Alex Kerr was born in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, in1952. He first came to Japan when his father, a naval officer, was posted to Yokohama from 1964 to 1966. He has lived in Kameoka, near Kyoto, since 1977. Alex holds degrees in Japanese Studies from Yale University and Chinese Studies from Oxford University, and is a passionate and knowledgable collector of East Asian art. He writes and lectures in Japanese, and is associated with the Oomoto Foundation, a Shinto organisation devoted to the practice and teaching of traditional Japanese arts.

The Original edition of Lost Japan, written in Japanese, won the 1994 Shincho Gakugei Literature Prize for the best work of non-fiction published in Japan. Alex is the first foreigner to win this prestigious award.

©Alex Kerr

Lost Japan is published in Journeys, Lonely Planet's travel literature series.