or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
22 used & new from $5.38

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
Sorry!
Little Adventures in Tokyo: 39 Thrills for the Urban Explorer
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

Little Adventures in Tokyo: 39 Thrills for the Urban Explorer (Paperback)

~ (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

List Price: $14.95
Price: $10.17 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $4.78 (32%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Temporarily out of stock.
Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your account will only be charged when we ship the item.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

8 new from $6.00 14 used from $5.38

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Paperback $10.17 $6.00 $5.38

Frequently Bought Together

Little Adventures in Tokyo: 39 Thrills for the Urban Explorer + Tokyo City Atlas: A Bilingual Guide (3rd Ed.) + Time Out Guide to Tokyo, 5th Edition
Price For All Three: $40.06

Some of these items ship sooner than the others. Show details

  • This item: Little Adventures in Tokyo: 39 Thrills for the Urban Explorer by Rick Kennedy

    Temporarily out of stock.
    Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your account will only be charged when we ship the item.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Tokyo City Atlas: A Bilingual Guide (3rd Ed.) by Kodansha International

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Time Out Guide to Tokyo, 5th Edition by Time Out

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Time Out Guide to Tokyo, 5th Edition

Time Out Guide to Tokyo, 5th Edition

by Time Out
4.2 out of 5 stars (25)  $13.57
Streetwise Tokyo Laminated City Center Street Map

Streetwise Tokyo Laminated City Center Street Map

by Streetwise Maps
3.6 out of 5 stars (5)  $8.95
The Little Tokyo Subway Guidebook: Everything You Need to Know to Get Around the City and Beyond

The Little Tokyo Subway Guidebook: Everything You Need to Know to Get Around the City and Beyond

by IBC Publishing
Old Kyoto: The Updated Guide to Traditional Shops, Restaurants, and Inns

Old Kyoto: The Updated Guide to Traditional Shops, Restaurants, and Inns

by Diane Durston
4.5 out of 5 stars (24)  $14.96
Tokyo Encounter (Best Of)

Tokyo Encounter (Best Of)

by Wendy Yanagihara
3.1 out of 5 stars (21)  $9.35
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Rick Kennedy, author of Good Tokyo Restaurants and Home Sweet Tokyo, has lived in Tokyo for 20 years and knows the city well. When he decided to write Little Adventures in Tokyo, he didn't want to replicate the other comprehensive cinderblock-like guides on the market. He wanted to create a slim, lightweight guide to Tokyo fun, because Tokyo can be overwhelming enough without your guidebook inundating you with information, too. Whether you find yourself in Tokyo on vacation or business, you'll want your explorations in manageable portions. Kennedy organizes the adventures by five Tokyo moods (Old Tokyo, The Metropolis, Tokyo Bizarro, Time Out, and Listen, I Found This Great Place....), cross-references them by location and time, and includes good maps. But the real beauty of this book lies in its tone and the quality of the excursions it details. From the ritual appreciation of incense (kohdo) to the quiet harmonies of old Japanese farmhouses (minka-en) to harvesting rice in the Ginza and skiing inside the SSAWS Ski Dome, Kennedy leads you through the jumble of Tokyo's many neighborhoods. She introduces you to the idiosyncratic pleasures of one of the world's great cities, enabling you to experience the Japanese department store in all its ritualistic splendor, soak in Tokyo's largest bathing facility, or put yourself in the hands of a Shiatsu master. Engagingly readable and full of interesting asides on Tokyo lore, Kennedy's guide provides a great service to the Tokyo-visiting public.


Review

"A delightful, off-beat tour to fascinating places we would never find by ourselves." -The Daily Breeze -- -The Daily Breeze

"A delightful, off-beat tour to fascinating places we would never find by ourselves." -The Daily Breeze -- Review

"The best insiders' guide to Tokyo." -Asia-Pacific Travel Magazine -- -Asia-Pacific Travel Magazine

Product Details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Stone Bridge Press; Updated edition (September 1, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1880656345
  • ISBN-13: 978-1880656341
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,178 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #10 in  Books > Travel > Asia > Japan > Tokyo
    #82 in  Books > History > Asia > Japan

More About the Author

Rick Kennedy
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Visit Amazon's Rick Kennedy Page

Look Inside This Book


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Little Adventures in Tokyo: 39 Thrills for the Urban Explorer
48% buy the item featured on this page:
Little Adventures in Tokyo: 39 Thrills for the Urban Explorer 4.4 out of 5 stars (23)
$10.17
Tokyo City Atlas: A Bilingual Guide (3rd Ed.)
21% buy
Tokyo City Atlas: A Bilingual Guide (3rd Ed.) 4.7 out of 5 stars (58)
$16.32
The Rough Guide to Japan Fourth Edition (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
12% buy
The Rough Guide to Japan Fourth Edition (Rough Guide Travel Guides) 4.6 out of 5 stars (7)
$19.13
Time Out Guide to Tokyo, 5th Edition
11% buy
Time Out Guide to Tokyo, 5th Edition 4.2 out of 5 stars (25)
$13.57

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

23 Reviews
5 star:
 (15)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Top marks for usefulness, October 15, 2000
By Headbang8 (Bogenhausen, Munich) - See all my reviews
When I first visited Tokyo, it seemed perplexing and impenetrable.

There are few well-known must-see tourist attractions from which to get your bearings; not like London with Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly, New York with Times Square and the Statue of Liberty, or Paris with Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower (though, confusingly, Tokyo has one of those, too.)

No, Tokyo is not a city of things to see, so much as a city where people meet to create and exchange ideas--and have a rollicking good time when they can. Rick Kennedy introduces the stories and personalities of this utterly fascinating city to us.

Most of the Little Adventures are walking tours with explicit directions, a godsend in a densely-packed, chaotically organised place with an unintelligible address system. A city of Tokyo's size and wealth can afford to indulge almost every whim, and Kennedy shows a good selection of whims, both the eccentric and the commonplace. Perfect example: without this book, I would never have visited the particular art supplies shop where the brushmaker who supplied Picasso still works. I visited Akihabara several times before discovering that the radio building had an upstairs level...full of antiques.

Since few people have the room to entertain at home, Tokyo abounds in restaurants, bars, and other social places. Rick seems to have visited all of them. (A sister publication and website, Tokyo Q, gives an even better guide to restaurants, as well as being funkier)

The only thing that keeps me from giving this guide five stars is that a few of these little adventures really do require some Japanese language skill to get the best out of them, which Kennedy seems to gloss over.

But it's wonderful gloss. While the information Kennedy gives us is useful, the great joy of this book is its charming, poised, mature style. Better than Bill Bryson, and often as funny. A real pleasure to read.

When friends visit me in Tokyo, I send them my copy in advance. I find that they're able to amuse themselves admirably while I'm busy, and I can enjoy myself with them when I'm not.

Next edition, maybe he'll add an orientation walk around Shibuya? I work near Shibuya and visit regularly, but it still baffles me.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Glimpse of Tokyo - Excellent guide and good read, February 13, 2004
"Little Adventures in Tokyo" does more than offer a guidebook to this amazing city, it also offers hints of the various flavors of Tokyo from the most famous to the most infamous. A great amount of information is packed into this slim volume. Each of the 39 adventures is a view point.

While not exactly an "off the beaten path" type of guide, there is plenty here to compliment a Lonely Planet or Frommer's. "Little Adventures in Tokyo" is more like having a friend showing you around his beloved city, from the top sites to his favorite hole-in-the-wall. Major attractions like Tsukiji, the famous fresh fish market (Adventure 10), are illuminated in fine detail. Interesting little bits like where to go for avante-guarde theater (Adventure 27) show an entirely different side. Variety is the key here, ranging from high priced to free, from esoteric to amusement.

The book is very well written, and can be read as a traveler's tales account of Tokyo in its own right, as well as used as a guide book. Several of the adventures I will never do, but I enjoyed reading about them all the same. It seems to be written a little more for residents than casual travelers, as several of the Adventures take some time.

The only word of warning is to take the prices with a grain of salt, as in Japan's rapidly changing economy things don't stay the same for long. I found everything to be about 100 yen more than the guide prices.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Non-touristy things to do ..., August 29, 2000
One of the enjoyable things about this book is that for the most part, they're all things to do and places to go that one has never heard of. I bought this book about 3/4 of the way through my stay of one year in Yokohama (just south of Tokyo), and I regret that I couldn't make more time to do more of the things in this book.

If you're on a whirlwind tour of Tokyo and/or Japan, you can leave this book at home. But if you'll be in Tokyo for even a week or more, I highly recommend trying the tea ceremony, seeing some minka, meditation, going to a public bath, etc. These are activities many Japanese people don't know about or don't take the time to do often. Moreover, they're activities that very few tourists (read: gaijin) do, so it is more of an enjoyable experience in my opinion.

Great book for those who enjoy places off the beaten path ...

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The side of Tokyo you did not know about
I have been living in Japan for over 3 years now and I have already purchased 2 guides. Both have been very useful, but this was completely different than either of them... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Kintaro

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic in it's day
This book came out in 1998, and captured much of the excitement of one of the worlds great cities. In 1999 and 2000, it was a must-have in the Tokyo expat community, and many... Read more
Published 14 months ago by therosen

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Walk Through Old Tokyo
Although a few locations mentioned in the guidebook have changed in the ten years since this book was published, I found it a wonderful guide to adventure. Read more
Published 16 months ago by S. Henn

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book if you are going to Tokyo (or even just contemplating it)
Rick is a fabulous writer. Each chapter is like a "Talk of the Town" column in the New Yorker and provides a guide to a quirky little outing in Tokyo that you will not find in... Read more
Published 17 months ago by D. B Whittle

5.0 out of 5 stars Little Dventures in Tokyo
Excellent. A must for both residents and tourists.
I have lived here for 6 years and had not seen the city under such light. Read more
Published on May 31, 2007 by Tommaso Santojanni

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish there was a book like this for every travel destination
For my first trip to Tokyo, I took along this book and a Lonely Planet. I never used my Lonely Planet but went on atleast 15 of the little advetures described in this book... Read more
Published on August 17, 2006 by K. Boyle

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but somewhat misleading and out of date
I've been to Japan several times on business. I picked up Little Adventures in Tokyo for my second trip, and it was a fun read and great inspiration to get out and try new and... Read more
Published on August 14, 2006 by Sitting in Seattle

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Ideas for Tokyo Sightseeing
See also my review for "Tokyo City Atlas". This book by Kennedy is pretty unique. He gives some great "off the beaten track" ideas for folks to explore. Read more
Published on December 24, 2005 by Joe Bruce

1.0 out of 5 stars Do you speak Japanese -- if not DONT BUY IT!
Dont buy this book unless you are fluent in Japanese bc almost all of the activities involve some knowledge of Japanese. Read more
Published on March 28, 2005 by Michelle Dette Gannon

3.0 out of 5 stars Too many common adventures
I purchased this book because I wanted to escape the world of lousy planet and was looking for a guidebook that could give me a fresh, different perspective to this world... Read more
Published on September 5, 2002 by Fabian Gonzales

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   




Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.