DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Japan Paperback – March 18, 2013

Book was in good condition and delivered in a timely manner.

We are currently using this guide book to plan our first trip to Japan. It's is thorough & well organized. Being that we are unfamiliar with Japan & the thousands of places to visit, the lists, maps, & attractive photographs help steer you in the right direction.In the past, we mainly used online guides (lonely planet, trip advisor, & blogs) to plan our international travel. Now that I see all the info & locations I have not come across online, it makes me realize that printed books are also essential.I love that the maps are organized by not only major cities, but the areas within the city (e.g. Northern Tokyo, Central Tokyo, etc.). Having the sites plotted on the map is something that very helpful for efficient planning of multiple sites per day. The book also includes rough maps of major museums & many street level maps.

DK guides were recommended to me by a member. I can understand why. The illustrations and photos are beautiful. The transit maps are easily understood and street by street maps are very helpful. I like the section on phrases in the back because although most Japanese speak or understand at least a little bit of English they do appreciate it when you try to speak in Japanese. This is considered to be a sign of respect of their culture. The guide has lots if unexpected tidbits that can save a lot of frustration, like how impossible it is to find a street address. Not even the locals an do that. l highly recommend these great books.

Used this last March and found the practical information at the back of the book spot on. My sister-in-law is going in May this year and so I sent the updated edition to her and she loved the visuals and the advice on preparation for the trip to Japan. She was most interested in the cultural tidbits and the customs. She wanted to be cognizant of dos and don'ts so she would be a welcome traveler. Although she's going on a tour, she will have some free time to plan side trips and this book was the ticket for her to choose those places of particular interest to her.

Fantastic book that breaks down all the regions of Japan plus some of the larger cities in more detail. The pictures are fantastic!! The Survival Guide in the back is not to be missed. Some incredible tid-bits in there that really help you understand the cultural differences in Japan and how to act so you don't look like the clueless tourist. A lot of "ah-ha's" in that section if you read it while you are in Japan. We took this book with us everyday and really helped us to prioritize what to see, plus to know when things were open, etc.

Good maps. Great pictures. A small section on the city of Sapporo, which has a major Snow Festival, wish there was more information on that. But all in all, a good book, Very heavy for it's size though. Tough one to carry around. I'm sure they want nice paperstock for glossy photos, but if there was any way the weight of this book could be decreased, it would make it even better.

With the internet today I didn't want a guide with 58 thousand restaurant and hotel suggestions. I wanted photos of things to see, what they're about and why they're important. That is this guide. I borrowed several from the library and this is the only one worth purchasing to take with me to Japan. It's a bit heavy- I wish it came in an e-format for my e-reader! But it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for the content. I even bought a copy for my parents who will be visiting me in Japan!

I like the series because you get pictures. I recommend these for brainstorming regions that you'd like to see. This will not provide walking tours, detailed maps, or day-to-day plans. Too bad Rick Steves doesn't have an Asia series because he is the king of "follow my lead" tour guides

I normally like Eye Witness guide but having read a lot about the country on other book sources, I found this guide a bit 'obvious' and stuck in the past in that it seems to only contain photos and description of the most famous highlights. The photos are quite standard postcard-like and not very imaginative.What it is useful for is that it 'zooms in' on certain attractions and provides interesting insider info on them, bit like 'case studies'. So during my Japan trip, when I am somewhere that didn't have any English translations, I would check this guide to see if they have any good info. I luck out a few times so it makes it worthwhile to bring along.

Japan is a very long country, so make sure you need this, and not just the Tokyo version- the Tokyo guide book covers the most popular excursions that you can do in a day on the bullet trains.The part about Japanese customs is worth reading, take note of the section about public toilets. They are as weird as they sound.And use the Japanese Tourist centre if you're near London- very helpful before you go.

Good product, little heavy but extremely useful with city maps for navigating Japan as our Wi-Fi and Google maps not available over their ( need to buy router at airport. Don’t use Expedia for this.)

I bought this book as a condensed guide to carry with us on our visit to Japan in March. We found it really useful as we could find Temples and Shrines that weren't overcrowded. The street maps were great for finding our around during our self-guided tour.

I love, love love DK Eyewitness Travel Guides!I am just planing to travel to Japan and it helps a lot! Beautiful pictures, lots of good advices, tips, informations.