• Dave Barry Does Japan

  • By: Dave Barry
  • Narrated by: Arte Johnson
  • Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (261 ratings)

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Dave Barry Does Japan  By  cover art

Dave Barry Does Japan

By: Dave Barry
Narrated by: Arte Johnson
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Publisher's summary

Without bothering to get approval from the President, the State Department, or even the FTC, Dave Barry's publishers sent him to Tokyo. You'd think they would have known better. Now the word is Barry has set back our diplomatic relations with the whole Pacific Rim by a couple of decades. Japanese culture, dining, sport, and industry all come under Barry's relentless scrutiny. So if you think President Bush committed a social gaffe by losing his composure and his lunch in front of the Japanese Prime Minister, wait until you hear Barry's commentaries. And if you're planning a trip to Japan, don't leave home without Barry's pearls of wisdom about the mysterious East. This complete, unabridged recording is read by Arte Johnson.

©1992 by Dave Barry (P)1992 Dove Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Dave Barry Does Japan

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Uplifting and fun

I challenge anyone to read this book without smiling and, at times, laughing out loud. I absolutely enjoyed this book.

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Don't run heavy machinery or drive

I was listening to this recording while performing a rather delicate experiment on insect larvae. While holding a beetle in forceps, I heard a particularly funny statement, and squashed the object of my research in my laughter. Very dangerously funny!

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Dave Barry does Japan

Dave's take on Japan, the Japanese, the food, flying, feeling tall,
and much more. His memories of the 50's Sci-Fi and WWII movies alone
are worth the price of admission.

This is one of Dave's funniest.



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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

If you like Dave Barry..

If you like Dave Barry, then this is the book for you. If however you were expecting to learn anything about Japan, give it a miss. The first 45 minutes are Dave Barry getting to the airport. The first 30 minutes of that is a discussion of the US auto industry.

I am struggling to finish this book in the hope that Dave makes it to Japan.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

I rarely write reviews, but I have to recommend this one. Contrary to a prior reviewer, I really liked Arte Johnson's narration. Yes, his Japanese accent may be construed to be offensive, but just relax. It's funny. Not everything has to be PC. I started the book thinking Dave Barry's humor was somewhat corny - and maybe 10% is - but mostly I find myself laughing out loud. Get this book and enjohy it. No, it's not a travel narrative, but it is a good introduction to culturally understand the Japanese.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Best Barry, Best Arte

This is Dave Barry at his best. It can be retired as an audio book: No one will every read it better than Arte Johnson.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Laugh out loud writing, so so narration

This is one of my all time favorite Dave Barry books. I laughed my way through it in print some years ago, but I found the narration of the audio book somewhat distracting. When you end up thinking more about the voice than the story being told, that's not good. And I'm surprised to have to say it - this is NOT a travel book! I can't imagine picking up a book by Dave Barry looking for vacation advice. If that's what you want, there is a world of travel guides waiting for you out there. For a really good laugh, check out "...Does Japan" in paperback.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Let's hope the Japanese don't hear this

This book is a wonderful way of showing the world how little we know of anything that is not America. Dave Barry paints a picture not of Japan but of Americans abroad. I must confess I could not get through more than three hours of listening before I gave up. I wanted to hear this book because I will be visiting Japan shortly and I wanted to have as much information as I could about the country. Instead of information on Japan's culture, I got endless goings on about how awful life had been for an american family deprived of pizza, hamburgers and dozens of other typically american products that I am happy to do without. Dave Barry should have stayed home.



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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hilarious!!

Artie Johnson, OMG, I can't think of a funnier guy to have read this book aloud. I laughed so hard my husband came upstairs to see what was so funny. Dave Barry is a treasure. I hope he keeps writing till he can write no more...

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Disgusting!

I had no idea Dave Barry was so dirty! He's disgusting and crude. Don't buy if you're get offended by smutt!

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1 person found this helpful