Japanese Tourism Spaces, Places and Structures [Paperback]

The changing patterns of Japanese tourism and the views of the Japanese tourist since the Meiji Restoration, in 1868, are given an in-depth historical, geographical, economic and social analysis in this book. As well as providing a case study for the purpose of investigating the changing face of global tourism from the 19th to the 21st Century, this account of Japanese tourism explores both domestic social relations and international geographical, political and economic relations, especially in the northeast Asian context. Socio-cultural and geographical analysis form the research framework for the book, in three ways: first, there is an emphasis on scale as tourism phenomena and their implications are discussed both in a global context and at the national, regional and local levels; second, the discussion is informed by primary data sources such as censuses and surveys; and third, the incorporation of fieldwork and case studies adds concreteness to the overall picture of Japanese tourism.?This book is a significant addition to an area of study currently under-represented in the literature.

The volume's scope suggests how daunting the editors' task was, and they do a credible job, addressing issues ranging from governmental policy to heritage tourism to the possibilities of virtual tourism in the 21st century.? This is a good introduction to the subject& what the authors do accomplish is significant, particularly for comparative tourism studies&Highly recommended.? ??Choice

The authors have set an ambitious aim when attempting to cover such a large area as the development of Japanese tourism, but this is a well written book full of useful information, which reflects the obvious deep insight of the authors into Japanese tourism, past and present& This market is very important but has remained, until now, to a large extend, unexplained. ?????Monika Rulle, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-UniversilÃ#