Product Description

A long-time Tokyo resident takes readers on a walking tour around each station along the Yamanote Line that circles the heart of Tokyo, offering glimpses of the variety in this city that at first glance seems homogenous.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1688330 in Books
• Published on: 1980-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 210 pages

Customer Reviews

Tokyo from the insider's view
The Yamanote is the circle line of Tokyo's rail system. And from Jean Pearce's perspective, the line's 29 stations add up to a perfect tour of this marvelous underrated city.

Pearce, for 42 years a columnist for the English-language Japan Times, is the ideal guide for the tour. Her sharp eye misses few details, and her delightful style conveys her deep love for the city, its neighborhoods and its people.

Each chapter describes a walking tour of the area around the station, with a mix of historical background and current details. The chapter on Akihabara, Tokyo's electronics district, pays due mention to the area's famous hi-fi and TV purveyors, but wanders on, as you might, to the neighborhood shrines, and then on to neighboring bookshops and an Russian Orthodox church.

The book is long out of print, and it's possible that some of the shops described are no longer there--though in fast-changing Japan, it's always surprising what survives. But even after so many years, there's still no better armchair tour of Tokyo available, and when you do visit you'll no doubt be able to find the Tokyo that Pearce saw.