Taiwan guide with map

A Japanese pop idol is trying to sell a Taiwan guidebook by making the detachable map the star, not the book. Kodansha says Junta Nakama’s guide goes on sale on April 20, 2026, and the package includes a pull-out Taiwan map meant to be carried separately from the 127-page book. (kodansha.co.jp) The person behind it is Junta Nakama of the seven-member group WEST., and the Taiwan angle is personal, not borrowed branding. Kodansha says he has Taiwanese roots and spent six years in Taipei, from fourth grade through the third year of junior high school. (kodansha.co.jp) That background is why this is being pitched less like a glossy souvenir and more like a local’s route book. The publisher says Nakama took part in the title, structure, interview-target selection, and design meetings, and even checked childhood memories with his mother during production. (fan.books.rakuten.co.jp) The book is not built around one landmark or one neighborhood. Kodansha says it splits Taipei into seven city areas, then adds side trips to Kaohsiung, Tainan, and Taichung, which turns the map into a navigation tool instead of a decorative insert. (kodansha.co.jp) The food coverage is also aimed at people who want more than the standard “night market and bubble tea” version of Taiwan. The publisher says the guide includes breakfast crawls, noodle shops listed in the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand selection, bars, supermarkets, chain restaurants used by locals, and a night-market food chart built from Nakama’s own picks. (kodansha.co.jp) One detail tells you exactly who the book is for: the map comes with a short Taiwanese Mandarin lesson for everyday phrases. That turns the detachable sheet into something closer to a pocket cheat card for first-time visitors than a poster folded into the back of a book. (kodansha.co.jp) There is also a tourism layer behind the release. Talent Data Bank says Nakama was appointed a Taipei tourism ambassador in May 2025, so a 2026 guidebook that centers Taipei neighborhoods and easy side trips fits neatly with the city’s push to attract repeat Japanese travelers. (talent-databank.co.jp) Japanese publishers are leaning into that demand because Taiwan has been a top overseas destination for Japanese tourists in recent years. Both Dumpling Box and Talent Data Bank describe Taiwan as the number one overseas travel destination among Japanese travelers, which helps explain why a B5-size guide priced at 2,200 yen is being marketed as something to carry around until it gets worn out. (dumplingbox.org, talent-databank.co.jp) The release campaign is already stretching beyond bookstores. Mainichi Broadcasting System promoted the book on April 10, 2026, and Kodansha is also collecting questions for June 6 and June 7 talk events in Osaka and Tokyo tied to the launch. (mbs.jp, id-form.kodansha.co.jp) So the pitch is simple: a celebrity name gets attention, but the detachable map is supposed to get used. Kodansha lists more than 230 spots, a portable map, and a format small enough to carry at 18 by 23 centimeters, which is a very different promise from the usual coffee-table travel book that never leaves the hotel room. (kodansha.co.jp, talent-databank.co.jp)