I bought this on a whim when it was on sale via one of Amazon's Kindle Daily Deals. I'm very happy with the book.

The story is about an aimless young man who decides to teach English in Japan and certainly has some preconceptions about the country. Each chapter tends to have a theme and you can see his opinions change over time. It's quite funny at times and it's interesting to read how he's perceived and his perceptions of the culture. ( )

Truly a gaijin's story. Too much altered states for my taste. Not as much of traditional Japan as I had hoped. He seems to spend most of his time with other ex pats. Some interesting stuff like how the Japanese create addresses for homes and businesses. ( )

As a travel narrative, this book’s success or failure depends on the likability of its narrator. I’m on the fence about Tim, and so I’m on the fence about this book.

My first impression of Tim was very negative. You know that gay guy who is too loud, too flamboyant, and just SO gay it’s obnoxious? At the very beginning, that was Tim. The first few chapters dragged because he was irritatingly dramatic and seemed to equate swearing with humor. Though he improved as the book went on, there were times I hated him because he was the gaijin that gives us all of us a bad name—the loud American who can’t speak any Japanese, the one who gets high every weekend, the one stumbling drunk through the subway. These were the times when the book just skimmed the surface of Tokyo and didn’t attempt to dip below it. Tim could have been in any city anywhere in the world and the story would have been the same.

Thankfully, that wasn’t the whole book. Tim was not afraid to make fun of himself, which kept the narrative from being too high-and-mighty. There were times that he was genuinely, laugh-out-loud funny, due largely in part to the fact that his swearing began to complement the humor rather than trying to act as a substitute for it. I was relieved when Tim eventually DID make some Japanese friends and make an effort at learning the language, and I found these parts of the book drew me in the most. For what it’s worth, Tim also seemed like a decent teacher who put effort into his classes, not one who just skimmed by so he could keep his visa.

All in all, this is quick, fairly humorous read that is worth picking up for the chapter about the crazy roommate ALONE. However, it often doesn’t take full advantage of its fascinating setting.
I’d recommend Hokkaido Highway Blues for those looking for a more substantial cultural chronicle of a gaijin’s experience in Japan. ( )

The entire time I read Tune in Tokyo, I was wondering why I wasn't enjoying it more. It would have made a good blog, probably, and I can see it working as a series of email updates to friends, but as a book it's disjointed and feels repetitive.

Really, I think the main problem here is that I don't click with Anderson's style. He makes sweeping generalizations and uses strange turns of phrase ("Yasuko's eyelids dim") and talks about drinking and recreational drug use but somehow makes both boring. It just all made me want to roll my eyes a lot! And then I felt mean because he seems like a decent enough dude underneath it all, but comes off as self-involved and spoiled in Tune in Tokyo. That's probably a hazard that comes with publishing something that IS essentially a diary, after all.

If you enjoy Anderson's sense of humor and voice (maybe try the Kindle sample first?), you'll probably enjoy this book, as long as you don't into it expecting a travel memoir: this is a book about Anderson, not about Japan.


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TOTALLY IRRELEVANT FAVORITE TYPO: "Stationary" instead of "stationery," more than once. This is always one of my favorite typos, but it made me giggle more than usual when Anderson discussed a washi paper store . . . "For me, it's a big pile of 'meh,' but those who are into stationary had better fasten their seatbelts."
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