Ocean State Libraries

Isabella Bird's 1878 expedition through Japan, chronicled in 'Unbeaten Tracks in Japan,' immerses readers in an extraordinary odyssey across the seldom-explored territories of Japan's remote northern and central regions. Breaking away from conventional travel narratives, Bird adopts an unconventional prose style, crafting a captivating tale of her off-the-beaten-path escapades. Rather than confining herself to the urban bustle, Bird ventures deep...

This is a complete, two-volume set of one of the greatest books on 19th century Japanese history and culture. Though Lafcadio Hearn went on to write a dozen more books on Japan, this collection of first impressions remains his most popular. Among the reasons is that here, more than anywhere else, the author most vividly captured a place that so affected him that he stayed for the rest of his life. The modern reader can still, through these pages,...

Tokyo, 1985. The world's first megacity is at the height of its dynamism. Forty years ago, a frenzy of creativity galvanised the Japanese capital. From fashion to movies to electronics, Tokyo was forging the future. Factories run by robots, the world's first high-speed trains, apartment blocks built from shipping containers, love hotels modelled on Bavarian castles... In the thick of it, a young British teacher gazed around and asked questions. Why...