aspects of this beautiful culture, indicating at the end of the book that she did not want a return visa when she left Japan. Overall, the book didn't hide anything about Japan, so I'd definitely recommend it to someone who wants to know the less talked about parts of the Japanese culture.
Rating:
Summary: Stereotypical, Disapponting
Review: I'll be taking this one back to the book store to get my money back. I've acquired a large circle of Japanese friends and visited the country several times, but I cannot seem to develop the subdued sense of contempt this author has for the culture. For example, she complains that there is no place for vegetarians to dine out, then goes into an extended anecdote about eating at a rare Buddist vegetarian restaurant. GET USED TO IT. Japan serves the masses, not the shifting whims of yuppie liberals from the West. I was also put off by the author's sweeping (and wrong) generalizations. For example, she claims that Japanese people love their food to be fresh (very true) and all the better if it's raw. Poppycock. I know many Japanese who cannot stand sushi or raw seafood. Most people are not aware that sushi and sashimi are semi-delicacies in Japan and are quite expensive. American pop-culture is responsible for the proliferation of sushi restaurants in the West. Japanese people do not eat raw fish like they scarf down rice. I was also disappointed that the author seemed to harp on the sex culture of Japan as totally depraved, rather than simply lacking the taboos and inhibitions of the beaten down Western societies. Newsflash: the vast majority of Japanese do not buy used underwear out of vending machines or attend public sex-hibitions. There is simply an accomodation of all lifesyles (if a profit can be made). By the way, there are almost no mixed-sex public baths left in Japan. The author talks about them like there's one next to every McDonalds. I really love reading anecodotal accounts of gaikokujin (foreign persons) in Japan. The author even manages to present some amusing and interesting stories. However, the feeling I get when reading this book is an uncomfortable sense of having to defend what I know to be true about Japan against a frank, but also almost contemptuous distrust and distaste for the culture of the far East. I don't have a right to not be offended by someone else's opinion, but when the author claims to love Japan, then writes ten pages about how bizzare and depraved her people are, I cannot help but call her bluff.
Rating:
Summary: Stereotypical, Disapponting
Review: I'll be taking this one back to the book store to get my money back. I've acquired a large circle of Japanese friends and visited the country several times, but I cannot seem to develop the subdued sense of contempt this author has for the culture. For example, she complains that there is no place for vegetarians to dine out, then goes into an extended anecdote about eating at a rare Buddist vegetarian restaurant. GET USED TO IT. Japan serves the masses, not the shifting whims of yuppie liberals from the West. I was also put off by the author's sweeping (and wrong) generalizations. For example, she claims that Japanese people love their food to be fresh (very true) and all the better if it's raw. Poppycock. I know many Japanese who cannot stand sushi or raw seafood. Most people are not aware that sushi and sashimi are semi-delicacies in Japan and are quite expensive. American pop-culture is responsible for the proliferation of sushi restaurants in the West. Japanese people do not eat raw fish like they scarf down rice. I was also disappointed that the author seemed to harp on the sex culture of Japan as totally depraved, rather than simply lacking the taboos and inhibitions of the beaten down Western societies. Newsflash: the vast majority of Japanese do not buy used underwear out of vending machines or attend public sex-hibitions. There is simply an accomodation of all lifesyles (if a profit can be made). By the way, there are almost no mixed-sex public baths left in Japan. The author talks about them like there's one next to every McDonalds. I really love reading anecodotal accounts of gaikokujin (foreign persons) in Japan. The author even manages to present some amusing and interesting stories. However, the feeling I get when reading this book is an uncomfortable sense of having to defend what I know to be true about Japan against a frank, but also almost contemptuous distrust and distaste for the culture of the far East. I don't have a right to not be offended by someone else's opinion, but when the author claims to love Japan, then writes ten pages about how bizzare and depraved her people are, I cannot help but call her bluff.
Rating: 
Summary: Nearsighted Ethnocentrism at its Worst
Review: It is sad when people with a similar background as yours make such unaccurate, generalized criticisms of cultures they didn't even try to understand. After living in Japan myself, I became tired with foreigners always trying to point out how strange Japan is without realizing that their own cultures also have their own weirdnesses.
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