Oishinbo: Vol. 2, Sake **** : Another great installment of the Oishinbo series. This one focuses on wine and sake as they interact with Japanese cuisine.

Oishinbo: Vol.1 Japanese Cuisine **** : I love this Japanese foodie series.

Sushi Economy ***** : Fascinating tale of Japan, sushi, economics, global trade, and one of the world's most expensive and shortest-shelf-lived commodities, bluefin tuna.

Ugly Americans ***: From the author of ''Bringing Down the House'', another fast-paced page-turner, this time about hedge fund traders in Tokyo. The story is entertaining but seems largely fictionalized, and after a while, the lack of fact-checking undermines the book's credibility: For example, the book incorrectly states that the Tokyo Tower is smaller than the Eiffel Tower, when in fact it is larger--the Amazon.com reviews cite many more examples.