Japan (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

Includes: Tokyo, Central Honshu, Kyoto City, Western Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Okinawa, Northern Honshu, and Hokkaido.

Customer Reviews:

Combine with internet research for comprehensive trip planning

By J. Fuchs "jax76" - October 24, 2008

I'm not normally a fan of Eyewitness travel guides. Yes, it's nice to have pictures, but they come at the expense of information and the heavy paper required to show them off to full advantage makes these books too heavy to take on vacation (in my opinion). I've also seen pictures that looked oh-so-compelling in an Eyewitness Guide, but they turned out to be of the one attractive thing in an otherwise drab, dirty city. Yet there are things to like about these guides and this one is no exception.

Unlike other guides you can get an idea of what places and attractions look like, which is especially helpful in a country like Japan, which has about a bajillion Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Reading about them alone probably wouldn't help you pick amongst them so here the pictures really help. The sections on cultural differences and practical tips for travelers are especially useful in this book.

The main weakness of this book is that it is heavily focused... read more

Everything You Need For A Japenese Guide Book

By Crazed Collector - December 24, 2007

If you're going to Japan I recommend this book for 95% of your travelling pleasure and information. It may not have EVERYTHING about Japan or be as detailed as other guides, but the true point of a guide is to be concise and accurate.

It's not too large so that you're carrying around a dictionary which hurts to walk with; makes you embarrassed to show; or vividly display's to the country that you're a tourist. It's not too small that you have to squint to read; is easy to lose; or hard to find the information you require.

The layout is precise, colourful, and common-in-sense. The chapters each have an apparent colour and mark a different region of Japan. Within each region are the major cities present plus some notable other areas (eg: Hot Springs, Mountains, and Beaches). There are plenty of pictures, diagrams, charts, important information sheets, etc, throughout the book. (eg: each region has a breakdown map of cities/notable places). Within the major... read more

Visual Delights to Enchant the Traveler to Japan

By Elaine Baran "Japan Travel Expert" - March 28, 2009

I work as a specialized travel planner for travel to Japan and use this guide as a complement to the materials that I send to my clients. Why? Because the guide is great for pictures, general descriptions, diagrams and for giving a very brief flavor of a place and works very well when in conjunction with detailed instructions. I suggest treating it as a "McGuide" - it satisfies the immediate need for a bit of information while you're on the road. On the other hand, I would never recommend this guide as the only guide to take to Japan if you're doing serious travel planning while on the road, since there's just not enough hard information to make critical decisions on what to see and do on any given day. Many other reviewers have pointed out that there are few suggestions, no prioritization and not much "how to". On my last trip to Japan we used it as a quick guide on what to see in the smaller places and then relied on the ubiquitous tourist board stands to get information on... read more

AVAILABILITY
Merchant	Format	Price
Amazon US	Paperback	$0.01 - $28.00
eBooks.com	Digital (PDF)	$25.00
BookByte	Paperback	$18.75
eCampus	Paperback	~~$27.30~~ discount!