Hilarious!

I believe this to be one of the funniest books Dave Barry has ever written. I have a paperback version of it, but I've read it so many times, it's starting to fall apart, and I'm thinking it might be time to replace it with a more permanent hardcover version.

Best parts of "Dave Barry Does Japan": Dave trying, and failing, to learn Japanese on the plane...Dave and his family getting completely lost in Tokyo...Dave trying to blend in at a traditional Japanese resort. I also really enjoyed the chapter about Hiroshima, even though it wasn't funny. This guy can write serious stuff too, it appears--not only that, but he can write it well.

Dave manages to make a journey into an extremely foreign culture incredibly funny without being racist or offensive in any way. And believe it or not, I actually learned a lot about Japan by reading this book. Of course, you have to take everything said in any Dave Barry book with a grain of salt, but one of my favorite things about his writing is his ability to point out the absurdities of everyday life, which I would imagine become even more apparent when one is watching them from an entirely different cultural perspective. Plus, you gotta love the booger jokes.