Cool Japan Guide: Fun in the Land of Manga, Lucky Cats and Ramen (Cool Guides)

This was a gift for someone going to Japan. They loved it. The design is also beautiful. Definitely a one to keep on the bookshelf :)

Surprisingly such a short yet hugely awesome, practical, readable, absorbable guidebook to the culture and overall experience of Japan. My 9 yr old daughter and I read this as our evening reading a few pages at a time in the weeks before our trip to Japan. While in Japan we kept experiencing things that the book prepared us for like sweet bean rice cakes, bath rituals, and capsule toys. Knowing what to expect when we had these encounters let us experience the culture more deeply, with a little prior knowledge. Instead of staring in disbelief at the first Japanese bath we entered, we understood about the gender segregation and that we should bathe ourselves thoroughly BEFORE entering the communal bath. So, once in Japan, we plunged into all kinds of things and knew what to do (at least a little :). While in Japan we kept saying to each other, "Remember how we learned about this in the book?" And it's a short, illustrated book! How did the author fit in all of at useful knowledge?Plus, we both appreciated that the author's love of Japanese culture really came through in the book. As a result, my dusghter and I caught the love of Japan and Japanese people from this book and then we experienced it on our own when we visited. We look forward to returning and venturing further outside of our comfort zone in a place we now love :).Thank you Abby Denson for writing this excellent intro to Japanese culture. And thank you for sharing your experiences that truly enriched ours. We also felt sad to leave Japan and again we thought, "Remember that Abby felt like this too?" Lol. But seriously, this is a great guide book and a little taste of Japan before you get there...If you go w kids they will enjoy reading it too!

I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s full of fun pictures, informative tips to enjoy travel in Japan, and it’s easy to take in. The author beautifully shares her enthusiasm. I like it very much.

I purchased this book as I will be traveling to Japan in the next couple of months for vacation. Having known nothing about the country but still really excited to visit, I wanted to try to read up as much as possible to prepare for the trip. Abby's book does a great job of covering the basics of Japanese culture and places of interest. There are definitely unique bits of information in this book that you wouldn't normally find in a guidebook or may quickly skip over. (For example, Japanese hot spring etiquette) The drawings in this book were also very well-drawn and did a great job depicting the text. After I finished reading this, I gave my copy to my teenage cousin (13 years old) and he also thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Abby's book is definitely great for all ages and a good way to get younger kids excited about an upcoming trip.However, one problem with the book is that it doesn't go into as much detail as other travel books would. If you're looking for specific restaurant recommendations or tour programs, you will definitely need to do more research online or purchase other travel guides. I used this book as a quick way to get a summary of what to expect when in Japan and did further research to choose specific locations and places to visit.

I got this book for my 15 year old who wants to go to Japan next year. She read through it in about 2 hours and was more excited than ever! My husband and I both read it also! Awesome book! Very informative and all the information was presented in a way that was fun and memorable. I highly recommend this book!

I bought this as a gift for a friend planning a trip to Japan but had to give it a read first. I didn't think I'd enjoy the manga style presentation but it was super cute and packed full of useful information. My husband and I visited Japan for a month in 2015 and this guide contained all the tips and places we'd most recommend to others so obviously I'd recommend it. Also, there's a super helpful section in the back that lists all the recommended places throughout the book. Give it a read.

Cool Japan is a labor of love. The author loves Japan and wants everyone that reads her book to have a great time during their visit. By providing visual support for the print content the cartoon format is perfect for boosting retention. But the cartoon format does take up a lot of space so the book is devoted to cultural adjustment more than specific locations like most guide books, although Tokyo and several other cities get a bit of coverage. You will absolutely need a regular guide book to plan your trip, but this is the one to read immediately preceding the trip.

We liked this book but about 7 pages were ripped out. Made it unusable