Landscape wonders. [Japan - Connecting You To Wonderlands by Takashi Sato]

This travel guide doubles as a beautiful photo album, featuring truly hidden gems in the less traveled countryside of Japan. The author, Takashi Sato, is a landscape photographer who has traveled to all 47 prefectures to capture the many faces of Japan on film. Page after page, the author guides you to some of the most special places. This book is full of useful information for planning your visit to Japan, with detailed information on getting around on trains, buses, cars, and domestic flights. There is also a companion website for updated information, easily accessible by QR codes included in the book.

Because of the nature of media, and Western media at that, the imagery I have of non-urban Japan is very homogenous. Provided with video images of life in rural, agrarian towns or anime renditions of the Japanese countryside, what I know pales in comparison to the beautiful reality. That's why travel guides are great. Whether you plan to go to a locale or not, you can paint a picture in your head of what the landscape looks like. A good guidebook will leave the reader inspired to visit. Takashi's Sato Japan - Connecting You To Wonderlands is one such book.

The natural wonders of Japan's countryside are highlighted and extolled through top-tier photography and heartfelt moments captured in accompanying paragraphs. Imagery popped off the page and engulfed me in a simulation of actually visiting. While the wording at times seemed best suited to a visitor previously familiar with Japan, the guide felt open and welcoming to all. Were I to visit Japan, I'd like to have this book on hand. 5 stars from me.

Japan - Connecting You To Wonderlands was published October 16, 2020.