I liked her. I thought she told her story well. There were chapters and storylines I liked better than others, and some I wasn't too moved by. I liked hearing about her living accomidations and her relationships with the various people she got to know. The last 30 or so pages of the book were kind of a snooze for me. I wasn't too into hearing about her last minute pilgrimage to bring her year to a really amazing zen-like head. I more enjoyed hearing about her attempts to film the last train leaving Shinjuku and then staying at the men's capsule hotel. At the end, she kind of goes for that classic college thesis wrap-up, like, oh everyone meant so much to me and are with methere!

Kevin J. Rogers2018-11-24 23:12

Humorous, insightful, entertaining, at times even poignant, this companion volume to Karin Muller's multi-part PBS documentary of the same name was a fascinating read. At the beginning of the story Ms. Muller makes a decision to leave her stale and unfulfilling life in Washington D.C. for a year in Japan, ostensibly to study judo (she's a black belt) and film a documentary about the experience, but really to to find "wa"--a state of focus and harmony that she found in her judo instructors' "almost ethereal calm and inner strength". ("Wa" literally translates as "circle" or "ring".) Her judo contacts in the United States find her a host family, the Tanakas, in Fugisawa, about an hour from downtown Tokyo. Genji is a sixth-degree black belt and