The Magic of Japan: Secret Places and Life-Changing Experiences

Length: 192 pages
Edition: 1
Language: English
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Publication Date: 2021-09-14
ISBN-10: 4805316527
ISBN-13: 9784805316528
Sales Rank: #344206 (See Top 100 Books)

A charming collection of quirky insights into Japanese culture.

The Magic of Japan is writer Hector Garcia’s intensely personal account of his fifteen years in Japan. A self-professed “otaku” or Japanese anime geek since childhood, Garcia has worked for a Japanese software company, mastered the language, and become one of Japan’s most popular bloggers.

This book is the culmination of his experiences and showcases Garcia’s unique ability to delve beneath the surface of Japanese culture to describe its quirky and deep spiritual underpinnings. This collection of essays and beautiful photographs will appeal to his worldwide fan base—including those who devoured his previous bestsellers, A Geek in Japan and Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life—Japanophiles, armchair travelers and anyone with an interest in cultural and travel memoirs.

The Magic of Japan features Garcia’s keen observations on a wide variety of cultural topics:

Japanese behavioral traits, including non-verbal communication, hansei (self-reflection), heijoshin (a calm mind) and shoshin (childlike openness)
How Japan’s geography and history have shaped its culture—its natural disasters, scarce resources, centuries of isolation and its feudal past
Japanese idiosyncrasies, ranging from food traditions and absurd jobs to a love of queues
The Japanese spirit, as evidenced in traditional art, manga and attitudes to women
Shintoism and Buddhism, looking at temples, festivals, rituals and how religious beliefs pervade popular culture, as seen for example in Studio Ghibli’s movie Spirited Away
Japan’s dark side, including crime, the yakuza, adultery, bullying and suicide

The book ends with a gloriously random selection of all things Garcia considers especially magical about Japan—from izakaya to shiitake mushrooms, summer fireworks and green tea!

INTRODUCTION
My Fifteen Years in Japan 5
CHAPTER 1
The Magic of Japan 15
Mr. Casca and Ms. Wonder 16
Visiting Kiyomizu-dera Temple 18
Sakura, the Glorious Cherry Blossom 20
The Magic of Shinto: My Okinawa Wedding 24
CHAPTER 2
The Four Prisms of Japan 27
The Sakoku Prism 27
The Prism of Natural Disasters 31
The Prism of Feudal Structures 37
The Prism of the Islands of Few Resources 43
CHAPTER 3
Japanese Idiosyncracies 47
Nekojita and the Art of Slurping 47
My Top Five Ramen Places in Tokyo 49
Absurd Jobs? 50
Queues 51
Where the Streets Have No Names 52
Where the Streets Have No Trash Cans 52
CHAPTER 4
Key Cultural Concepts 55
Collectivism and Individualism 55
Group Dynamics in Japan 59
Non-verbal Communication 60
Physical Contact and Personal Space 63
The Japanese Bow 64
The Old and the New 65
Hansei: Self-reﬂection 66
Heishojin: A Calm Mind 69
Shoshin: A Childlike Heart 71
CHAPTER 5
The Japanese Spirit 75
The Spirit of Yamato 75
Fujin Raijin: A Key Work of Japanese Art 79
The Soul is in the Belly 80
CHAPTER 6
Religion in Japan 83
Shinto and Buddhism 83
Matsuri: Festivals 89
Shinto in Ghibli’s Spirited Away 97
Satoyama and the Gods of Nature 99
CHAPTER 7
The Dark Side of Japan 103
The Yakuza 103
Madogiwa: Ostracism 104
A Shared Lie: Honne and Tatemae 107
Ijime: Bullying 109
Uwaki: Infdelity 111
CHAPTER 8
The Magic of Tokyo 115
50 Things I Love about Tokyo 116
CHAPTER 9
My Japan Travel Diaries 137
10 Tips for Travelers 138
Karuizawa 142
Fukushima and Miyagi 145
Niijima Island 150
Gunma: Snow Country 152
Nichitsu Ghost Town 156
Niigata Prefecture 158
Ibaraki and Mito 160
Miyajima 165
Hakone 168
The Izu Peninsula 170
Kusatsu Onsen 172
Ise Grand Shrine 175
Meoto Iwa, the Wedded Rocks 178
CHAPTER 10
More of My Favorite Things 181
Izakaya Restaurants 181
Shiitake Mushrooms 183
Senko Hanabi Fireworks 183
Hasedera Temple in Kamakura 183
Jizo Deities 185
Hiking in Japan 186
Akihabara Radio Center 188
Shisa Lion-Dogs 189
Green Tea 190