LOCAL FOCUS Vol. 1

<p><em><strong>Local Focus</strong></em> is a series of guidebooks featuring the charming towns of Japan and highlights their unique natural environments and one-of-a-kind cultures and communities. It is a convenient and <strong>handy all-in-one English guidebook</strong> to make non-Japanese possible to <strong>explore Japan more efficiently</strong> <strong>and meaningfully</strong> as if they had a local guide with them.</p><p>Vol.1 features the historic town "<strong>Kamakura</strong>" and "<strong>Enoshima Island</strong>" which is connected to Kamakura by a bridge.</p><p> </p><p><u><strong>They both</strong></u></p><p>���are located <strong>only an hour train-ride from Tokyo</strong></p><p>���are the venues for the sailing competitions at Tokyo 2020 Olympics</p><p>���have <strong>beaches</strong> and <strong>hike trails</strong>.</p><p>���have history rich with <strong>Samurai</strong> and <strong>Zen   </strong></p><p>���have a <strong>unique culture of old and new</strong></p><p> </p><p><u><strong><em>Local Focus</em> is for those who</strong></u></p><p>•enjoy exploring<strong> small towns  </strong></p><p>•<strong>avoid crowded touristy spots     </strong></p><p>• step off the beaten path    </p><p>•value <strong>well-crafted arts</strong> and <strong>time-tested traditions         </strong></p><p>•prefer<strong> smoke-free dining </strong></p><p>•prefer <strong>organic all natural food</strong></p><p>•prefer <strong>vegetarian </strong>or<strong> vegan food</strong></p><p> </p><p><u><strong><em>Local Focus </em>features;</strong></u></p><p>•205 pages in <strong>full color</strong></p><p>•<strong>over 100 places to visit</strong> selected by the production team</p><p>•<strong>easy to read maps</strong></p><p>•<strong>at a glance icons</strong> for "English menu available" "Vegetarian or vegan menu available" "Take credit cards" "Barrier free" etc.</p><p>•history culture food local communities and more</p><p> </p><p><u><strong>How did the production team select the places?</strong></u></p><p>Our production team strongly places value on the<strong> nature</strong> <strong>culture</strong> and <strong>community</strong> of the area and <em>Local Focus</em> is a careful compilation that presents <strong>Kamakura</strong> and <strong>Enoshima </strong>as the backdrop for daily living featuring shops that are <strong>part of the everyday life of the production team</strong> or introducing the <strong>must-sees -dos and –eats where they take their guests from overseas or recommend to traveling friends</strong>.</p><p> </p><p><u><strong>Production Team (arigatoubooks)</strong></u></p><p><em>Local Focus</em> is created by a team of local freelance editors writers photographers and designers who love nature culture and community of the area we live and made up of <strong>both local Japanese and non-Japanese members</strong>; to create this guidebook our non-Japanese speaking members identified what was necessary to assist foreign travelers who can’t speak the language while our Japanese members compiled their insider information. This was then compiled into a <strong>graphically pleasing</strong> and <strong>user-friendly practical guidebook</strong> that will enable any visitor to have an <strong>authentically rich travel experience </strong>without the need to learn Japanese or have any local contacts. </p><p>We avoided any kind of sponsorship from the featured sites so that we could introduce them with a fully unbiased approach and perspective.<br /><br />website: www.localfocus.info</p>