Rating: 
Summary: Funny as #@*&!!!
Review: That guy is one crazy Canadian. His humor is certainly what brings this book to life as well as his colorful discriptions of life in Japan. I am still not finished with the book but I will be sad when I turn the last few pages. I am very picky when it comes to reading books...so mark my words, this is an excellent source of entertainment while travelling yourself (except the fact that it is a heavy hard-back book, making it rather travel-friendliless)..or kicking it the wash room. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Realism Tempered With Humor...
Review: The most recent in a long string of books by Westerners on "My Year in Japan" or "My Trip Through Japan" or "What I Have To Say About Japan That Is More Profound Than Anything Ever Said By Any Other JET Teacher" that I have read, Will Ferguson's "Hokkaido Highway Blues" is the most realistic, introspective, important Japan travelogue I have read so far.Reading at many times more like "Dave Barry Does Japan" than the standard book of foreigner angst, Ferguson manages to temper his humor with a realistic look at Japan that usually manages to be honest but not cynical. Early in the book he discusses the standard foreigner complex about Japan in which you neither love Japan nor hate it, but lovehate it. Keeping that in mind throughout the book, it gives a good idea for the feel of the entire book. Ferguson covers everything from the Ainu to love hotels, but still manages to dig into ideas like aestheticism, prejudice and deconstructionism without coming off as either lecturing or glib. He understands, perhaps better than any popular author of Japan I've read so far, that to take a balanced, fair look at Japan, you have to be willing to understand and accept Japan's serious issues side-by-side with its beauty. The narrative itself covers his almost-two-thousand mile rip across Japan that roughly antiparallels Alan Booth's famous trip in "The Road to Sata". He hitchhikes (virtually) the entire way and describes the people he meets on his trip, intermixing them with trivia and points of historical and anthropological importance along the way. His narrative ranges from melancholy and introspective to manic, but always keeps you pacing along with him during his journey. It also keeps you laughing at the most surprising moments. If I have one problem with his book, it's the very abrupt way it ends, with little sense of reflection, completion or deep understanding. By the time he hits Cape Soya in Nothern Hokkaido (the northernmost of the four main Japanese islands), his narrative has sped up to the point that his commentary has been left behind in favor of simply making it to the end of his trip as fast as he can go. His ostensible reason for the trip in the first place is to follow the cherry blossoms northward as they bloom in Japan, but much as he outstrips their blooming in Hokkaido, he begins to outstrip his own interest in storytelling in the last half of the last section. That said, though, the book is still excellent. I laughed continuously and I appreciated his tempered view of Japan. For anyone interested in seeing Japan through the eyes of someone who has throroughly examined the country, I definitely recommend this book. I certainly recommend it far more than any other extended Japanese travelogue I've read to date.
Rating: 
Summary: What a cracker!
Review: This book is a rare find. When I got the book, I didn't know what to expect but the moment I start reading it, I was hooked & four hundred odd pages of the author's writing flashed thru in a matter of days. With this book, you would come across some cliche of what we expect about Japan but beware of curve balls that the author threw at you. He wrote Japan as how he saw it, of his pursuance of cherry blossoms from the south to the most northern tip of Japan. As described by the author, he wanted to embrace Japan as one of them rather than observing it as a spectator. The best way to do it would be thru hitch-hiking (which was actually illegal as we read close to the end). He proclaimed himself to be a creature of comfort & wouldn't resort himself getting reflective & grumpy by walking the whole Japan as Alan Booth did (another critically acclaimed author who wrote about Japan). Needless to say, along the way, Will met interesting people ranging from the down to earth, to the eccentric, to the despondent, to the rude, to those who would bend over backward just to help him secure a ride to the next town, & so forth. Will also wrote about capsule hotel, love hotel, pachinko machine, noh theatre, kabuki theatre, sumo wrestling, drum troupe that transcended generations, Akuti bijin (pretty Japanese ladies from Akuti), & many other "Don Quixote"'s adventures as how he saw it. Will also shared with us his tricks of securing free beer & food & even accommodation, his sympathy for the Japanese working class men who would chip in their life for the sake of their corporation & yet, they are nobody in the eyes of corporation & when the sun goes down, they downed their sorrow singing Frank Sinatra's number, "My Way" in karaoke & "that" annoying "Diana" number, his fascination with Godzilla, his avoidance of world war 2 issues which put him in between a rock & a hard place with Japanese elders, his come to terms with love and hate relationships of Japan and its people. In the end, it's about embracing Japan's paradox, everything it does is proclaimed as number 1 by Japanese & yet, the Japanese agrees that Japan is a small & poor country! This is not just another dull & informative Lonely Planet Travel Guide which Will himself used & which brought him into trouble with the local law enforcer but a book that is full of twists & surprises. Having said that, if readers are not used to the cynical & sarcastic works of Will, don't say that you have not been warned! Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Ferguson's observations are RIGHT ON!
Review: this is the best travelogue that i have ever read about japan. anyone who has lived or traveled throughout japan will totally be able to relate with ferguson's observations. while ferguson doesn't generalize or degrade, his observations about the people and practices of japan are very true. japanese society is complex, and ferguson understands that, so he is not seen as culturally insensative. you'll laugh out loud, you may even cry at some parts, but above all, as a "gaijin" (foreginer) who has been in japan, you will be able to relate. a must read for anyone who has been to japan or plans to go to japan.
Rating:
Summary: a pleasant companion
Review: Travel writing is a way to get to places that won't ever get to, or that you haven't been to, yet. I am always delighted to find a new traveling companion, and Will Ferguson is charming, witty, just self-deprecating enough, with insight into the many people he met hitchhiking through Japan. His love for the country and people is evident throughout (at one point he tells us that the only way he would leave is if they kicked him out).
A good LONG read, and yet I would have been happy to spend more time in Ferguson's company.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books on travel in Japan
Review: Will Ferguson has managed a pretty special feat in the writing of this book - he has managed to be funny and poetic in turns, and show the different facets of Japanese life by telling us about the people he meets and the places he goes on his travel from the South to the North of Japan, following the Sakura (Cherry Blossom). This is not your usual travel book. For starters, Ferguson travels (mostly) by hitch-hiking, and therefore meets a wide variety of everyday Japanese people in his travels. The only musuem he writes about is one that has a rather large stone vagina. He is in turns dimissive and exhultant about Japanese culture. He is, in other words, typical of most of us who spend any time in Japan - he realise that he both loves and hates the place, and that the sooner you come to terms with this the better. This is not your typical book about Japan, and is all the better for it. Some books written by Westerners about Japan end up being love stories written about a country that doesn't really exist. Some end up being rants about an evil empire, that similarly doesn't exist. Ferguson brings us Japan as he sees it, and to me it is believable. And by the way - this is a very funny book. Insightful and humourous. What a bargain.
Rating:
Summary: Witty, Perseptive and Culturally Astute
Review: Will Ferguson writes as someone who has spent a considerable amount of time in Japan. His observations are those of an outsider, but of an outsider that has spent time researching and trying to understand the culture he is living in. Whilst some may find him insensitive to Japan and its people, those that have actually spent time there will enjoy this book immensly. I was particularly impressed by his depth of understanding of the nuances of Japanese culture, some of which made some of my experiences clearer! Anyone who has spent time, or who in planning on spending time in Japan, will find something to identify with in Hokkaido Highway Blues.
Rating:
Summary: Right on the mark....Japan meets Canada
Review: Will Ferguson, author of "Canadian History for Dummies," "Bastards and Boneheads," "Why I Hate Canadians," and "How To Be A Canadian (Even If You Already Are One)," has truly hit the mark with "Hokkaido Highway Blues." As someone who has studied Japanese culture and language for the last five years and will be teaching in Japan through the JET Programme in the next few years, this book was a much-needed laugh and a cultural revelation about Japan. Japan is a surprising country in many ways: its customs, obsession with Western culture, slang and fads, the blend of city and country, ancient and modern. Ferguson takes the reader on a memorable journey from the southernmost point on the island of Kyushu (Cape Sata) to Cape Sooya on the northernmost island of Hokkaido, home to the Canadian World amusement park. I kid you not. This is another example of perplexing Japanese behaviour. Canadian World is a theme park that recreates Avonlea on PEI and has Canadian guides greet visitors and teach them Canadian crafts. I'll be sure to visit when I'm homesick for Canada. Right. Ferguson is hilarious at times when telling Japanese about Canada: "In Ka-Na-Da everyone lives in peace and harmony. It sure is great being a Canadian. You get to share all the material benefits of living next door to the United States, yet at the same time you get to act smug and haughty and morally superior. You just can't beat that kind of irresponsibility."
"Hokkaido Highway Blues" is as much a reflection of being Canadian as it is about Japan. Ferguson nails cultural attitudes, the art of Japanese conversation, spreads out dishes of miso, unagi, tako, tonkatsu, and other delicacies for us to sample, shows us the many shades of green, rocky shores, and Shinto shrines, and makes us love his vision of Japan. His humour, honesty, and excellent storytelling abilities make this a true treasure for anyone interested in Japan (JET teachers should be required to read this before they go!), the exhilaration of hitchhiking into the unknown, and making do in a foreign environment.
Rating:
Summary: Right on the mark....Japan meets Canada
Review: Will Ferguson, author of "Canadian History for Dummies," "Bastards and Boneheads," "Why I Hate Canadians," and "How To Be A Canadian (Even If You Already Are One)," has truly hit the mark with "Hokkaido Highway Blues." As someone who has studied Japanese culture and language for the last five years and will be teaching in Japan through the JET Programme in the next few years, this book was a much-needed laugh and a cultural revelation about Japan. Japan is a surprising country in many ways: its customs, obsession with Western culture, slang and fads, the blend of city and country, ancient and modern. Ferguson takes the reader on a memorable journey from the southernmost point on the island of Kyushu (Cape Sata) to Cape Sooya on the northernmost island of Hokkaido, home to the Canadian World amusement park. I kid you not. This is another example of perplexing Japanese behaviour. Canadian World is a theme park that recreates Avonlea on PEI and has Canadian guides greet visitors and teach them Canadian crafts. I'll be sure to visit when I'm homesick for Canada. Right. Ferguson is hilarious at times when telling Japanese about Canada: "In Ka-Na-Da everyone lives in peace and harmony. It sure is great being a Canadian. You get to share all the material benefits of living next door to the United States, yet at the same time you get to act smug and haughty and morally superior. You just can't beat that kind of irresponsibility."
"Hokkaido Highway Blues" is as much a reflection of being Canadian as it is about Japan. Ferguson nails cultural attitudes, the art of Japanese conversation, spreads out dishes of miso, unagi, tako, tonkatsu, and other delicacies for us to sample, shows us the many shades of green, rocky shores, and Shinto shrines, and makes us love his vision of Japan. His humour, honesty, and excellent storytelling abilities make this a true treasure for anyone interested in Japan (JET teachers should be required to read this before they go!), the exhilaration of hitchhiking into the unknown, and making do in a foreign environment.
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