North Sea Road: a Japan Tale

I spent two years living in Japan, in the northern-most prefecture of Hokkaido, as part of the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme. The program, ostensibly, hires English teaching assistants to work in public elementary, junior high, and high schools, but the project's stated goal is to drive the internationalization of Japan through introducing students to different peoples from different cultures.

The goal is for this to not be THAT Japan story, all about sushi and beer and how backwards the Japanese are to an insensitive foreigner. When I elected to start writing a Japanblog, Gaijin Desu Ne, back in 2009, I was determined that it would not be THAT JET blog. I have no idea if I succeeded, but some of the writing from that blog will drive this book. I have no idea if I can succeed in writing Not THAT Japan Story, but I'll try to write the Japan book that I'd like to read, which is equal parts lovely words and interesting Japanese annecdotes.