I didn’t know anything about the author of this memoir, but it seemed like I should have somehow. He arrived in Japan just a few years before I did, and he started a new life here, just like me. He has done a lot of walking all over Japan, and especially he enjoys the backwater places that are less populated and sort of run down.
I’m envious of the free time that he has to walk around, to perambulate on pilgrimages both known and improvised. This book covers his time walking around the Kumano Kaido – not too far away from where we live.
The story here describes his travels, and the way he is using it to work through some issues and come to terms with the death of a childhood friend. The book is written as a letter to this friend (oddly enough, named Bryan with a “y”).
I think I would have gotten a lot more out of it if some of the places that he visits were less familiar to me – I can see people used to the vision of an urban Japan might be surprised and attracted to the ghost towns in rural locations.
He spends time talking with the locals, which is interesting and fun to hear what they are dealing with and what they think about this Japanese-speaking foreigner walking around. Some of his translations seemed a bit unnatural to me – but I guess that every translation will be affected by the translator and how they envision what they are rendering into their own language.
I read a lot of travel books, and I always appreciate if the author outlines their goals and guidelines for their upcoming journey. It helps give a sense of the storytelling arc, and the reader can feel when the author is making progress (or being waylaid). As best as I could tell there were fewer guidelines here and the book is a composite of many journeys to the same area over several years. My personal preference is one continual journey – so I need to figure out a way to focus on those kinds of books in the future.
Overall it was a quick and fairly interesting read. The photography included was also enjoyable to look through. I’ll keep an eye out for the author in my own travels.
Next I am reading The Nix by Nathan Hill.
