Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Lonely Planet Japan (Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit) by Chris Taylor, Robert Strauss, Tony Wheeler ISBN: 0-86442-237-7 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: January, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.77 (35 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Not impressive, despite some good aspects
Comment: In brief: in Japan, LP is miles behind Rough Guide, which in terms of helpfulness, detail and balance shines like a crazy diamond. There is no reason to buy it except for brand loyalty.
In detail: I am not a natural fan of Lonely Planet and Rough Guides, but on my previous trip to Japan, Rough Guide impressed me beyond belief - I found it the best guide on the market. This time, I decided to turn it up a notch and bought a Lonely Planet Japan.
I tried to approach it with an open mind - and I admit that it is much, much better than many Lonely Planets that I have seen. There is almost no cheap anti-American rhetoric (good job they kept spiteful fingers of Deanna Swaney well away from this one). The guide, however, did not think it was worth mentioning that Japan's Norhern Territories are still occupied by Russia and that this is one place on earth where World War II has not ended, because the two countries still do not have a peace treaty. Imagine now that these territories were occupied by the Americans: there would be many indignant passages denouncing imperialism of "yankees". Not a big score on fairness front.
Most maps are better than cheap-and-lazy imitations found in many Lonely Planet books, and there is plenty of information on lodging beyond your local dumpster.
Even better, Lonely Planet seems to finally have ditched their senile ramblings on flight information and no longer focuses on irrelevant oddities of Apex Fares and Courier Flights. However, the book still maliciously avoids any mention of mainstream ticketing and hotel booking websites, making sure those who can least afford it are ripped off by "youth travel specialists". I would like to hope they do that out of their usual misguided sense of political correctness - otherwise it is just a blatant product placement, which would be really hypocritical.
On the plus side, finally there are some professionally-made photographs and not granma's snaps made with disposable camera. Use of kanji characters alongside with main placenames and attractions is a nice gesture and helpful to those of us who have not commited themselves to systematic studies of writing in Japanese but would like to learn a sign or two.
The biggest criticism is that the guide is really patchy and chaotic. There is very little information on train travel times and frequencies. Hotel descriptions are lazy and pricing info is oftern inaccurate.
Descriptions of attractions are too varied in their quality to be reliable, and often look decidedly lazy. Lonely Planet often disappoints with their apparent "been-there-done-that" approach, where it seems like a traveller is encouraged to do some box-ticking and to roam around without any focus or genuine interest.
The Tokyo part is stunningly disappointing, while Kyoto and Nara chapters are more adequate. It seems that the authors do not like Tokyo much and just go through the motions. I liked Sapporo and Okinawa bits, which I thought were well researched and more inspired than descriptions of more mainstream destinations.
Non-geographic chapters on arts and cuisine are very good, but they are not sufficient to offset the general feeling of a weak guide. For many, a trip to Japan is an expensive and long-anticipated trip of a lifetime; you will need the best guide that money can buy. Lonely Planet is not up to task on this ocassion.
Rating: 3
Summary: A little Confusing and Disorganized
Comment: While planning my trip to JApan I purchased this. It helped me alot. But, It took me a very long time to read through it. Alot of things are just packed on to one page and the format they use for one city is often different from the format on another city. Despite that I think this book is very wonderful and helped me a ton.
Rating: 4
Summary: Unhappy with some of the Lodgings
Comment: The maps in this series could use some work. They could use some detail. Directions could be much better. I often found dirrections to be confusing or outright wrong.
Be careful when booking rooms also. I was especially unhappy with the Matsubaya Ryokan that I booked in Kyoto which was said to be "a favorite with the readers". I often stay at mid-ranged price lodgings. Well this place, for about 50 dollars a night per person had some of the rudest mangaers I had ever met. It was completely filthy with rat droppings on the kitchen floor. The odor coming from the bathroom was especially hideous. The toilets overflowed daily. And the staff reputedly tried to overcharge their customers.
What was really great is the information in the things to do sections. The authors give great details about places to go. They also give really great suggestions for places to go that you can't find in other books. For this reason I suggest this book to friends.
 |
Title: Lonely Planet Japanese Phrasebook (LONELY PLANET JAPANESE PHRASEBOOK) by Yoshi Abe ISBN: 086442616X Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: October, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
 |
Title: Lonely Planet Tokyo (LONELY PLANET TOKYO) by John Ashburne, Chris Rowthorn ISBN: 1740590597 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: September, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.99 |
 |
Title: Hiking in Japan (Lonely Planet Walking Guides) by Mason Florence, Craig McLachlan, Richard Ryall, Anthony Weersing, Chris Roethorn ISBN: 1864500395 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: January, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
 |
Title: Gateway to Japan (Kodansha Guide) by June Kinoshita, Nicholas Palevsky ISBN: 477002018X Publisher: Kodansha International Pub. Date: June, 1998 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
 |
Title: Lonely Planet Kyoto (Kyoto, 2nd Ed) by Chris Rowthorn, Mason Florence ISBN: 1740590600 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: December, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.99 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
