Tourism in Japan: an ethno-semiotic analysis

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Preface

Part 1. Japan as a Tourist Destination

1. Japan as a Tourist Destination: An Analytic Perspective

Statistics about Japan

Statistics on Japanese Family Income and Expenditures

Defining Tourism

Popular Kinds of Tourism in Japan

The Imagined Japan, the 'Real' Japan and the Remembered Japan

Guidebook Perspectives on Japan

Japanese National Character

John Gunther and Stereotypes of the Japanese

Some Tours of Japan

A Suggested Itinerary of Japan

The Japan National Tourist Organization's Japan

Uses and Gratifications of Tourism in Japan

Conclusions

2. Japan and the Tourism Industry

Statistics on World Tourism

What Americans Do When They Visit Japan

Activities of Japanese Tourists in Foreign Countries

Japanese Tourists in Bali

Conclusions

3. Japan on the Internet

Googling Japan

'Japan Tourism' on Google

Japan on YouTube

Conclusions

Part 2. Semiotic Japan

4. Semiotic Japan

Introduction

A Brief Note on Semiotic Theory

Codes

Sumo Wrestlers

Geishas

The Geisha and the Salaryman

The Japanese Flag

School Uniforms and Hikikomori: Japan's Hermit Youth

Japanese Baseball

Rock Gardens (kare sansui)

Sanja Matsuri Festival in Asakusa

Manga (Japanese Comic Books)

High-Tech Toilets

Vending Machines

7-Eleven Convenience Stores

Pachinko

Gift Giving in Japan

100 Yen Stores

Department Stores (Hyakkaten or Departos)

The Tokyo Subway Map

Fugu and Blue-finned Tuna: Fish Madness in Japan

Bento Boxes

Conclusions on Japanese Icons and Daily Life

5. Tourism and Cultural Change in Japan

Classical Theories of Social Change

Kinds of Tourists and Cultural Change

Sources of Cultural Change

Tourism's Cultural Impact on Japan

The Place of this Book in the Cultural Tourism Series

6. Coda: A Return to Japan

Our First Encounters with Helpful Japanese Persons

The Sanja Matsuri Festival in Asakusa

Lost in the Shimbashi Subway Station

Expect to be Lost Many Times in Japan

Travelling by Long-Distance Buses in Japan

Takayama Adventures

Kanazawa

Last Day in Kanazawa

More on Food Courts in Department Stores

An Aside on Japanese Supermarkets

On to Kyoto

Teaching Japanese Students about American Humour

Visits to Himeji and Nara

The United States and Japan: A Study in Polarities

References

Index