Perched high up in a settlement above the Kochi Prefecture town of Yusuhara, the Arcadian surroundings couldn¡¯t be more perfect to catch up with author and Japanologist Alex Kerr to discuss the continued relevance of his 1996 breakout title, ¡°Lost Japan.¡±

Originally published in Japanese in 1993 under the title ¡°Utsukushiki Nihon no Zanzo,¡± the English edition was first released by Lonely Planet in 1996 and then again by Penguin in 2015.

¡°Lost Japan¡± is a combination of warning bell for the disappearance of a way of life that was both beautiful and ecologically friendly, and a deep dive into aspects of Japanese culture that are often closed off to all but the innermost of circles. Over the past 25 years, has anything changed?