Alan Booth was a well-known English travel writer, who wrote two insightful books on his journeys by foot through the Japanese countryside. The better-known of the two, The Roads to Sata

The Roads to Sata

The Roads to Sata, written in 1985 by Alan Booth , tells the story of his journey, on foot, from Cape Soya in Hokkaidō, the northernmost point of Japan, to Sata, the southernmost point of Japan. Booth's journey lasted 128 days and covered 2,000 miles...

(published in 1985) is about his travels (in 1977) from the northernmost cape in Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

 (Cape Soya

Cape Soya

is the northernmost point of the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. It is situated in Wakkanai, Sōya Subprefecture. The is at the cape, although the true northernmost point under Japanese control is a small deserted island called Bentenjima, 1 km northwest...

) to the southern tip of Kyūshū

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

 in Cape Sata

Cape Sata

Cape Sata is a cape at the southern tip of the Osumi Peninsula of Kyūshū island, Japan, and is the southernmost point of the island, just south of 31 degrees latitude....

. His second book, Looking for the Lost, was published posthumously in 1995.

Booth was born in London and studied drama at the University of Birmingham

University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...

. Previously, he had acted and directed for the National Youth Theatre

National Youth Theatre

The National Youth Theatre is a registered charity in London, Great Britain, committed to creative, personal and social development of young people through the medium of creative arts....

 and was a prominent member of the University of Birmingham's Guild Theatre Group (GTG) in the late 60's. Among the plays he directed at Birmingham University were Hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

 (First Quarto), done in Noh

Noh

, or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...

 style, and his own translation of Racine

Jean Racine

Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...

's Phaedra

Phaedra

Phaedra can refer to:*Phaedra *Various artistic works based on the legend:**Hippolytus by Euripides**Phaedra by Seneca the Younger**Phèdre by Jean Racine...

, set in a Samurai milieu. He also directed an open-air production of Marlowe

Marlowe

- People :Given name* Marlowe Gardiner-Heslin , Canadian actor* Marlowe Morris , American jazz musicianSurname* Andrew W...

's Faustus (The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus

The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, commonly referred to simply as Doctor Faustus, is a play by Christopher Marlowe, based on the Faust story, in which a man sells his soul to the devil for power and knowledge...

) in Birmingham's Cannon Hill Park

Cannon Hill Park

Cannon Hill Park is a park located in south Birmingham, England. It is the most popular park in the city, covering consisting of formal, conservation, woodland and sports areas...

. While a student at Birmingham he won the Birmingham Post

Birmingham Post

The Birmingham Post newspaper was originally published under the name Daily Post in Birmingham, England, in 1857 by John Frederick Feeney. It was the largest selling broadsheet in the West Midlands, though it faced little if any competition in this category. It changed to tabloid size in 2008...

's Annual Poetry Prize, and was a regular contributor to the Birmingham University students' poetry magazine, Mermaid.

In 1970, he moved to Japan to study Noh theatre but soon began writing. Over the next two decades, he lived in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 and worked for the Macmillan Press

Macmillan Publishers

Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...

and as a movie reviewer for the Asahi Evening News. He also starred in the BBC Learning Zone programme "Japanese Language and People", episode 6 titled "On the Road", where he was interviewed about many different aspects of life in Japan.

Booth's writing style is marked by a smart, subtle humour, with which he observes his surroundings, himself, and the people he meets. The accounts of his travels are frequently interwoven with personal anecdotes, historical facts, and cultural background information.

Alan Booth died of colon cancer in 1993, leaving behind his wife and daughter.