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Japan (Country Guide) | 
 enlarge | Author: Chris Rowthorn
Publisher: Lonely Planet
Category: Book
List Price: $28.99
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Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 11380
Media: Paperback
Edition: 10
Pages: 868
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 1.3
ISBN: 174104667X
Dewey Decimal Number: 915
EAN: 9781741046670
ASIN: 174104667X
Publication Date: October 1, 2007
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Product Description
Discover Japan
Dodge flying fish at the world's greatest sashimi market
Find yourself spirited away to Miyazaki's museum of anime
Master the perfect double-clap and bow for your first shrine visit
Earn your keep in a Buddhist temple
In This Guide:
Japan resident authors, 343 days of research, 120 detailed maps, three geisha sightings
You asked for it, we researched it - everything you need to know about onsen (hot springs) and skiing, and more language assistance than ever
Cost-saving tips even the locals don't know.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Still a great reference for Japan. February 6, 2008
mcsidious (Kitsap County, WA)
26 out of 27 found this review helpful
For years, Lonely Planet's Japan guide has been the benchmark among the many books available on the trendiest country in East Asia. The latest edition of their Japan guide continues to provide the high quality their readers have come to expect.
High points of this edition include:
- LP's authors seem to have found something to do in nearly every corner of Japan. While I still believe that to enjoy Japan best you must find your own places to enjoy - not just the ones within walking distance of a Starbucks - LP will help keep you from getting lost as you make your way from the train station to the twice-daily bus on the way to the Onsen In The Middle Of Nowhere (and if there is a Starbucks nearby that onsen, they'll tell you about that, too).
It's especially helpful that they list smaller diversions like the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum right along side of more famous attractions such as Yokohama's Chinatown - these are very helpful for people with a couple of hours to burn while they wait for their train.
- Restaurant suggestions. I don't use LP's restaurant choices religiously, but they are extremely helpful if you're unused to Japanese food (or with someone new to it); LP lists everything from high-end kaiseki restaurants to railway-station ramen stands to chain izakaya (pubs) with English menus - the last are an excellent way to try out different types of Japanese food without the guesswork.
-Lodging. LP shines here in their recommendations of ryokan (Japanese style-inns) and minshuku (pensions), most of which don't appear on Expedia or even Japanese-language websites. These are great places to enjoy real Japanese hospitality, and LP knows which ones are welcoming to foreigners, which have the best food, and which have the best onsen (hot springs).
-Japanese text. I can't emphasize this enough - it's absolutely critical to have Japanese translations of city names, train stations, attractions, and other important locations (hospitals, anyone?) written in Japanese as well as English. If you speak little or no Japanese, the text not only helps you read most signs outside of the major metro areas, it helps you to ask for directions, navigate restaurant menus, and maybe even learn some kanji.
Here are a few things I took issue with in this edition:
-Inaccurate transportation information. Don't worry, LP is generally reliable throughout the book and won't steer you wrong. The problem is what gets left out, particularly in the airport transportation category. For example, nobody bothers to tell you that Keikyu Railways provides service to Haneda Airport from Shinagawa for less money and in a shorter time than the Tokyo Monorail, which is silly because the last edition of the guide didn't make this mistake.
LP also heartily recommends taking the Keisei tokkyu limited express service from Narita Airport instead of the all-reserved Skyliner. Don't even *think* about this if you have heavy baggage or are unused to crowds in Japan. The tokkyu is a commuter train and you'll be riding with several hundred close (literally) Japanese friends by the time you reach Ueno.
-Toyoko Inn. LP directs budget travelers to this chain of cookie-cutter business hotels several times in this edition. Although Toyoko Inn is very popular among foreign travelers in Japan because of their English website and free rice-ball breakfasts, the chain is often more expensive than hotels with better service. Toyoko Inn's "Flintstones-tech" beds (my term) are my archenemy after repeatedly messing up my back. Do yourself a favor and make reservations at Toyoko's rival, Route Inn. Route Inn hotels have a free full breakfast for those who book online, often include a free onsen in the hotel, have more comfortable beds than Toyoko, and have rates that are often lower.
In addition, Tokyu Hotels, Sunroute Hotels, Solare Hotels, Washington Hotels, and other business hotel chains have English websites that deserve your attention before Toyoko.
-The "Safety" section lists what to do in case of fire and earthquake, but doesn't mention typhoons. Although most modern Japanese buildings are safe refuges in a typhoon, LP ought to devote at least a paragraph to safety precautions to take if you get stuck in a city in a typhoon's path - and several hit Japan every summer and fall.
-LP's traditional wittiness is lessened somewhat as their writers turn over. Last edition's clever description of active volcano Sakurajima was: "Looming over Kagoshima is the brooding cone of this decidedly hyperactive volcano." The new authors call it "frisky." Say it with a knowing smile, folks: "Frisky" does not go in the same sentence as "volcano."
Although again there isn't a overwhelming amount of new information in this book, LP's guide fits into the travel plans of just about anyone: Hardcore backpackers, exchange students, couples and even business travelers will all find the something useful in the guide for them.
As always, the LP guide remains your best bet for exploring Japan.
 A decent guide to Japan December 12, 2007
Shoppaholic (San Francisco, CA)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
I purchased this 10th edition after being quite disappointed with an older edition (6th or 7th) when traveling Tohoku region by car in September 2007 with my husband. This edition does a much better job in providing enthusiastic, first-hand account about the region beyond the beaten path like Tokyo and Kyoto, which is a quality that I look forward for from the LP series in general. I am happy that we've upgraded the book for our upcoming Shikoku trip.
Giving 4 stars, because, as a native Japanese speaker, I feel that the book still has a room for improvement (for example, I feel that there are other activities beyond skiing that are great and more unique in Japan).
 Don't buy this book May 4, 2008
Caitlin Walker
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
We've travelled all over the world using Lonely Planet guide books, and we've had a great experience with them. The Japan book on the other hand was the most useless guide book I have ever seen. We would arrive in a bustling part of Tokyo, open the book, and it would say, "just walk around, everything is good." I didn't spend $25 on a guidebook for that. The whole book seemed lazy, there were maps printed upside down, sights they write about and don't place on their maps and the most amazing things we did in Kyoto weren't in the book, we learned about them through our hostile. If you are going to Japan, don't buy this book, I would have preferred to have no book at all because I spent so much time frustrated at this book.
Competent enough January 14, 2008
S. Shapero (Seattle, WA USA)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a perfectly fine book that give you a comprehensive overview of Japan and will help you get where you want to go. It does a decent enough job of preparing you for behaving yourself as a foreigner in this wonderful but nuanced country. I used this book on my recent trip to Hokkaido and I found coverage to be a little thin, but I think the aim of this book is to cover the major attractions and give you an overview of each region. It is a large country with a tremendous amount of cool things to see and do, which could result in a giant tome of a book. I think they could easily publish a title for each island and possibly each region, much as one might want a detailed guide book for each American state or Canadian province.
I ended up doing a lot of detailed research on the internet, copying and pasting Japanese words for things when I could, which gave better results. I managed to make an onsen reservation this way at what turned out to be Noboribetsu, a well-known area covered in the book, but at a Ryokan not found in the book. I found the accommodation listings of the book to be pretty sparse. Again, it'll get the job done but there is so much more to discover on your own. In a way this is a good thing, as discovery is one of the best parts of traveling, and many LP readers have encountered the "LP convergence zone" or "backpacker areas" of major world destinations, where you end up surrounded by a bunch of LP-reading Australians. At the end of the day, there are not a ton of english-language resources to finding the more obscure nooks and crannies of this country.
Bottom line is that this book is a useful guide that will get the job done. I did not use it for restaurant of night life recommendations, Japan is just chock a block with amazing food everywhere you go, you can pretty much just trust your instincts.
Lonely Planet Japan January 31, 2008
Marlene Kawahata (san francisco, CA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
THe book has a lot of information, it covers everything you will need to do in Japan. I stayed at the Washington hotel in Sujuku, Tokyo, a great location and a nice quiet, clean and efficient room.
I DID NOT like the layout of the book. It was difficult to find things to refer back as a reference. THey are not listed in a logical order, some under activities, some under sights and not much of anything listed under the index. So, if I am trying to find a sight that I remember was mentioned in the book, chances are, it would not be in the index and I would have to sift through the pages and guess where the location was or, use a lot of bookmarks for easy refererence.
Also, the location of the sight is not clearly marked. This can be a problem since Tokyo's train stations are so large, without specifics, you may get off at the site and wander around until you can find someone who speaks English and is willing to help, not always easy.
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