Lonely Planet Japan Pdf Free Download
Tordis Hurrle
where to buy lonely planet in tokyo?2011/10/18 21:50 Hi! Do you know a bookstore that sells the latest editions of lonely planet books in English? One that has low prices will be best :) Thanks!by controlalt (guest)
Re: where to buy lonely planet in tokyo?2011/10/22 20:19 thanks! but are these bookstores really updated? it's just amazon japan still doesn't have the 2011 Lonely Planet Japan it's been published like more than a month ago. and I don't want to waste transpo money going to central Tokyo. thanks! :Dby ctrlaltrate this post as useful
Re: where to buy lonely planet in tokyo?2011/10/23 05:28 Kinokunuya (my previous spelling was likely wrong) is the largest bookstore chain in Japan so they have the latest of everything but not the day they come out..
They also have stores outside Japan. I go to the one in Seattle myself.
Judging by the Lonely Planet on France, England etc. there isn't that much update from one edition to the other.
They might expand or condense some sections but whatever info was wrong several years ago is often still wrong now....
And don't trust too much their info on hotels and restaurants...all the guidebooks in English --for any country--tend to name the same few, year after year...while there are thousands more just as good you can find yourself.
by Red frog (guest)rate this post as useful
I know this sounds crazy and off topic but I just got back from a 15 night trip to Japan. It was fantastic and I would highly recommend going to Japan now as the yen is very weak vs the $. Japan is an easy country to get around and is ideal for the self-guided traveller. The sights, culture and food are amazing. We used the Lonely Planet Japan book and the Frommer's Tokyo, Kyoto and Western Honshu book. Neither book filled our needs. The lonely planet book was way too big and heavy and did not have the info we needed for self travel. No recommendations on how to get places on which train to take etc. It has a lot of info but not what we needed. I was very disappointed in the Lonely Planet book. The Framers book was better and covered where we were going and was lighter. With more useful info but it contained too many pages on hotels and restaurants and not enough on the places to visit.
Rick Steves dabbled with an Asia guidebook early on (my vintage copy of Rick Steves' Asia Through The Backdoor is evidence). Unfortunately, that didn't work out. I would not hold my breath for them to branch out with books or tours across the Pacific nowadays (and in case you have not noticed, the difficult business of publishing travel guide books is circling the drain...enjoy them while you can still get a decent one, they'll soon be as anachronistic as rotary phones or typewriters).
The Fodor's guidebook was helpful for planning a trip to Japan. But I agree that it's not as practical as the Rick Steves series. Our family had a wonderful trip to Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara in December 2019 (just before the COVID-19 lockdown). But it took a lot of planning and careful research using the JNTO website. Someone who loves independent travel in East Asia and can partner with Rick Steves might be able to expand the brand.
Just wanted to share two challenges of going to Japan. One challenge is the need to carry cash with you all the time. I was surprised that some taxis did not handle basic VISA credit card transactions. Another challenge is the language itself - beyond the major cities, it can be difficult to communicate in English (i.e., basic Japanese is helpful). That said, Japan is delightful - the food, culture, and temples are truly memorable.
I'm glad to see someone else besides me remembers RS "Asia Through the Back Door." I lived in Seattle for a year in 1988-89 and once went to see Rick give a slideshow about Asia in a classroom at the U of W and sell copies of that book -- his business was a small, shoestring operation back then. I was preparing for a trip to Asia and found that resource very helpful. Rather than "branch out", though, many years ago he "branched in", abandoning anything to do with Asia or other parts of the world (except for an occasional TV show about Egypt or Iran, or development efforts in places like Ethiopia), and focusing his expertise and business efforts solely on Europe -- which obviously has worked out very well for him.
For a new area (including Europe), I check out a number of guides from my library. I compare what is reviewed and develop a set of personal interests, then further explore directly on the websites of places of interest, travel blogger accounts, Tripadvisor forum and reviews.
We just returned from our second trip to Japan. I found the website mentioned above, together with the TripAdvisor Japan forum, to be most helpful in planning the trip and solving any problems that may arise while there.
-guide.com/