I'm fairly certain I read Cathy N. Davidson's *36 Views of Mount Fuji: A Journey of Self-Discovery in Japan* when it first came out years ago, but I did not recall a single detail, so it was essentially new for me.This is a tough one to review, as things have changed enough that finding it somewhat dated wasn't a huge surprise. I'd like to think that the sexism of an "office lady" ceiling for female college graduates isn't what it was back then.As far as travel narratives go, I don't mind expat ...

This was a great book. A story of Japan, diaspora, and life. I quite enjoyed it. Content-wise, it was very similar to Fifty Sounds or Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan – but not quite as good, though.Unlike the two books above, *36 Views of Mount Fuji: A Journey of Self-Discovery in Japan* really focused on subjects such as life, introspective personality, identities, belonging, and death. Whereas the others were lighter and more about Japanese culture. This book was more of an internal...

The first seven chapters were incredible and poignantly captured what it feels like to be a foreigner in another country. Each chapter focuses on a specific part of Japanese culture such as Japanese women, students, "salary men", foreigners, the taboo night life of Osaka, and sacred temples. I appreciated the philosophical musings on what it feels like to be a foreigner, to stick out, to enjoy not understanding the language fluently, to bumble around trying to figure out how society works. I lea...

Cathy N. Davidson's *36 Views of Mount Fuji: A Journey of Self-Discovery in Japan* is a truly delightful book! The author recounts one of the four times she lived in Japan as a professor alongside her husband and son. The title itself is inspired by a series of woodblock prints (originally 36) by the iconic Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849). The woodblock prints – a series, of course – depict Mount Fuji through varying seasons and weather conditions, as seen from different vantage ...

Okay, so *36 Views of Mount Fuji: A Journey of Self-Discovery in Japan* by Cathy N. Davidson is basically your standard 'foreigner moves to Japan and writes a book about it' story. It's got some decent descriptions of Japanese customs that Westerners might find weird. For example, the author spends some time exploring the hostess bar scene. Some of her experiences are different from what I've heard, but hey, everyone's got their own perspective, right? I managed to get about two-thirds of the wa...

SPOILER-FREE!!!UPON FINISHING: I mentioned earlier that the author seemed to be teaching during all her trips. That's not entirely accurate. She returned for other reasons, which you'll discover by reading *36 Views of Mount Fuji: A Journey of Self-Discovery in Japan*. Furthermore, Cathy actually returns a fifth time in 2005, 10 years after the earthquake in Kobe on January 17, 1995. This final trip is chronicled in the Afterword. The book includes a dictionary of useful terms and an Acknowledgm...

Like so many Americans who've traveled to Japan, Cathy N. Davidson taught English there. In "36 Views of Mount Fuji: A Journey of Self-Discovery in Japan," she shares her relationships and experiences in Japan over a decade, moving between there and North Carolina. Some of her experiences felt a bit dated even when *I* arrived (like staying in a "practice house" where young women learn to be good wives for American men, or counseling a student trying to gain weight to avoid an arranged marriage)...

I first read "36 Views of Mount Fuji: A Journey of Self-Discovery in Japan" by Cathy N. Davidson about nine years ago, when we initially moved to Japan. I recently decided to revisit it to see if it still resonated with me. I'm happy to report it's aged remarkably well. Some sections, particularly those detailing the frustrations of teaching female college students, even brought me to tears this time. While certain parts feel a little simplistic, it remains a beautifully written and insightful e...

I absolutely loved this book. Davidson's writing style is so engaging and easy to get into. I felt like I was right there with her, tagging along on all her adventures and encounters in Japan. She paints such a vivid picture of what it's like to be a stranger in a strange land – highlighting both the similarities and the differences. There's this hilarious scene where she has to give a urine sample while on antibiotics that turn her pee blue, confirming for everyone present that Americans really...

I quietly finished reading "36 Views of Mount Fuji: A Journey of Self-Discovery in Japan" at my desk. I don't really have any work to do, but since this is Japan, they won't let me leave, so I sit and read… I absolutely loved this book, especially now that my own time in Japan is drawing to a close. Cathy N. Davidson perfectly captures the experience of living as a foreigner in Japan – the wonder, the aggravation, the struggle to learn Japanese, the unique education system. It's all there, told ...