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Title: Japan, magnet for brainless, aspiring travel writers...
Review: This book is shockingly poor. The Japan I have lived in for 5 years (as an English teacher) bears no resemblance to the Japan depicted by this trite slab of pulp unworthy of its own binding. Sadly, I realise that this 'gaijin' fool - this blacksmith of gross cultural simplifications, this purveyor of only the best-known cliches - is not alone. Her inadequate, self-flattering account recalls anecdotes I hear from other English teachers. Faced with such defiant, cultural adversity, their love of cultural difference morphs into a reinforced belief in the superiority of their own culture. They love and yet they hate, so why do they stay? My advice to Josie Dew: on yer' bike, it's time to go home and stay home.
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