Customer Reviews

Tokyo (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This guide was more about travel in Japan than Tokyo which is disappointing since there is plenty to cover in Tokyo itself. I was disappointed by the number of maps in the guide and found the maps that were posted nearly impossible to read. Found some of the restaurant reviews to be very out of date.

I went to Japan for the first time last year and brought with me the DK Eyewitness Guide to Tokyo and a Lonely Planet guide for the rest of Japan. I wish I had brought my DK Japan with me instead of Lonely Planet, because it turned out that DK was about a hundred times more helpful than Lonely Planet.

The DK Guide is well-organized, with sections at the back on the intricacies of public transportation, ordering meals, and etiquette. They wisely include a map of the Tokyo subway line on the inside cover, which is very handy.

The list of attractions is thorough and generally up to date. Every traveler will have a difference of opinion on what should be emphasized, of course. For instance, I would have highlighted the wonderful store Japan Sword over the somewhat disappointing Japanese Sword Museum, but, then again, I never would have known of Japan Sword's existence were it not for this book.

Because Tokyo is so large, it can be difficult to hit everything you want to see and do on a single trip, even if you have several days there. Happily, the DK guide is organized by geographic sections of the city (West, Central, and East), so you can group together attractions in close proximity to one another as you plan your day. It's far less scattershot in its organization than other guides. Every listing includes the attraction's lettered & numbered subway stop and directions for how to find what you're looking for when you emerge from the subway. (But whatever you do, don't come to Tokyo without a decent compass! Maps along the sidewalk don't necessarily have North pointing up.) There is also plenty of information about suggested day trips from Tokyo that are easily accessible if you purchased a Japan Rail Pass before you entered the country. (There's info on Japan Rail Passes in this guide, too.)

For more notable shrines and temples, DK includes highly detailed illustrations of the grounds with specific points of interest. Following their lead will reveal some hidden treasures that other tourists may miss.

There is also a handy section on common words and phrases, with correct pronunciation, that is very user-friendly.

The one major drawback of DK--and the only reason I took the Lonely Planet Guide to Japan instead-- is the weight. Due to its thoroughness and glossy pages, it is rather heavy, which is a problem if you're concerned about keeping the weight of a backpack or shoulder bag down. However, DK Tokyo doesn't weigh too much and is compact enough to fit in the side pocket of most cargo pants.

It was instantly obvious to me once I reached Japan how valuable DK Tokyo would be. So what if the cover photo is out of date, as one other reviewer mentioned? That's no reason to pass it up. It is still quite current and extraordinarily helpful. Reading it carefully before you depart will relieve a lot of pre-trip stress and answer a great many questions. It will also help you determine what you want to see and how to make the most of your time in one of the most endlessly fascinating cities on the planet. I recommend it completely.

Useful combination of sightseeing and activity suggestions with very practical, "what to expect" and "how to function" suggestions and previews. I needed it more for the latter category of information, and felt it served the purpose.

This book is easy to use also has 6 pages of maps.Over all a good guide and a fair price