A guide to popular culture in Japan written by a European tech worker who moved to Tokyo in 2004. It helps explain some common cultural norms which might be hidden to casual visitors. It also gives a nice overview of local business culture.

This is a great book for anybody interested in Urbanism and why Tokyo feels different to most other large cities. It looks at 5 key neighbourhood types—Yokocho alleyways, Zakkyo buildings, undertrack infills, Ankyo streets and dense low-rise neighbourhoods—and explores the history of how they developed, and how they contribute to the unique feel of Tokyo.

This short but well written history book describes the rise of modern Japan, from the arrival of Commodore Perry (1853) and the end of the Shogunate, through the heady pre-war era, to the eve of the Tokyo Olympics. If you want to get an insight into the country's psyche and how it got to where it is today, I can;lt think of a better book. 

A nice, well designed city guide with good recommendations for bars, restaurants, art museums etc, if you run out of things to do from the above list.

This book is the memoirs of the only Western journalist to work at a major Japanese newspaper. It’s set in the late 90s and early naughties, and looks at the ins and outs of the Japanese sex trade and the involvement of Yakuzza. It’s an interesting and well paced read which has recently been turned into a TV series, although I do worry about the moral compass of the author, who takes a bit too much glee describing all the dodgy stuff he got up to. Then again I guess “if you lie with the dogs, you’re gonna catch fleas”.