Tokyo Junkie Audiobook By Robert Whiting cover art

Tokyo Junkie

60 Years of Bright Lights and Back Alleys... and Baseball

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Tokyo Junkie

By: Robert Whiting
Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
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Tokyo Junkie is a memoir that plays out over the dramatic 60-year growth of the megacity Tokyo, once a dark, fetid backwater and now the most populous, sophisticated, and safe urban capital in the world.

Follow author Robert Whiting (The Chrysanthemum and the Bat, You Gotta Have Wa, Tokyo Underworld) as he watches Tokyo transform during the 1964 Olympics, rubs shoulders with the Yakuza and comes face to face with the city’s dark underbelly, interviews Japan’s baseball elite after publishing his first best-selling book on the subject, and learns how politics and sports collide to produce a cultural landscape unlike any other, even as a new Olympics is postponed and the COVID virus ravages the nation.

A colorful social history of what Anthony Bourdain dubbed, “the greatest city in the world”, Tokyo Junkie is a revealing account by an accomplished journalist who witnessed it all firsthand and, in the process, had his own dramatic personal transformation.

©2021 Robert Whiting (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing and Skyboat Media Asia Baseball & Softball Japan Sports Imperial Japan Olympics
Engaging Memoir • Fascinating History • Excellent Narration • Cultural Insights • Personal Experiences • Enjoyable Tone
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It was a great recollection of a life lived in Japan. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the country.

Great Content

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Note: Almost every Japanese word was pronounced incorrectly and takes away from the overall story telling.

I arrived in Tokyo in March of 1990 and am still here today. I left for a few years and lived in Europe for a few years and could only think about going back to Tokyo. I am American and also did a brief stint in the US in 2000. I came back to Tokyo in 2001 and never looked back.
I never experienced the Happy Valley days but certainly heard about them from long timers but know the bubble time and can resonate with many of the places and types of places that Robert talks about. Kabukicho, Roppongi, Ueno, Ginza, Yurakucho and so on. I also went to Maggies Revenge (a name that brought back many memories when I read it), Julianas and many many local yakitori places that I went that are no longer there. There were also many nights that I was at Nicolas Pizza place after a night of drinking in Roppongi and I met the man several times myself but did not know any of his history. I have also had my share of interactions with the yakuza but nowhere near the scale that Robert talks about but do understand the emotions.

Things have changed so much and so many of the old places are gone but Tokyo still endures and endears to those who can even unearth a few of this magnificent cities secrets. There is always be secrets to unearth in Tokyo. I will be here for the rest of my life.

Lovely book with lots of great memories for me.
(Please redo with someone who knows how to pronounce Japanese words.)

Nice walk down memory lane!

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This is a very entertaining book. I've visited Tokyo and roamed the streets. I'm no expert and don't speak the language. This Narrator is great. Whole he may not pronounce words correctly, he makes up for it with his tone and style. I believe he narrated another book called Dancing bears, which is equally entertaining. It's funny how those who are familiar with Japanese culture and the language would complain about a great Narrator who mispronounced a couple words. We would expect as much. I give the story and narrator 5 stars!

Great Narrator

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Excellent book all around. Please release some more of Mr. Whitings book on your site!!

Now I must visit Tokyo

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The story is candid and interesting. But should hire a narrator who are familiar with Japanese language.

Insightful!

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Excellent book but I cannot excuse the horrendous butchering in the pronunciation of Japanese words and phrases.

Narration horrible

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Interesting book, fast moving with a lot of information. Different sites in Tokyo, which you can look up in Google Earth.
Japan post WWII is also mentioned. It is a fast moving story and it made me want to pack my bags and head for Tokyo.
I totally enjoyed the book.
The narrator, mr. Stephan Rudnicki, as usual, is a joy to listen to.
My thanks to all involved, JK.

INFORMATIVE

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I just came back from my trip to the city, and I wanted to fill the gaps with my knowledge about Tokyo in Japan in general. There’s just no better way to do it then listen to person that spent half a century that city and has a very unique perspective.

Great perspective on Tokyo

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This is one of the best books I’ve listened to this year. I got it through Audible Plus but would gladly have paid a credit for it (not something you can usually say about a Plus selection).

I’ve read the author’s previous book about Tokyo and enjoyed it immensely. This book is part memoir part history of postwar Tokyo up to 2020. The author’s had a fascinating life, of the type that would only have been possible for a brief moment in history.

Great

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A wonderful romp through five decades of Tokyo history as experienced through the eyes if an adventurous gaijin. Only downfall was the narrator who mispronounced nearly all Japanese words and place names. Despite this, the narrative shone through and the listen was truly enthralling.

Tokyo terrific

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