Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [668]
ukiyo-e – wood-block prints; literally ‘pictures of the floating world’
wa – harmony, team spirit; also the old kanji used to denote Japan, and still used in Chinese and Japanese as a prefix to indicate things of Japanese origin, eg see wafuku
wabi – enjoyment of peace and tranquillity
wafuku – Japanese-style clothing
wan – bay
washi – Japanese handmade paper
yabusame – samurai-style horseback archery
yakimono – pottery or ceramic ware
yakuza – Japanese mafia
yama – mountain
yamabushi – mountain priests (Shugendō Buddhism practitioners)
yama-goya – mountain huts
yamato – a term of much debated origins that refers to the Japanese world
yamato-e – traditional Japanese painting
yatai – festival floats/hawker stalls
YCAT – Yokohama City Air Terminal
yukata – light cotton summer kimono, worn for lounging or casual use; standard issue when staying at a ryokan
zaibatsu – industrial conglomerates; the term arose prior to WWII but the Japanese economy is still dominated by huge firms like Mitsui, Marubeni and Mitsubishi, which are involved in many different industries
zaki – cape
zan – mountain
zazen – seated meditation emphasised in the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism
Zen – introduced to Japan in the 12th century from China, this offshoot of Buddhism emphasises a direct, intuitive approach to enlightenment rather than rational analysis
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The Authors
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CHRIS ROWTHORN
ANDREW BENDER
MATTHEW D FIRESTONE
TIMOTHY N HORNYAK
BENEDICT WALKER
PAUL WARHAM
WENDY YANAGIHARA
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
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CHRIS ROWTHORN Coordinating author, Kansai, Okinawa & Southwest Islands
Born in England and raised in the USA, Chris has lived in Kyoto since 1992. Soon after his arrival in Kyoto, Chris started studying the Japanese language and culture. In 1995 he became a regional correspondent for the Japan Times. He joined Lonely Planet in 1996 and has worked on guides to Kyoto, Tokyo, Japan and on hiking in Japan. When not on the road, he spends his time seeking out Kyoto’s best restaurants, temples, hiking trails and gardens. He also conducts walking tours of Kyoto, Nara and Tokyo. For more on Chris, check out his blog at www.insidekyoto.com.
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ANDREW BENDER Central Honshū
France was closed, so after college Andy left his native New England to work in Tokyo. It ended up being a life-changing journey, as visits to Japan often are. He’s since mastered chopsticks, the language, karaoke and taking his shoes off at the door, and he’s worked with Japanese companies on both sides of the Pacific, from his current base of Los Angeles. His writing has appeared in Travel + Leisure, Forbes, the Los Angeles Times and many airline magazines, plus over a dozen Lonely Planet titles. In an effort toward even greater transoceanic harmony, Andy does cross-cultural consulting with businesses and sometimes takes tour groups to Japan. Find out more at www.andrewbender.com.
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MATTHEW D FIRESTONE Northern Honshū, Hokkaidō
Matt is a trained anthropologist and epidemiologist who should probably be in the midst of a successful academic career by now, though somehow he can’t seem to pry himself away from Japan. A resident of the massive megalopolis that is Tokyo, Matt works primarily as a freelance journalist and writer, though he took a break from his urban trappings to research Japan’s far north for this edition. Matt has also written more than a dozen guidebooks for Lonely Planet covering Asia, Africa and Latin America.
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LONELY PLANET AUTHORS
Why is our travel information the best in the world? It’s simple: our authors are passionate, dedicated travellers. They don’t take freebies in exchange for positive coverage so you can be sure the advice you’re given is impartial. They travel widely to all the popular spots, and off the beaten track. They don’t research using just the internet or phone. They discover new places not included in any other guidebook. They personally visit