Frommer's EasyGuide to Tokyo, Kyoto and Western Honshu

I recently returned from a trip to Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima) and this was one of the travel/tour guide books that I found to be the most helpful. Especially because it covered the area I was going - I cannot recommend strongly enough that if going to Japan you go to Kyoto - but this guide book covered everything that I needed and was looking for without feeling too general. I found the map to be the best as well. I also found the subway map of Tokyo in the back to have been the most helpful of the guides - rather it was most similar to what I found in Tokyo. There are not color photos as there are in other books. But cutting out the 'fluff' made this book useable and easy to transport across the globe and around Japan. I found the organization and ease of use with this Frommer's guide the easiest of all the books I bought. I also found many tips, hints, and gems for my trip which made it so memorable and the trip of a lifetime - in this book! I wondered if this book would be a duplicate of my 3 lonely planet books and a Terrior Guide but it was truly a purchase I was so grateful I made and made my trip so much better! In fact it was the only official 'guidebook' I traveled with (I took my Terroir Guide, Food, Sake, Tokyo also which is great too!). Having looked at and ordered all the guides out there I think you'll get the most bang for your buck with this guide. This guide does cover other 'side trips' the largest section devoted to Osaka. But there is information on Hiroshima, Nara, Miyajima, Kamakura, Nikko, Hakone, Kanazawa, Ogimachi, Hida Takayama, & Kurashiki. Of course the bulk of the book covers Tokyo and it's individual neighborhoods and Kyoto. As a side note, I also found the best explanation on Japan Railway passes in this book. Importantly, this book gave great links and specifics as to locations in certain subway/rail stations to find maps/english speaking guides (though I didn't have an issue with this when traveling), information about post offices, obtaining wi-fi, exchanging money, Japan travel tourism, embassies, and health and hospital info.

This book came in incredibly handy over my recent trip to Japan. I had never been to Japan, and was worried that I would be limiting myself with a book that did not cover ALL of Japan. However, my trip was to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima, and this book covered all of them, especially the first 3, with incredible detail and insider knowledge. The larger full Japan coverage books were way too big and provided almost too much general coverage, whereas this book has a great focused concentration. I appreciated that the author gave history and cultural backgrounds in the beginning of the book and before each chapter/city, because this really is a complex culture that is so different than Western culture and even other Asian countries I have visited. Also, as with most cities, there are specific traditions, dishes and mannerisms, that differ between the cities. All the sightseeing itineraries, restaurants recommendations, and sightseeing/attractions grades, were all spot-on with my likings. I am mid 30's and went with my wife and some friends, and I think this book definitely is geared towards the 30+ demographic. I also had a Lonely Planet guide, and 2 other smaller publication guides with me, and this was by far the best of all of them.

An excellent guide to Kyoto and Tokyo, with informative and often witty blurbs on hotels, restaurants, and sites. The star ratings for sites were also a great quick glance to decide which of the hundreds of temples to visit! I found it lacking in a couple areas: no photos; and not much information on public transportation in Kyoto. In fact, for both cities, a more thorough description of how to use the subways would be helpful. I would recommend this guide as it's helpful and more lightweight than others.

Japan is amazing! But it also can be really confusing finding where you're going, and almost no one speaks English. Thank goodness we got this guide!! I bought the E version a few days after we arrived, and it made all the difference. We were able to figure out how to use public transportation with its help, found the most amazing restaurants (sometimes on the second floor or higher of buildings, so we'd never have found them on our own) and most importantly it really helped us understand Japanese etiquette, culture and history. It was like I was wearing a blindfold that was suddenly removed, because I understood what I was seeing. A GREAT book!!!

I am generally a fan of Frommer’s guides but this one was especially great. The author is a great storyteller (it was really fun to read). She did a nice job explaining cultural differences and customs. I stayed at several of the recommended hotels in Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo — all extremely well located and pleasant. And we found delightful restaurants and shops that were off the beaten path thanks to her guidance. Highly recommend.

It was an ok guide but far from a great one. I used the Tokyo section. It was not clear in the book that the neighborhoods were so big that you had to go to different metro stations to see things in the same area. It was an unreasonably far walk (up to 30 min or more) unless you had plenty of time to kill. Often the directions were not clear enough or were lacking entirely, which led to getting good and lost and to a lot of wasted precious time. The metro stations are huge with many, many exits and the book doesn't warn you or tell you which exits to take. The author doesn't care for shrines it seems so the two or one star ratings lead you to not prioritize them when they are lovely and culturally important in some cases. Some worthwhile places I ran across were not in the book at all or were mentioned only in passing. Over time, I came to rely far more on the Japanese guide put out in hotels. It offered site seeing ideas and better maps that this book didn't offer.

In good shape. Great maps and great info.

Useful book which we found very helpful.

Very easy to read and find interesting points of interest

Very informative.

Easy to read and find stuff, gives good advise, according to people who have already been there