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What's What in Japanese Restaurants:
A Guide to Ordering, Eating and Enjoying
Japan Travel Book Review
Perhaps you consider yourself a sushi fanatic; perhaps you know enough about Japanese cuisine and Japan to order the Kappa Maki. But, hey man, what's the purple stuff next to the Yakisoba? Are you ready for pickled carrots? Do you know a Daicon when you see it?
If you are going on a trip to Japan, take "What's What in Japanese Restaurants" with you. It is a handy, pocket-sized reference book that will save you many a stomach-ache and hopefully let you discover many a good taste. Not all strange Japanese food is to be feared!
 With descriptions of grilled chicken skewers (yakitori), hearty plates of pork cutlets (tonkatsu), barbecue (robatayaki), and steaming rice bowls topped with grilled eel (unagi donburi), author Robb Satterwhite lets you in on a world of Japanese cuisine that's little known east of Tokyo, but well worth learning.
The guide outlines many of the main Japanese foods, a few ways to eat them and some simple restaurant etiquette. The food(s) are named in both English and Japanese, with the Japanese written in Katakana and Hiragana. This is important, as most Japanese menus will not contain any English translation.
The small size of the book is most convenient, as luggage space can be at a premium (We prefer carry-on only, even on long trips!). In the end, you will be glad you brought this book along.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, June 2006
Cruising the Anime City:
An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo
Animation Book Review
Regardless of whether you are planning a trip to Japan or not, every anime fan should have a copy of this guide. Within it's pages, you'll discover a modern metropolis whose soul has been rewired into a pulsing monster machine of pure pop culture. Where on every corner you may see a cosplay gal, a Bishojo gamer, a Gachapon collector, a Morning Musume idol worshipper, a dojinshi artist, or just an older otaku enslaved by that gooey Japanese sentiment known as moe.
Confused? Intrigued? Learn to navigate Neo Tokyo right here, with this, the Anime City's first street-smart guide in English. Plus detailed finder maps of shops at Nakano Broadway (home of manga mecca Mandarake) and Akihabara's "Electric Town," with transportation tips and a survey of the colossal Comiket anime/manga/dojinshi convention.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, May 2005
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