'A very gifted writer' BILL BRYSON

"A mild stroke of genius ... savagely hilarious." Sunday Herald

With the same fervour they have for outlandish game shows and tiny gadgets the Japanese go nuts each spring when the cherry blossom sweeps from island to island towards the country's northern tip - Hokkaido. Will Ferguson was celebrating the event in the standard fashion. And after way too much sake´ announced he would be the first person in recorded history to follow the blossom's progress. And to make it a challenge worth doing he'd hitchhike all the way relying on the kindness of some very weird and wonderful strangers . . .

The resulting travelogue is one of the funniest and most illuminating books to be written on Japan.

"For anyone thinking of going to Japan, this will be an invaluable read. If you've already been you will find yourself laughing out loud in recognition." Geographical Magazine

"You trust both his humour and his insights ... an admirable pair of eyes through which to see contemporary Japan." Observer

Also Available

Abridged edition

It had never been done before. Not in 4000 years of Japanese recorded history had anyone followed the Cherry Blossom Front from one end of the country to the other. Nor had anyone hitchhiked the length of Japan. But, heady on sakura and sake, Will Ferguson bet he could do both.

The resulting travelogue is one of the funniest and most illuminating books ever written about Japan. And, as Ferguson learns, it illustrates that to travel is better than to arrive.