Reading India, Reading Japan

An enterprising employee at one of Toronto's best known independent booksellers, Nicholas Hoare [Edit: Link removed--bookstore is sadly no longer in business], was featured in the Toronto Star for organizing a trip to India after members of the book club read six titles set there. The trip came in at just south of $8000, and it covered a number of cities. It got me thinking about what a similar adventure in literary travel to Japan would look like. To be honest, I'm having trouble coming up with the sixth book, so please share your suggestions. I think the most important thing is that the novel have a strong sense of place so that there is an opportunity to really feel like you are walking in the footsteps of the characters.

It would probably be best to fly in to Tokyo and go straight north to retrace some of the steps Matsuo Basho documented in Narrow Road to the Far North. While his travelogue is not a novel, the literary merit of his haiku make for easy inclusion. His wanderlust holds the added benefit of including visits to Nikko, Yamadera, and if time allowed, Haguro-san.

While returning on the western coast of Japan, it would be easy to make a left turn in Niigata to visit Yuzawa, the setting of Yasunari Kawabata's classic, Snow Country.

From there, Kyoto would beckon with a lesser known Kawabata novel, The Old Capital. While selecting two novels from the same writer may seem limiting, the opportunity to sit under the camphor trees outside Shorenin Temple like Chieko and Takichiro is too tempting to pass up.

Reading three slimmer volumes would also clear some time to read Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, widely considered the first novel in world history. It would be impossible to visit every place mentioned in the novel, but Heian Shrine (for period flavour, not historical accuracy), Ishiyamadera, and Uji for Byodoin, the Phoenix Hall, would make good stops.

Having experienced Kyoto, a hot springs retreat to Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama would be justified by the inclusion of Soseki's Botchan. I've never been there, but I've heard nothing but good things about the place.

Where next?