Gateway to Japan (Kodansha Guide) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Nicholas Palevsky (Author) "Japan underwent three distinct cultural transformations during its prehistoric era (ca. 100,000 B.C.-A.D. 538)..." (more)
Key Phrases: line limited express, architecturally preserved zone, economical inn group, Meiji Restoration, World War, Great Buddha (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... excellent bilingual maps.... If I could take only one guide with me, this would be the one." -- Book World

"It is the guide I wish I had to help me know what I was seeing." -- The Explorers Journal

"The fire and flavor of Japan pour from these pages...." -- Knight-Ridder News Service

"We've tried very hard to find something ... left out of their wide-ranging guide, but we've failed...." -- Traveller's Bookstore

Review

"We've tried very hard to find something ... left out of their wide-ranging guide, but we've failed...." -Traveler's Bookstore
"It is the guide I wish I had to help me know what I was seeing. This is truly a comprehensive guide to read in advance, use during a trip, and to refer to back home." -The Explorers Journal
"... excellent bilingual maps.... If I could take only one guide with me, this would be the one." -Book World
"The fire and flavor of Japan pour from these pages...." -Knight-Ridder News Service
"Filled with history and pop culture, the book presents both the zany and the zen of Japan..." -Newsweek International Edition
"Even if you're not inclined to travel, get the book for the front essays on art, castles, history, matsuri, and my favorite chapter title: 'One-hour Japanese'" -Tokyo Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 808 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha International; 3 edition (June 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 477002018X
• ISBN-13: 978-4770020185
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #380,405 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest, January 19, 2003

By	T. Hooper "thdizzy" (Osaka, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Having lived in Japan for the past 6 years, I've had the opportunity to use all of the major guidebooks (and quite a few of the minor ones as well), and without a doubt, the most useful and informative guidebook is this one. Of course Lonely Planet has lots of information about restaurants and hotels, but you can get the tourist information center to help you with hotels and wherever you walk you can find plenty of nice restaurants. What you really want is a purpose to visit the places that you are visiting. Lonely Planet just tells you what things are, but this guidebooks tells you the history of each place, so you can understand why each place is important. If you're looking for a guidebook to tell you where the clubs, hangouts, and youth hostels are, then maybe this isn't the book you're looking for. However, if you're looking for a nice meaty book to feed you mind on, this is it.

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just about the best guide to Japan available., July 29, 1998

By	Hugh Lawson ([e-mail]) (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

This is my favourite guidebook to Japan. It's pretty chunky, and the shape is a little odd (Why so tall and thin?) but the information in here is just about the best you'll find. These two really love their subject and really love telling stories, too. Every time they describe a temple or shrine they try to give some interesting historical information about it. They also devote over a hundred pages at the beginning of the book to the history and culture of Japan. If that sounds like overkill, don't worry, it's all broken down into reader-friendly chunks, a page or two at a time. In the second part of the book, a region by region guide, they give plenty of suggestions for possible walks/half-day/full-day tours, etc. These are good for helping you plan out your trip in advance - no point in arriving and finding out that the place is three times the size you thought it was! Furthermore, the info. and maps are excellent. None of the scr! ibbled-out-on-napkin stuff here, we are talking graphic shading, altitude-showing, super-imposed-lay-out-displaying map-a-rama - OH BABY! LET'S KIOSK! Er...yes...well, the only possible bad things I can think of to say about this guide book is that the section on the whole of Japan north of Tokyo is a bit skinny, and it doesn't categorize the accomodation sections quite as clearly as, say, the Lonely Planet (see below). But that is a very minor point - overall, their accomodation info. is still just as extensive as any other guide.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Indispensable Guide to Japan, November 12, 2000

By A Customer

I first used this guide when I lived in Japan, and I quickly realized it was the best guidebook I'd ever had. It is unbelievably detailed and informative. You can learn a tremendous amount about the culture, history, and people of Japan before you even step off the plane. You'll want to take this book, for example, when visiting the temples, since it provides a thorough exposition of their architecture and symbolism. What I like especially about this guide, however, is the fact that it's not just one in a series. Rather, it's the product of two people who really know and love Japan, and it shows in the quality of their writing and the depth of the coverage. I can't recommend it highly enough!

By the way, one reviewer lamented the odd size of this book, but rest assured, this 1998 version is more compact and portable than previous editions.