Books play a large part in the life of any foreign resident of Japan. For no matter how pervasive online linkage to the homeland becomes, books have always been, and always will be, a main conduit to the language and culture left behind, especially when socked into riding the trains for hours on end.
Topics on Japan are especially popular, but I often find this genre somewhat lacking. As a person who dabbles in the babble of the literary world, I sometimes muse on the "life in Japan" books that I feel convinced would become best sellers if only I could find the time enough to write them . . . and a publisher drunk enough to fund me.
Here then is a list of titles that with a bit of luck might one day be weighing down your bookshelf. While some may seem a tad scanty on content, in many cases the titles alone speak volumes.