Customer Reviews

Japan: The Complete Guide to Cities Old and New, the Mountains, Seacoasts and Tradition al Culture (Fodor's Japan 14th ed)

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Sign language prevailed when we got lost following the directions and maps in this book. We wasted a half of 2-1/2 precious days in Tokyo looking for what turned out to be a great store (we were skeptical) because the directions were incorrect! Luckily, a travelling companion had picked up Lonely Plant Japan which is a much better purchase and helped us through Kyoto, Nagasaki, and points between.

I purchased this book hoping to get good tips for my trip to Osaka in May 1998. That turned out to be a horrible idea! The maps in this book are sparse and never seem to provide enough detail. The book suggested a visit to the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, in Osaka. When I finally found the museum, it turned out to be under renovation, and was closed. From March through September. Which was most of 1998! The museum was extremely difficult to find, due to poor details (no map and confusing directions). Other examples of oversights included: baseball is played at the Osaka Dome! not the Osaka stadium, as was claimed in Fodor's; Mimiu (restaurant) was relocated to another location, and was extremely hard to find; the subways in Osaka are hard to travel if you don't know kanji (trains are easier). The directions for some of the temples in Kyoto were also quite poor. In short, if you take only one guidebook to Japan, don't buy this one!