Research Trip to Japan
When we went to Japan in September, we arrived at Haneda one day before our boat was supposed to sail for the cruise I was lecturing on. Even though we were tired from the flight, we didn’t want to chance being late for getting aboard the boat, so we basically had one night to do research for Vanishing Into the 100% Dark. I’d been in Tokyo before, and my husband and I follow a lot about Japanese culture, including watching Japanese-language dramas (and yes, selected anime), reading translated Japanese mysteries, and watching Japan-based YouTubers. So we talked a friend into going with us on a train to the area where the hotel that inspired the fictional one my characters stay at is located. I also wanted to see the giant 3-D cat billboard. (Don’t judge – I love cats and I’m that big of a nerd.)
We went down there, I took my pics, and our friend took us downstairs to a basement restaurant she’d looked up so we could all have ramen.
That all may seem like a lot of effort for the amount of time we had, but I think the experience lent depth to the scenes when I wrote them. The book is told from a visitor’s perspective, so those first impressions really do count. And I’ve had several reviewers praise the research that went into the book.
Here’s a collage from our trip, which taught me tons of nuanced things about Japan. We even went to a sushi museum! I had no idea how many regional specialties there are.
Of course, some of my research was done using Google maps plus my own imaginations, as many of the buildings in the story are loosely based on the type of architecture I saw in the area. I hope the setting and culture elements blend in seamlessly so you can enjoy the story!
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