Buy "A geek in Japan"
"Everyone who is interested in Japan will find this book fascinating"
Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corporation
"A combination of a likeable personality and a highly inquisitive mind have helped Hector penetrate the often difficult-to-understand layers of seemingly contradictory elements that make up modern Japanese culture. As a geek with an eye for aesthetics and photography, Hector is able to explain his findings in a clear and funny way. Hector’s book is one of the funniest and yet very accurate descriptions of modern Japanese culture that I’ve ever seen.
Highly recommend!"
Joi Ito, director of MIT Media Lab
Summary
For every fan of manga, anime, J-pop, or Zen, A Geek in Japan is a hip, smart and concise guide to the land that is their source. Comprehensive and well informed, it covers a wide array of topics in short articles accompanied by sidebars and numerous photographs, providing a lively digest of the society and culture of Japan. Designed to appeal to the generations of Westerners who grew up on Pokemon, manga and video games, A Geek in Japan reinvents the culture guide for readers in the Internet age.
Spotlighting the originality and creativity of the Japanese, debunking myths about them, and answering nagging questions like why they're so fond of robots, author Hector Garcia has created the perfect book for the growing ranks of Japanophiles in this inspired, insightful and highly informative guide.
"I don't consider my book as a Japan guide, is not a serious-expert book about Japanese culture, it's not a book only about otaku-manga culture, it is maybe everything together, it is my experience, my view of Japan. A geek in Japan is a compilation of knowledge that have helped me to undertand better this country and its people, it is what I've learned about Japan during my first seven years living here. Still a lot to learn!" - Héctor García
You will learn
- Why Is Japan so Different?
- How I falled in love with this country
- How is working in Japanese companies
- The origins of the current Japanese culture
- How to recognize cultural symbols in Japanese temples and shrines
- The origins of Manga and Anime
- How to prepare a travel to Japan by yourself
- How to enjoy visiting temples and shrines
- Which are the most important Japanese aethetic values
- How to understand and handle relations with Japanese people
- Why do Japanese live so long
- How to enjoy Tokyo, the very best of Tokyo
- Why blood groups are so important for Japanese people
- Why do Japanese love robots
- Why do many Japanese commit suicide
- How to differentiate Japanese subcultures and urban tribes
- Why do Japanese women cover their mouths when they Laugh
- How to bath following the Japanese tradition
- How to speak the very basic Japanese for travelers
- What "Naruto" means in Japanese
- How The Tea Ceremony, Zen Meditation, Ikebana and Martial Arts are related in their core principles
- How Japan recovered after the WWII
- How to differentiate Japanese popular and traditional music
- Why Japanese is one of the safest countries in the world
- How Japanese cinema, tv and doramas are interconnected
- How to find some of my favorite "secret" places of Japan
- About specific walking tours to enjoy different facets of Japan: technology walk, otaku walk, cultural walk.
Chapters outline
- The origins of Japanese culture
- The traditional arts and disciplines
- The unique Japanese character
- Curiosities and symbols
- The Japanese at work
- Japanese society and daily life
- Japan today
- The world of manga and anime
- Modern Japanese music
- Movies and television
- Visiting Tokyo
- Travelling around Japan
Take a look inside the book!
International Best Seller
Un Geek en Japón (A Geek in Japan in Spanish), on sale since 2008, is a best-seller in Spain and is in its fifth printing. It has been translated into 8 languages and sold more than 40.000 copies worldwide. "A Geek in Japan" is the English version, brought to you by Tuttle Publishing is an updated and revised version of the original Spanish book.
About the blog Kirainet - A Geek in Japan
The book is based on the contents of Kirainet.com - A Geek In Japan, the author's personal blog. The blog was born in February 2004 and soon became a very popular site, chosen as the Best Spanish-language Blog in 2004 (Bitacoras.com) and a finalist in the competition for Best Spanish Blog of that year (20 Minutos Newspaper). Today, it enjoys an average of a million visits per month, it’s one of the thousand most-read blogs in the world, and in its English version is one of the top blogs on Japan.
Wait for it!
