Product Description

From the sneakily successful travel series with over 1,000,000 copies in print, here is the pocket-sized guide that combines verbal self-defense with cultural insight. Specifically focused on getting in, getting around, and getting the deal done, Wicked Japanese prepares the gaijin (that's you) for a world so alien that just wearing the wrong necktie can spell certain death to the bargain you flew 18 hours to seal.

Impress your host with your politeness--and recite the correct apology for grazing a stranger with your sleeve: Buchoho de makoto ni moshiwake gozaimasen ("Sorry to have injured you with my stupid clumsiness"). And if planning to work for a Japanese company, show that you're a team player: Yumei na daigaisha no hitotsu no hagurama ni nalitai ("I wish to be a tiny cog in a huge and honorable machine"). 93,000 copies in print.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1588558 in Books
• Published on:
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 5.94" h x .20" w x 4.02" l, .12 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 64 pages

About the Author
Howard Tomb is the author of the Wicked Travel books. He also writes for the Sunday Travel Section of the New York Times.

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
This is humor - not to be taken seriously
By o0mingmak
As the previous reviewer indicated, this book is not a serious study of the Japanese language, and yes, it is full of stereotypes. But Howard Tomb's take on Japanese society is often hilarious! The book is especially funny for those foreigners who have lived or stayed in Japan for an extended period of time, although that is not a prerequisite to understand the humor.

Tomb divides the book into different situations with explanations and a number of phrases for each. The phrases start out innocently enough, but get progressively outlandish and funny. For example, in the section for "Life in a Japanese Firm" you will note phrases with Japanese translations like:

"I will always agree with my superiors, even when they are totally wrong" or

"My dream is to be a tiny cog in a huge and honorable machine"

I had a friend who actually tried to use these phrases in Japanese while working for a Japanese company, but no-one understood the sarcasm (everyone took his statements seriously!). In short, the book is often hilarious in English, but not necessarily so in Japanese.

Wicked Japanese is definately worth the [money] for the laughs that it generates, but be careful if you actually decide to use it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Wickedly Funny
By James R. Hoadley
This book is definitely not politically correct, but if sarcastic, biting humor is your thing, this one will have you rolling. As other reviewers have stated, the humor in this book is often lost on Japanese people, but if you've ever lived here, you'll probably laugh yourself to tears by the middle of the book. I use the author's explanation on why few people travel to Japan for tourism often, and it always gets laughs.

Be very careful about using the Japanese in this book, as some of the phrases are quite offensive. Still, this is a good antidote when you've read too many boring phrasebooks, or you've had a nasty bout of culture shock.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Loaded with Stereotypes
By A Customer
This book had its moments, but it's certainly not to be taken seriously as phrasebook. Chockful of American stereotypes of Japan, most of the phrases, while actually Japanese, I can't imagine actually being used in real situations.

Well, maybe the phrases to use if you're a female being groped on a train ("Arrest this pervert!").