“Escape from Amsterdam is pure delight as a romp through the complex, conflicted world that is modern Japan, but its ultimate power lies in the subtle passages where Sherwood gives us an echo of haiku, the faint scent of the geisha, the glimpse of the repentant samurai adrift in the twenty-first century. Poignant, poetic, and fun.” ---Eliot Pattison, author of Prayer of the Dragon

“For readers who like to do their world traveling in bytes on the back of a clever novel, Sherwood is the perfect guide to what weirdness the twenty-first century has to offer. This magical bus ride of a story bounces you around inside the illogically con?icting cultures of Japan. You’d better hold on tight.” --Colin Cotterill, author of The Coroner’s Lunch

“The story of Aozora, who fights and flounders his way from the ivory towers of Kyoto University to the southern beaches of Kyushu, jumps to life with violence and kindness, humor and desperation. In his carefully woven descriptions, Barrie Sherwood shows great insight into a fast-changing society of disaffected youth and sleazy governance. This book will tell you what it’s like to live on the edge in twenty-?rst century Japan.” ---Niall Murtagh, author of The Blue-Eyed Salaryman

“Japanese theme parks, and Japan as theme park. From its opening mad dash in search of authentic oysters to the hyper-reality of life-size love dolls, this is a fascinating and thoroughly entertaining journey into a postmodern nation. Eclectic, eccentric, and always fun. A wonderful, wonderful read.” ---Will Ferguson, author of Hokkaido Highway Blues