The Rough Guide to Japan Fourth
Edition (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
by Simon Richmond
Excellent Guide Overall, Although With A Few Significant Omissions
The Rough Guide to Japan provides invaluable advice on everything from
getting there (including overland routes) to tracking down the latest and
best places to sleep, eat, drink and shop. There is comprehensive
coverage of all the major sights – and many off the beaten track - from the
northern tip of Hokkaido down to the islands of Okinawa, closer to Taiwan
than Tokyo. Full-colour sections introduce manga and anime, arguably
Japan’s most successful cultural export, its rich variety of festivals and its
stunning traditional gardens. All this is accompanied by in-depth coverage
of Japan’s history, religions, arts, movies and music plus a discussion of
environmental issues. There are maps of all the main towns and tourist
destinations, together with separate colour maps of the Tokyo subway
system and the rail network in Osaka.
Personal Review: The Rough Guide to Japan Fourth Edition
(Rough Guide Travel Guides) by Simon Richmond

Just came back from a memorable 6-day stay in Kyoto, and also used the
book for an earlier trip to Tokyo which is far less interesting. Like most
Rough Guides (I own more than 30), this book is excellent overall, with
detailed descriptions, background information, and clear maps (unlike
Lonely Planet, whose maps are a pain to read). Thought it was almost
perfect until I researched the excellent japan-guide.com and Kyoto's official
web site and realized how many sites were missing from this book. Kyoto
has 17 World Heritage Sites, but 6 of them are not mentioned at all. The
most glaring omission is probably the beautiful Ninna-Ji, which can be
easily visited after the famous Kinkaku-Ji and Ryoan-Ji, the latter only a
10-minute walk away. Ninna-Ji is historically the favorite temple of
Japanese emperors and is famous for a dense grove of late-blossoming
cherry trees, so it's a must see if you've just missed the peak sakura
season. Also missing is Daigo-Ji, which is easily reached on the subway
and can be combined with a visit to Uji. With over 1000 cherry trees, it's
probably the best temple to view cherry blossoms in Kyoto and very
popular with the Japanese. The four other World Heritage Sites missing
are the two Kamo shrines, Kozan-Ji and Ujigami Shrine near the Byodo-in.
Also missing from the book is Kiyamachi Street in the heart of Kyoto,
probably the most beautiful street in Kyoto, at least during the sakura
season. It runs along a small canal which is lined with cherry trees and
crossed with little bridges, prettier and less crowded than the famous
Philosopher's Path, and it's only a 1-minute walk west of the Pontocho
restaurant street. The book also neglects to mention that during the
sakura season, many sites (including the Kiyomizu Temple and the Nijo
Castle) are open at night, which is a great time to revisit the sites as the
buildings and flowering trees are beautifully lit. The Maruyama Park and
the neighboring Yasaka Jinja are also open at night during this time and
together host a lively night market, with lots of Japanese having hanami
parties under the blossoming cherry trees. The Hirano Jinja is yet another
excellent flower-viewing location that's not mentioned.
Despite all these shortcomings, I still give this book 5 stars because it does
provide excellent coverage overall and there's simply no better English
guidebook available. I hope the authors will read my comments and make
improvements in the next edition. For those who read Japanese or
Chinese characters, there's a brilliant "Kyoto Walking Map & Note" which I
found at a 7-11 and was indispensable during my trip.
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