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57 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Flawed, March 8, 2008
This review is from: Tokyo (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Paperback)
I really like the DK travel guides. But, right away I was taken aback at the cover photo. The COVER PHOTO! The central building in the shot of Shibuya crossing hasn't been in existence for nearly a decade. Does this 2008 book promise to be up to date? No. I spent twenty minutes flipping through it and noticed some errors. On Map1, page 184, they show Hotel Sunroute Akasaka as being a little south west of Shinjuku Station. Pity those who seek to find that hotel at this spot. Actually, it is Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku Hotel that is here. On page 10 Tokyo Dome is referred to as an amusement park. It is not. It is a sports stadium. Next to Tokyo Dome is, indeed, an amusement park but it is called Korakuen. How much time are families going to waste finding that amusement park while looking for or asking directions to Tokyo Dome?
Every time I pick up this book I find more egregious errors. I just noticed that the map on pages 86-87 has Mitaka in the mountains to the west of Hachioji. It is not. Mitaka is to the east of Hachioji about 20 some minutes via the Chuo Line or 23.3km.
Yesterday I noticed that DK has written on page 60 that "Kinokuniya Bookstore has one of Tokyo's best selections of foreign books." It does, but not the Kinokuniya store the arrow is pointing to. That extensive foreign book section was moved to another, newer Kinokuniya more than a decade ago. It is referred to by the Kinokuniya company as the Shinjuku South Store. The arrow is pointing at the Shinjuku Main Store. In the Directory on page 145 we are led to find it on Map1, B1 but there is no Kinokuniya listed anywhere there. The Kinokuniya, which is most useful to non-Japanese readers of this book, or, at least one floor of it, should be shown to the south of Takashimaya below Tokyu Hands but there is no Tokyu Hands listed there either, let alone the bookstore in question.
So, please buy this book if you think you might enjoy armchair travel to Tokyo, or if you enjoy looking at pretty pictures. But don't bring this book to Tokyo thinking it will help you out. Just when you least expect it, or when you need it the most, the faulty fact checking and negligent editing may very well stab you in the back with its inaccuracies.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some Flaws, but Overall a Good Book, February 17, 2009
This review is from: Tokyo (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Paperback)
For the most part this is a fun and informative book. As a previous reviewer noted there are some mistakes, but, honestly, I expect there to be some mistakes in just about every travel book I read. (Although a few in this book could have been easily avoided by a simple internet search.)
The color photos are wonderful, and the history section, while brief, is easy to read and knowledgable. Its a good jumping off book for planning a trip, although again you might want to compare to another travel book or the internet just to make sure you have all the facts straight.
This book definately inspires you however and most of the discriptions of locations and whatnot are accurate. Its a good addition to a collection as most travel books do not include color photos.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Guide for Tokyo, May 17, 2008
This review is from: Tokyo (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Paperback)
I used this guide for a 2 day trip to Tokyo. I found that the city is a collection of different areas, each with its own vibe and things to do. The book does a good job of telling you what those differences are. As with other Eyewitness guides, it has an excellent set of pictures, some drawings and some photos, with annotations to help you understand them. The guide for restaurants was limited, but excellent. We used it to find a terrific sushi restaurant in Shibuya--Sushi Ouichi. I kept this book for my next trip. The maps were somewhat helpful. However, Tokyo is a maze of small streets. You'll need a much better map to find something off the main streets, and even then it will be challenge. The map for the sushi restaurant showed it on the right street but the wrong block.
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