Books on Asia is your guide to finding quality books on Japan and Asia, including travel, literature, current events, and culture. Explore Asia in-depth. Hosted by Amy Chavez.
Japan by Charinko: Tom Gibb’s 2,500-Kilometer Ride
John Ross chats with Tom Gibb about his cycling adventures in Japan, the subject of his newly released Charinko. In the summer of 2005, Tom set off to see Japan properly. His transport was a cheap bike. And his Japanese was just about good enough for the modest challenge he had set himself: have at least one conversation every day. Six weeks and 2,500 kilometers later, Tom had pedalled from Kyushu back home to Ibaraki (still his home today) and discovered that cycling might be the perfect speed for getting to know a country.
The ebook is available from the Plum Rain Press (https://www.plumrainpress.com/books) website and from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HL8TR5XV?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yVdsfnZnCbbbE75An-X3LA.IDRQ10yCaAex70xmqbCuB5HN1FUrUoqpuDAWXFhewN4&dib_tag=se&s=digital-text).
The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press (https://www.plumrainpress.com/).
Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island (https://amzn.to/3Q73KQy). and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan. (https://amzn.to/3Q86M6Y)
The Books on Asia website (http://booksonasia.net) posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast (https://linktr.ee/booksonasia) from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter (https://mailchi.mp/551d4de3d669/books-on-asia?mc_cid=b7bcbc365e&mc_eid=4b86655ad1) to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.
21 Sept 2026
Japanese museums, treasure halls and Nara e-hon
Amy and John talk about recent travels in Japan including great museums, treasure halls full of ancient art and manuscripts, and travel by ferry vs. shinkansen. (Don't miss the Paseo (https://www.japan.travel/en/japans-local-treasures/sea-paseo-cruise-ferry-2022/) ferry if you're traveling between Kure, Hiroshima and Matsuyama on Shikoku). John introduces a great outdoor museum in Osaka for architecture lovers, and a naval museum. Amy introduces Nara e-hon—which replaced illustrated emaki scrolls of the Heian and Kamakura periods—that started in the Muromachi period (1336-1573) and remained popular through the Edo period). Published in Kyoto (not Nara) they were one of Japan's first codices to use this particular illustration style. The co-hosts also talk about what they're reading and Amy introduces a blast from the past for Asian literature: Dawson's Bookstore in Los Angeles, which is still going, but in an alternate form. Join them for their romp around Japan's book history!
The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press (https://www.plumrainpress.com/).
Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island (https://amzn.to/3Q73KQy). and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan. (https://amzn.to/3Q86M6Y)
The Books on Asia website (http://booksonasia.net) posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast (https://linktr.ee/booksonasia) from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter (https://mailchi.mp/551d4de3d669/books-on-asia?mc_cid=b7bcbc365e&mc_eid=4b86655ad1) to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.
7 Sept 2026
New Lonely Planet Guides on Japan
Alternative title: Lonely Planet arc—from pre-internet days to Instagram + a new Japanese etiquette tip + a couple more guidebook options
Amy opens the show with her recent experience as a tour guide in the Seto Inland Sea islands. She also introduces a new Japanese manners tip, a result of her etiquette skills being put to shame recently when she traveled with Japanese people on a business trip.
From there she delves into the new Lonely Planet Guidebooks and gets a little nostalgic about the older pre-internet publications and tells why they were better than the new editions. She then pivots and tells us why the new Lonely Planet destination guidebooks are better than the old. In other words, neither is better nor worse; the changes are more a reflection of the times (good riddance to tiny font sizes!)
At the end of the show, for those old-schoolers who prefer the old LP guidebook style, she introduces Cicerone guidebooks to fill the gap: fewer photos, but better maps. Less Instagram; a more hands-on approach. And the quality of writing a rare find in guidebooks.
See the Show Notes for links on the Books on Asia site at www.booksonasia.net
The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press (https://www.plumrainpress.com/).
Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island (https://amzn.to/3Q73KQy). and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan. (https://amzn.to/3Q86M6Y)
The Books on Asia website (http://booksonasia.net) posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast (https://linktr.ee/booksonasia) from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter (https://mailchi.mp/551d4de3d669/books-on-asia?mc_cid=b7bcbc365e&mc_eid=4b86655ad1) to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
2,208,030
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.5 / 5
8 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 52 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
54
Social presence
0
YouTube
93
Engagement
32
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