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  • Tune In Tokyo

  • The Gaijin Diaries
  • By: Tim Anderson
  • Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
  • Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (32 ratings)
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Tune In Tokyo cover art

Tune In Tokyo

By: Tim Anderson
Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
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Summary

Everyone wants to escape their boring, stagnant lives full of inertia and regret. But so few people actually have the bravery to run - run away from everything and selflessly seek out personal fulfillment on the other side of the world where they don’t understand anything and won’t be expected to. The world is full of cowards.

Tim Anderson was pushing 30 and working a string of dead-end jobs when he made the spontaneous decision to pack his bags and move to Japan. It was a gutsy move, especially for a tall, white, gay Southerner who didn’t speak a lick of Japanese. But his life desperately needed a shot of adrenaline, and what better way to get one than to leave behind his boyfriend, his cat, and his Siouxsie and the Banshees box set to move to “a tiny, overcrowded island heaving with clever, sensibly proportioned people who make him look fat”?

In Tokyo, Tim became a “gaijin”, an outsider whose stumbling progression through Japanese culture is minutely chronicled in these 16 hilarious stories. Despite the steep learning curve and the seemingly constant humiliation, the gaijin from North Carolina gradually begins to find his way. Whether playing drums on the fly in an otherwise all-Japanese noise band or attempting to keep his English classroom clean when it’s invaded by an older female student with a dirty mind, Tim comes to realize that living a meaningful life is about expecting the unexpected...right when he least expects it.

©2012 Tim Anderson (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Tune In Tokyo

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

a funny insight to living in Japan

I picked up this audio book expecting a dry and factual travel story.. thats not what i got at all, its actually a really amusing tale of the authors life in Japan over the course of a year and a half while working as a English Teacher.. our litirary gaijin spins an interesting story of life in a way different from his suburban American roots with tales of psychotic drunken flatmates, strange customs and falling in love with a culture so alien to him.

Ok. you wont learn much in the way of Japanese language or customs from this book but you woll come away with a desire to experience the lifestyle yoursrlf someday.. a highly enjoyable read indeed.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Some good humour, otherwise disappointing

I expected a bit more about Japanese experience, but got personal story with some small cultural aspects

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

silly

this is s not a travel journal, it's a bunch of nonsense. every chapter, the author describes cartoonish daydreams. funny for the half hour, then, just annoying.
very well read.

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

A joy

I really enjoyed it. It gave me Sex and the city vibes, except the author has "an affair" with Tokyo. The biggest joy comes from the author. He is a gay english teacher in Tokyo with a strong pop culture sense that has his eyes open and doesnt shy from telling it how it is. but dont think about drama. This is always funny and it made me smile all the time.

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

This is not a book about Japan.

I loved this book, but a lot of reviews have been mediocre at best. It's not really a book about Japan in so much as it is a book about a guy living in Japan and acclimating to a very foreign country, it's a subtle difference but it's definitely there.

There are no answers here, for example the author tells of a group of men approaching young women on the street & following them for a short while, those men are partaking in "nanpa" (pick up artists) but the author doesn't tell you this because at the time he simply doesn't know quite what's happening.

This is basically a series of blog posts that have coalesced into a book, it's great & it's laugh out loud funny at times and the narrator has got the campy affectations of the author down pat and the book is all the better for it.

This isn't a book that will answer your questions about Japan or go into great depth but it's great fun. Go into this book with realistic expectations & you'll have a great time.

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

Enjoyable and Funny

I enjoyed this book.

It's funny and well read. Also, the narrator seems to pronounce the Japanese words well - not that I would really know, but they sounded good!

Some listeners may not like the sweary or gay content, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment.

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

Hilarious western view of Japan

Excellently voiced, this chronicle of culture shock when hitting Japan had been my favorite audio book to date. Some of the content is a bit inappropriate for younger listeners but I've laughed happily through it. Even keener to get to Japan now!

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

Fun, light ,entertaining

Fun, light ,entertaining world of drifter teaching English in Tokyo. Narration was excellent, insights gets you a little peek into fascinating world of Japanese culture. Jokes were a little forced / trying a little too hard. But overall was good listen on a commute.

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

Great

if you've been to Japan, or thinking of going, then you will love this book.

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