Stone Bridge Press is pleased to announce Off the Beaten Tracks in Japan: A Journey by Train from Hokkaido to Kyushu by John Dougill has been named a winner in the 26th annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.
Foreword Reviews, a book review journal focusing on independently published books, announced the winners of its INDIES Book of the Year Awards today.
The INDIES recognize the best books published in 2023 from independent and university presses, as well as self-published authors.
Off the Beaten Tracks in Japan takes readers off the beaten tracks to explore some of the country's remoter regions along the Japan Sea—from Wakkanai in northern Hokkaido to Ibusuki in southern Kyushu—in a fascinating mix of travelogue, anecdote, and personal memoir.
At each of the thirty stops along the journey the author, who has lived in Japan for thirty years, goes in quest of the spirit of place, determined to highlight what makes it special.
Mixing comments on landscape and culture, the author was inspired by Alan Booth and Donald Richie and brings a contemporary perspective to his writing.
The text provides some practical information on travel by rail and railway lines, but goes into far more depth and personal observation than a conventional guidebook for tourists.
John Dougill has lived in Kyoto since 1994 and is the author of several books about the country that have received positive reviews in The Japan Times. As well as a cultural history of Kyoto, he has published Japan’s World Heritage Sites, for which he traveled the length of the country, from northern Hokkaido to Okinawa and the Ogasawara Islands.
Currently Dougill is professor emeritus of Ryukoku University in Kyoto, where he taught for over twenty years. He specialized in British film, with a particular focus on cultural comparisons with Japan. Amongst his research papers was a study of Lafcadio Hearn as a flawed genius with a fascinating legacy.
Off the Beaten Tracks in Japan: A Journey by Train from Hokkaido to Kyushu by John Dougill is now available in both print and digital everywhere. Order your copy here.
Read a sample of John Dougill's Off the Beaten Tracks in Japan here.