Nihon Bashing - Or Not

Things I've forgotten about Japan...

Crows: Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis or the Eastern large-billed crow. In Komagome, they start to "cau cau" around 4am. There are surprisingly few pigeons in Tokyo, and it's the crows you will see scouring the pavements & roadsides for discarded food.  Image to the left is by Masahisa Fukase.

Pedestrians: Or should we call them "wandering diagonalists"? Or the phenomenon of not making a directional decision or deciding to turn at the very last second. Or just stop.

Yamanote Line: A Japanese punk band should do a Tokyo version of Generation X's "Day By Day" - 'On the Yamanote Line, round & round & round & round & round...'

Bookshops: Kinokuniya (Shinjuku), Tower Records (Shibuya), & Maruzen (Nihombashi), have better English-language literature sections than most English bookstores. Kinokuniya's philosophy section is a must visit.

Food: Not had a bad meal since we got here. 

Bars: Smoke - argh! Smoking is allowed in restaurants & bars. The no-smoking sections seem to be placed in the middle of the establishment next to the local chain-smokers.

Teeth: Worse than British teeth. Much worse.

I won't do an April book report as the holiday took up most of the month. Below are the books I've read in the period between Thailand & Japan.

RD Laing - The Divided Self: Laing's enquiries into schizophrenia & the place of the schizoid individual in society. An analysis of freedom & categorization. What is it to be sane? To be mad? To be a part of society or apart from it? My only negative criticism in this milestone book is Laing's overpowering ego.

Kobo Abe - The Box Man: If you like your literature weird but with a political foundation, then Abe's your man. Think identity - individual, societal, & national. 

Fernando Pessoa - The Book of Disquiet: Classic. Nuff said.

Neil Powell - Amis & Son: The chapters on Kingsley are well researched & affectionate. The chapters on Mart make up some of the most jealous, back-biting, & whiny pieces of writing I've ever had the displeasure to read. What's that cliched phrase? "Get a life, Mr Powell."

Nicholson Baker - Human Smoke: Baker's a weird creature. Of his novels, The Mezzanine, Room Temperature, Vox, & Box of Matches are all brilliantly written, precise, microscopic crystallizations of existence. Whereas The Fermata, The Everlasting Story of Nory (why? why?), & Checkpoint are best forgotten. His non-fiction is more consistent. U&I is a disturbing & very funny book about Baker's obsession with John Updike. Following The Size of Thoughts & Double Fold, Human Smoke - through meticulous research - charts the build-up to America's entry into WWII. The chapters comprise newspaper reports, official documents, eyewitness accounts with minimal authorial interference. For those who want a twist on "conventional" accounts of the invasion of Poland & Pearl Harbor, check this out - you might be surprised. I hate the cover.

Current reading: Jonathan Littell's The Kindly Ones - yawn...

Oh, did I mention I have an iPhone 3G?