Insight Guide Tokyo (Insight City Guides) (Paperback)

by Francis Doral (Author) "The lands that are now the Japanese archipelago have been inhabited by human beings for at least 30,000 years, and maybe for as long as..." (more)
Key Phrases: capsule hotels, washi paper, love hotels, Edo Period, Tokyo Bay, Sumida River (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Insight Guides, the world's largest visual travel guide series, in association with Discovery Channel, the world's premier source of nonfiction entertainment, provides more insight than ever. From the most popular resort cities to the most exotic villages, Insight Guides capture the unique character of each culture with an insider's perspective. Inside every Insight Guide you'll find: .Evocative, full-colour photography on every page .Cross-referenced, full-colour maps throughout .A brief introduction including a historical timeline .Lively essays by local writers on the culture, history, and people .Expert evaluations on the sights really worth seeing .Special features spotlighting particular topics of interest .A comprehensive Travel Tips section with listings of the best restaurants, hotels, and attractions, as well as practical information on getting around and advice for travel with children

About the Author
Since 2000. Hammond, American Map, Langenscheidt Dictionaries, Insight Travel Guides, Delorme – the famous names in the Langenscheidt family. These represent the most authoritative, up-to-date, and extensive travel and reference products available. In January 2003, the renowned Berlitz Publishing became part of the Langenscheidt Group. The Langenscheidt Publishing Group, the premier group of map and travel companies, offers over 4,000 North American and international street maps, road maps, atlases, language-learning, bilingual dictionaries, and travel-related products covering countries, cities, and languages in every continent.

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Insight Guides; 3rd Updtd edition (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9812349677
• ISBN-13: 978-9812349675
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,826,110 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tokyo, November 19, 2003

By A Customer

This book is great for planning a trip to Tokyo. It shows all the attractions that are of interest and is a great companion for finding places to dine, stay, and shop. This guide has it all with high-quality photogrpahs and maps on every page. This is a must of a beginner traveller to Tokyo or anywhere in Japan.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Book But Not So Practical, March 30, 2005

By	L. Gallegos (CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This guide has beautiful color pictures and lots of information. Over 100 pages is just information about Japan. The guide part of the book is split into districts and talks about the different sights to see. The pictures and this organization is nice for planning a trip to Japan, or reading up on the history of Japan, however it's not as practical as a companion book to carry with you.

First of all, it's heavy. You wouldn't want to carry a 1.5-pound book around. It doesn't have as many maps as some of the other guides do and the organization can be a little confusing if you want to look up info on just one place. The major problem with this guide is its complete lack of Japanese characters. It doesn't write hotel names, restaurant names, or anything in Japanese characters for you. If you want a book to carry around on your travels I would recommend Lonely Planet Tokyo instead.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful with great historical information, December 30, 2008

By	Lisa Shea "LisaShea.com" - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Insight Guide Tokyo (Insight Guides) (Paperback)

Whenever I travel I like to buy several guide books to compare their notes, learn about everything I can and soak up the culture. That way when I get tehre I recognize monuments and locations and have a sense for the meaning behind what I see. The Insight Guides - Tokyo book does a great job of providing this information.

There are MANY full color glossy images in here so that you get a real sense about what Tokyo is all about. There are many cityscapes of the different regions, as well as images of historical buildings, the people, fish markets, and much more. It really helps to immerse you into this world.

The text is informative, entertaining, and quite useful. They bold key words so that you can spot them in a scan, but it's really best to simply read through the material, getting a sense of Tokyo, what makes it unique. There's a wealth of historical information so you can understand why things are done a certain way or why a given monument is so treasured.

I definitely agree that this is "larger than hip pocket size". This isn't the one I'd carry with me on the subway while moving from place to place. Other books fulfill that need quite nicely. This is the reference guide I carry in my suitcase, to read on the plane, to be prepared before I make my trip and to go back to refer to while I'm at a location. For those purposes this does admirably.

Highly recommended.