Book Review
Waterfalls of Japan, Volume 1
Yasufumi, Nakakita (author)
Yamatokeikoku Publishers, 2004
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| Edition | 1 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Print Style | Full Color |
| Book Type | Guidebook |
| Page Count | 431 |
| ISBN | 4-635-06257-0 |
| In Print? | Yes |
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Picture quality |  (5) |
| Picture Quantity | (5) |
| Accuracy of Content | (5) |
| Thoroughness of Content | (5) |
| Production Value | (5) |
| Recommended | |
Reviewed by Dean Goss
There is one, and only one drawback to this fine book...it's entirely in Japanese, specifically Kanji script. I don't speak Japanese, nor do I read it. This poses something of a problem. Each waterfall is also named by Hiragana script, which is a phonetic script. I can, painfully slowly, translate Hiragana. This allowed me to at least partially unlock the information in this book for purposes of mapping the Japanese waterfalls for inclusion in the World Waterfall Database.
This book is fantastically printed on semigloss stock. It has hundreds of very high quality photographs. This isn't merely a labor of love, but rather a temple devoted to Japanese waterfalls. If you can't understand a single character of Kanji, this book is still going to be very interesting to a waterfall enthusiast.
The Bottom Line: If you like waterfalls, it's worth grabbing a copy of this book. It's a bit pricey, roughly $45.00, and international shipping is likely to be a bit steep too. If any American waterfall authors ever released a book that maintained the standards set by this Japanese book, it would be dazzling!