John Dougill is author of Off the Beaten Tracks in Japan: A Journey by Train from Hokkaido to Kyushu, a remarkable travel memoir that details observations on culture, history, local lore, and personal ruminations based on decades of living in Japan.

In discussion with publisher Peter Goodman, John talks about his love for travel and how pleasurable it is to travel along the less-touristed western coast. Encounters in the south with echoes of the war still lingering bring to mind how intimately history is tied to place. Among the topics discussed are:

• The travel memoir genre and the influence of writers like Alan Booth and Donald Richie
• How John got to Japan and his first impressions
• Comparing Britain to Japan
• British railways vs Japanese railways
• What traveling during COVID was like and how the 3-month trip was done.
• The cultural landscape of Japan across different regions
• Depopulation in western Japan and immigration
• What it's like to ride trains in Japan
• Why so many foreigners who stay in Japan settle in Kyoto
• Kyoto post-COVID
• The Green Shinto blog: can Shinto spread internationally?

Off the Beaten Tracks in Japan by John Dougill

Green Shinto blog by John Dougill

Writers in Kyoto

Japan Travel Planner and Route Finder by Navitime

Seishun 18: Hop on hop off travel using non-reserved seats in ordinary cars on ordinary or rapid trains on any JR line in Japan.

John Dougill has lived in Japan since the 1990s and is the author of several books about the country. His 2012 book, In Search of Japan’s Hidden Christians, was hailed as “one of the most compelling and important books on Japan in recent years.” For seven years he ran the Writers in Kyoto website and oversaw the anthologies the group produced. He also runs the Green Shinto blog.

Peter Goodman is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California, which for over thirty years has specialized in books on Asia, especially Japan and China. For a complete list of Stone Bridge Press books, visit www.stonebridge.com.

For a complete list of Stone Bridge Press books, visit www.stonebridge.com.