Before traveling to any new country, you should know a little about its history, food, art, language, and customs.
Japanese literature and culture are very rich and the best way to learn more is to immerse yourself in some Japanese novels by some of the best Japanese authors, as well as some fantastic travel and history books. With that said, here are seven books to read before you visit Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun.
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you think of ancient japan, you imagine samurai, geisha and ninja. You think of modern Japan, you imagine anime, robots, and neon-lit streets.
more than any other nation, japan is equally famous for its history and its modern culture. has done a good job separating and joining the two together. as such, its tourism grows every year.
Before you visit Japan, you can also get fit with our custom playlist of Japan-inspired songs!
beautiful books to read before visiting japan
We visit Japan from all over to see Kyoto’s Kinkaku-ji, to climb Mt. fuji, to buy anime products in akihabara. but before we do any of this, we should better understand what makes japan special.
what do the Japanese value? How does your country function with such harmony and peace? why is your art as unique and beautiful as it is?
To help answer these questions, here are the best Japanese books (Japanese novels, history books, and cultural guides) to read before visiting Japan.
pure invention of matt alt
Sheer Invention (or, to give the book its full title, How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World) is an essential and captivating history lesson for anyone curious about how things like anime and manga, video games, karaoke, kawaii culture, and hello kitty came to dominate global pop culture.
if you grew up with japanese anime and video games, if you ever owned a walkman or a karaoke machine, or if you were ever curious about japan’s economic boom in the second half of the 20th century, pure invention is for you .
matt alt, a japan-based writer and translator, begins this book with world war ii and the man who created the toy car: a small metal jeep with a working axle and spinning wheels; the kind that countless children have had for decades. From here he discusses how this led to anime and Hello Kitty.
The journey that pure invention takes us on is truly captivating. Explore Japanese politics and economics, design and aesthetics, and even philosophy and ethics to see how Japan’s toys, games, and cartoons came to, as the book’s title says, take over the world. /p>
If you’ve always wanted to visit Japan because you’re fascinated by the nation’s pop culture, or because you grew up with it and love it to this day, Pure Invention is essential reading for you before visiting Japan.
fifty sounds of polly barton
polly barton is the japanese to english translator of books like where the wild ladies are by aoko matsuda and no easy job by kikuko tsumura. She was introduced to Japanese culture as a teacher in the jet program, and these are her memoirs / her essays on life and language in Japan.
This is essential reading before visiting Japan and for people intrigued by the Japanese language and culture. tells the journey of a British woman to discover, appreciate and experience the Japanese language while she lived on a quiet and remote Japanese island.
Fifty Sounds is a wonderful introduction to the unique beauty of the Japanese language. follows the life of a writer (and future translator) as she learns the language through the experience of love and work. paints a unique picture of discovering the Japanese language and culture; there’s nothing like it.
the essays in fifty sounds are philosophical, funny, intimate and revealing. These expose the unique quirks and mechanics of the Japanese language while giving readers a unique linguistic lens through which to view the culture of modern Japan.
hokkaido highway blues by will ferguson
We are not starting with one of the best Japanese novels, or even one of the great Japanese authors. instead, we’re starting with a grumpy Canadian man.
story time: before I lived in japan (the first time), a friend gave me this book.
what I thought would be a fun book that would familiarize me with the roads, trains and cities of japan turned out to be an illuminating story about life as a foreigner in japan, the growth of post-war Japanese society and infrastructure . and a journey filled with as many laughs as tears.
hokkaido highway blues brings you fascinating anecdotes about Japanese folklore, language, history, fashion, food, everything. it’s a great place to start to get used to modern japan. In other words, and surprisingly, it’s one of the best books on Japanese culture.
a brief history of japan: samurai, shogun and zen by jonathan clements
Speaking of the best books on Japanese culture, this book is a great place to start before visiting Japan. We’ve read a few books on the history of Japan, but none hit the mark like this one.
clements is an expert on both Chinese and Japanese language and culture, and his unwavering adoration for Japanese culture, both ancient and modern, shines through in this fun, flowing, and vibrant book.
If you want to know the truth about Zen, how the samurai really worked and behaved, and how exactly Japan paved its own path through Asian history, this is the book to delve into. It’s written with wit, wisdom, and fun, but packs a real punch of insight.
While Clements is an expert and someone with a clear and intense adoration for Japanese history and culture, he is also someone who is able to approach certain topics from a different angle.
The way he explores the religious history of Japan, for example, is truly revealing. when he sees how thin this book is, he’ll wonder how it includes so much, but clements finds a way. this is truly one of the best books on Japanese culture at the moment.
convenience store woman by sayaka murata
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translated by ginny tapley takemori
One of the country’s best Japanese novels in years was 2018’s konbini ningen (or shop woman). It is a short novel that tells the story of a woman who has worked in a convenience store for 18 years.
This is the pinnacle of modern Japanese novels, and it keeps the state of modern Japanese life under a lens by force.
brings to light the fragility of Japanese society, how it behaves like clockwork while all the gears are oiled. and the job of a convenience store person is very much one of these gears.
If you really want to delve into the psychology of Japanese culture before you visit Japan, this book is also a wonderful look at how the average Japanese looks at mental health, strangeness, and the work and family ladder we all need to be on because of. to reasons.
sayaka murata is one of the best Japanese authors writing today.
read more: our full review of the convenience store woman
bending adversity by david pilling
this book was a great success that went beyond japan and moved journalists, economists, politicians and writers around the world. is an informative and endlessly well-researched book that examines the post-war Japanese economy.
bending adversity looks at the bursting of the bubble in the early 1990s; touches on issues of feminism and inequality. Interview Japan’s most famous writers and artists to get an inside perspective.
If you want to know how Japan’s infrastructure, economy, and politics work today (but don’t want to get bogged down with jargon and numbers, either).
This book is brimming with heart, making it a must-read before visiting Japan, as well as one of the best books on Japanese culture, especially today.
tokyo ueno station by yu miri
translated by morgan giles
Recently released in 2019, this phenomenal novel is a chilling indictment of the invisible class system plaguing modern Japan.
yu miri, a korea-born japanese citizen, introduces us to a tragic protagonist who worked all his life, barely surviving (until he can no longer) under the weight of japanese bureaucracy, class and government.
Most tragic of all is the fact that he is born on the same day as the Emperor. and yet, the emperor will be remembered as our protagonist dies alone and nameless.
tokyo ueno station is not a friendly novel in many ways, but it is truthful and transparent, and would be valuable in the hands of anyone who has too much faith in capitalism and government actions.
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It’s always good to catch up on the latest literature before visiting Japan, and this is one of the best Japanese novels of the 21st century, proving that Yu Miri is one of the best Japanese authors.
read more: our full review of ueno station in tokyo
strange weather in tokyo by hiromi kawakami
translated by allison markin powell
This novel, from one of Japan’s best and most beloved authors, is a delight.
the story of a young woman who meets one of her old professors in a bar, forms a close friendship with him that steadily and awkwardly grows and grows, and struggles to reconcile her adoration for him with her frustration at his archaic forms.
weird weather in tokyo very much a clash of old and new. the ancient japan that now exists in temples and museums is alive in tsukiko sensei, but it doesn’t really have a place in the world in which it is now thriving.
So what you have here is a very vivid display of how Japan has changed and evolved in such a small space of time, embodied as two totally likeable and hilarious characters.
Of all the Japanese novels I’ve read, this one has stuck with me as one of the best. it is also one of the few Japanese novels that doubles as one of the best books on Japanese culture.
read more: our full review of weird weather in tokyo
lost japan by alex kerr
alex kerr likes traditional japan, so he has produced one of the best books on japanese culture here. he has studied their tea ceremonies, kabuki and bunraku theatre, and is a master calligrapher.
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in lost japan, kerr takes us on a personal and intimate journey through a life dedicated to discovering the parts of japan that are fading away. She denounces pachinko and the crushing existence of sad salarymen, and romanticizes the arts of Japan that are unparalleled in most of the world.
To really get into the heart of Japanese art, architecture, and history, you must read this beautiful book. kerr cares, and he will make you care about you too. Before you visit Japan, let Kerr show you its deep artistic and cultural history.
read more: our full review of lost japan
the bells of old tokyo by anna sherman
the bells of old tokyo begins with a scene: “five o’clock chimes rang, your notes scrolled through shiba park.” Shiba Park sits on the edge of the iconic Tokyo Tower and is home to the Zōzō-ji Buddhist Temple. here we can immediately see the greatest strength of the book.
sherman has chosen a human approach to historical exploration: weaving together a journey through the biggest and darkest moments, changes, people and parts of Tokyo with a stunning narrative that often paints a vivid and vibrant picture.
sets a soothing tone and makes tokyo feel tangibly alive and breathable on the page. The Bells of Old Tokyo is a love letter to Japanese culture, both ancient and modern. is both festive and sad.
It is driven by a personal story and peppered with cultural and historical facts that light up the brain like a plasma lamp. is the answer to all the questions we have when we visit tokyo
read more: our complete review of the bells of old Tokyo.
the only gaijin in town by iain maloney
As the title suggests, Iain is the only gaijin in town.
is a native scotsman who moved to japan in 2005, found love, built a life and finally decided to move to the countryside as both he and his wife grew up in the rural areas of their respective countries and were eager for a return to the green hills and wide views of the horizon.
His organic method of storytelling almost makes the only gaijin in town a difficult book to define. It is certainly a personal memoir, but it is also a book that enlightens us on aspects of Japanese tradition, history, language, and politics that we have never considered until now.
read more: our complete review of the only gaijin in town.
an artist of the floating world by kazuo ishiguro
ishiguro is also, as I mentioned, my favorite author, and an artist from the floating world is my favorite ishiguro novel. is a complex piece of historical fiction set after the events of World War II.
Our protagonist, Ono, was once a great painter, but during the events of World War II he began making right-wing propaganda art which, after the war ended, discredited him as a traitor to the ideals and morals of japan.
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This novel is an intense exploration of personal politics, moral duty, and betrayal. He follows him closely and gives us time to live with him and his decisions, as well as how his family and friends treat him now. an absolute masterpiece of Japanese historical fiction.
japanese ghost stories by lafcadio hear
Japanese Ghost Stories is the perfect place to start if you are looking for some Japanese folklore books to read all about ghosts, fantastic beasts and yokai from Japanese history.
is a beautiful collection of spooky, bizarre, romantic, and haunting ghost stories from all over japan’s history, recorded here in English for your enjoyment.
read more: books on Japanese mythology
the story of genji by murasaki shikibu
the story of genji has a great legacy. not only is it the first Japanese novel, but it is considered to be the first novel ever written. Written by Kyoto noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the 11th century AD, the story of Genji takes us on a journey with an emperor’s son, Hikaru Genji.
genji is no longer in the line of succession, and spends much of the novel’s history forming and then ruining relationships with various women in kyoto.
The novel is a fascinating insight into the life of Japan’s nobility when Kyoto was Japan’s capital. it’s also a witty and clever novel that still stands as one of the great works of classic Japanese fiction.
If you are interested in more wonderful Japanese literature and non-fiction, please check our archives for a lot of valuable stuff.
related:
books to read before traveling to china
books to read before traveling to Southeast Asia
books to read before traveling to south korea
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