Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [669]
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TIMOTHY N HORNYAK Environment, Around Tokyo
A native of Montreal, Tim moved to Japan in 1999 and has written on Japanese culture, technology and history for publications including Scientific American, Wired News and the Far Eastern Economic Review. He has lectured on Japanese robots at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; travelled to the heart of Hokkaidō to find the remains of a forgotten theme park called Canadian World; and retraced the steps of haiku poet Matsuo Bashō in Akita-ken. He firmly believes that the greatest Japanese invention of all time is the onsen (hot spring). Having visited all 47 of Japan’s prefectures, his next goal is to go to the hot springs officially listed as ‘secret’ by an industry group.
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BENEDICT WALKER Kyūshū
Inspired by a primary school teacher, Ben’s love of Japan blossomed early and by 17 he was runner-up in the Australian finals of the Japan Foundation Japanese Speech Contest, and had made two solo trips to Japan. In 1998, with a degree in Communications under his belt, Ben hit the road in earnest. After long stints in Canada and Europe, he found himself teaching English in Osaka until his tattered Lonely Planet guide led him to the mountains of Matsumoto, where he found work as a translator and lived like a local. Currently based in Melbourne, Ben manages travel for rock stars and dreams about his next trip. This is his first assignment for Lonely Planet.
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PAUL WARHAM Western Honshū, Shikoku
Paul grew up in Lancashire, and got out as soon as he could. He came to Japan as a teenager, and after waiting tables at golf clubs in Osaka and Kōbe went on to have an undistinguished career as a student of Japanese literature at Oxford and Harvard. He is based in Tokyo, where his current research interests include drinking in old sake pubs and translating Japanese novels set in supermarkets.
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WENDY YANAGIHARA Tokyo
Wendy first toured Tokyo on her mother’s hip at age two and was raised on white rice and wanderlust. Between and beyond childhood summers spent in Japan, she has woven travels through her stints as psychology and art student, bread peddler, jewellery pusher, espresso puller, graphic designer, English teacher and more recently as author for titles including Tokyo Encounter, Costa Rica, Indonesia and Grand Canyon National Park. She has spent months over the last several years eating, drinking and dancing her way across Tokyo in the name of research. She’s currently based in beautiful Boulder, Colorado.
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CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
Brandon Presser wrote the Architecture chapter. He holds a degree in the history of art and architecture from Harvard University and has spent much of his professional life collaborating with Japanese architects in Tokyo and Paris. These days, Brandon is a freelance writer and has co-authored roughly a dozen Lonely Planet guides.
Dr Trish Batchelor wrote the Health chapter. Dr Batchelor is a travel medicine specialist and a medical advisor to the Travel Doctor New Zealand clinics. She teaches travel medicine through the University of Otago and is interested in underwater and high-altitude medicine, and in the impact of tourism on host countries.
Ken Henshall wrote the History chapter. He teaches Japanese Studies at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he is well-known for his History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower, which has been translated into numerous languages, and his other books on Japanese history, literature, society and language.
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