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Lonely Planet Tokyo (Paperback) (平装)
by Andrew Bender, Wendy Yanagihara
| Category:
Travel, Tokyo |
| Market price: ¥ 218.00
MSL price:
¥ 208.00
[ Shop incentives ]
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| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Welcome to Tokyo, this book will guide you to have a perfect travel there. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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J. A Carty (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-17 00:00>
My week trip to Tokyo was made much easier with this guide. I researched a great deal before I took the trip using this book and others but this is ultimately the travel guide that came with me.
The book has a good layout by separating the areas of Tokyo into their distinct areas. I do wish there had been a larger overall map to get a better picture of how close together the actual areas were.
The most used portion of the book for me was the train and subway maps at the back of the guide. They are invaluable! The actual directions given to sights from the subway exits, however, is not accurate. You are really on your own for that.
I personally did not use the referrals for restaurants but I definitely used the shopping and site guides. We had a fantastic trip and this book fit great into a small bag. Highly recommend. I can't wait to go back!
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M. Slovey (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-17 00:00>
I've just returned from my first 10 day trip to Tokyo and had to write about how fantastic this guide book was. The maps were excellent - especially since the streets in Tokyo are not always labeled. They enabled my group and I to find the excellent clubs, shrines, temples and restaurants with ease. All the places we checked out in the guide were fantastic and the paragraph descriptions were insightful and helpful. I will always take a Time Out Guide when traveling going forward!
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-17 00:00>
I did my research for months before going to Tokyo in August 2004. My boyfriend and I are non-Japanese speakers, and we did the traveling sans-tour-guides. I leafed through quite a few guides before picking out Lonely Planet-Japan and Timeout-Tokyo. Since I only stayed in Tokyo for two weeks, I heavily relied on the Timeout guide. It made for a wonderful, comprehensive experience. I left only 14 days later feeling like I have not missed anything major (something very hard to do in Tokyo, be prepared to be exhausted).
The out of town trip to Kamakura was very worthwhile, as well as many other recommended sites from the book. Navigating the subway and train lines are made easier with the maps in the back (however, I highly recommend getting a Tokyo city atlas--the bilingual one is probably best) From sights to directions, mostly everything is outlined. The city walks in the book are delightful and clear. The formatting is also very easy to read. In the back of the book are useful information concerning phone cards, post-office, etc. You should read this if you need to do any communication outside of Japan. I wasted $15 on a phone card that did not allow international calls.
Some negatives: limited hotel recommendations. I highly recommend Tokyo Inn (toyoko-inn.com) if you are on a budget. In Shinjuku, Kabuki-cho, there are western double-occupancy rooms for less than 100 dollars a night. Otherwise, the hotels in the book are a little more expensive than what you can find, if you do your homework. Research online. Also, make sure to call the restaurants ahead of time. Places in Tokyo are almost impossible to find sometimes. They also have odd closing hours. Some restaurants recommended in the Timeout Guide no longer exist. Also needs to have a section on peculiar customs (ticket-machine restaurants, etiquette, etc).
But basically, if you just want to do the main attractions plus some local stuff, this guide is probably your best bet. Again, get a street atlas and a basic dictionary, you will need it if you are not traveling with a tour group.
Good luck! Tokyo will be a great adventure if you are prepared. I can't wait to go back. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-17 00:00>
Concise descriptions of places to go to in Tokyo. Most helpful is the inclusion of addresses; where they can be found on the included 34 maps; the average prices of entrees, admissions, cover charge at restaurants, clubs, and bars; dress codes at different places; and websites if they're available. Especially helpful was the simple Japanese Phrases section and the Highlights Boxes. I would recommend this to any first time visitors to Japan. It's an interesting read even if you don't plan on going there. |
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M. L. Asselin (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-17 00:00>
I did a fair amount of research before deciding to purchase this particular guidebook for my week-long trip to Tokyo. I read much of it on the plane ride over, which is when began to see some of its weaknesses. The book could have stood better editing, for one thing.
The writing, in general, though, is engaging, even if it very much underplays the intrinsic interest of so many sites in Tokyo. As an example, at the Meiji Shrine, "the treasure house...isn't that interesting." About the Meiji Jingu Gyoen garden at the same shrine, "It's neither large nor especially beautiful...." Now that might be just the frank information that a tourist wants, except that it seems to be the general attitude the book holds towards so many sites that I thought were more interesting than my "guide" suggested. I felt that I was traveling with a cranky aunt.
Also, as another reviewer suggested, directions to attractions from subway stops are not always very helpful. Try, for instance, to find the Godzilla statue on the sole basis of the directions the guidebook gives. At least in that case, its lack of clarity gave me an opportunity for an amusing interaction with a shop clerk.
For my part, I didn't like having to flip back and forth from the sections on sightseeing to the separate sections addressing food and lodging. When I am touring around, I like to be able to relate the locations of the good restaurants to the places I am visiting. This isn't easily done with this guidebook.
My criticisms aside, I took this relatively slim volume everywhere with me. The maps aren't terrific, but they were helpful. The schematics for the rail and subway system were indispensable. The historical context the book provides is concise and illuminating. The resources section at the back could stand some expansion on topics such as buying international phone cards.
This is a good resource for a short trip. It's just that it could have been a better resource.
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1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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