Condensed Tokyo 1/E

by Wendy Yanagihara and John Ashburne

Complemented by fold-out maps anf full-color photographs, these handy pocket-sized travel guides include the best of city landmarks and must-see sights, restaurants, accommodations, and entertainment... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1740590694
• ISBN13: 9781740590693
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Lonely Planet
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 4.2" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Very helpful

I recently returned from an awesome week in Tokyo, and I'm a little baffled by the negative reviews of this book. It helped me make good choices of what to see and do in Tokyo. Of course this would not suffice as your only source of information, but without it for example I would have missed out on Kichijoji and Inokashira Park, which turned out to be one of the highlights of my visit. Another reviewer said it best: "What I also liked about the Lonely Planet guide was the author's mention of the avant-garde of Tokyo for those who want to see more than just Tokyo Disneyland." If you're just taking Gray Line bus tours this is not the book for you.

Better than Frommer's

I recently bought both this book and Frommer's most recent edition of its guide to Tokyo and my own conclusion is that the Lonely Planet guide is much better than its rival. Lonely Planet's is shorter, but the information presented within is much more useful--especially for my situation as a student with a place to stay and food being taken care of (though Lonely Planet does have information on hotels and restaurants for those who need to know). This guide has several things that Frommer's lacks... 1. a fairly complete section of street maps of downtown Tokyo that include all the subway lines. 2. cross-references within the book between sections on places of interest organized by geography and sections organized by topic. This enables one to look up on a museum, find its location, and then more readily look up other places of interest in the vicinity. 3. more walking tours. 4. correct romaji. I found it extremely annoying that Frommer's would be so careless as to make constant typos with important things such as place names. In one instance, the single-page reference to Tokyo's subway system--the generic schematic that can be had for free from the Tokyo govt--had "Yotsuya" station spelled as "Yetsuya," changing the pronunciation and potentially causing tourists to get lost. 5. More up-to-date. Even though both were printed at roughly the same time (both have 2004 as their year of publication), Lonely Planet has less information that is outdated. Again pointing to the subway reference in Frommer's, the page omits the new Shiodome station, currently a popular destination, even though the station opened back in 2002. What I also liked about the Lonely Planet guide was the author's mention of the avant-garde of Tokyo for those who want to see more than just Tokyo Disneyland. I wouldn't say the Frommer's guide was a waste; I'll probably take both when I go to Japan this year, but suffice to say I do not regret making this additional purchase.

An Excellent and Very Portable Guide to Tokyo

Lonely Planet Tokyo (Condensed Edition), 2002. This condensed guide is a very convenient guide book: it fits into a back pocket nicely, and the covers (including fold-out maps) are very durable as they have a waterproof coating. I have carried this map around during two Tokyo visits, and it has held up nicely (including during rain). The subway and train map is very current, but it does not cover much outside the JR Yamanote line circle, and the writing is pretty small print (but you can supplement it by picking up a free subway map at a subway station). The reviews are very good, but at least one restaurant seems to be out of business less than 6 months after the printing. The addresses are accurate, and usually a subway exit is specified; however, it can still be a challenge to find places in Tokyo, but this book gives you a very good start. I also like the color photos throughout the book. Overall this is a very good, condensed guide to Tokyo, great for carrying around town while a more detailed guide can be left in the hotel room if desired.

You'll be lost without it

Tokyo is not an 'easy' Asian city like Bangkok, Jakarta or Singapore. In Tokyo you can be truly lost, unless you are with locals. Despite my experience as a continuous traveller, I have been literally lost in Tokyo many times - entering pharmacies which I thought were restaurants, looking for inexisting cash machines, wandering around the underground without realizing how many networks there are... This book may not be great, in fact it does have some lacks. Yet, by all means, it is a great tool to feel more comfortable in this Asian capitaly, and also to enjoy it.

very helpfull

I just returned from three months in Japan. I found this book to be extremely informative and helpfull in getting around. The books descriptions of Tokyo's different districts were accurate and detailed. The book helped me become confortable with the Tokyo subway system. The maps are not great, and the difficulty in reading the maps caused me to rate this book a four instead of a five, but it is a must have for anyone travelling to the Tokyo Metropolitan area.