Japan

    Much of what is evocative about Japan is the old: Shintō shrines, the tea ceremony in an ornamental garden, a poem brush-painted on a scroll. Yet the excitement of Japan comes from its obsession with modernisation and twists on things new. New Japan’s brightest facet is clearly Tokyo. The architectural landscape includes soaring skyscrapers like the Shinjuku NS Building and the microcosm that is the Roppongi Hills urban development.

Shop for tech goodies at Ōdaiba’s Aqua City or Ginza’s Sony Building, and the hottest haute couture along Omote-sandō or Ginza strips. At all hours, hip kids are out and about in Harajuku and Shibuya, where you can hear the latest J-pop at HMV or Tower Records. Just across Tokyo Bay, Yokohama bustles away – check out Minato Mirai 21 for more urban futurism. Get high on Cosmo Clock Ferris Wheel, the world’s tallest, or edify at the Yokohama Museum of Art, where contemporary art awaits. Move on to the port city of Osaka, which harbours more of New Japan. If you missed Tokyo’s Akihabara (Electric Town), shop at Den Den Town. The dramatic architecture of the Umeda Sky Building warrants a whirl up its glass elevator. Youth culture moves Amerika-Mura; and you can end your Osaka evening in flashy Dōtombori.

Let the bullet train whisk you from futuristic Tokyo to Kyoto’s most exquisite temples. Join a sake-filled cherry blossom party or the drum beat of a local matsuri. Pick your own way through sophisticated mega-cities packed with world-class museums. Then meet the wild snow monkeys of Chūbu. How could one country offer so much? This bestselling guidebook explains it all.


GET MORE FOR YOUR YEN – insider’s budget tips and smart accommodation options mean you can do what you want, whatever your budget

KNOW THE ROUTE – packed with over 150 maps, more than any other guide to Japan

FEAST LIKE AN EMPEROR – our Food & Drink chapter and mouth-watering restaurant listings dish up the best sushi and sashimi on the archipelago

ESCAPE THE CROWDS – comprehensive coverage of Mt Fuji, Okinawa and the Southwest Islands, Kyūshū and Hokkaidō, written by the experts

POINT IT OUT – Japanese script throughout means you’ll always find what you want

Book Description
Let the bullet train whisk you from futuristic Tokyo to Kyoto's most exquisite temples. Join a sake-filled cherry blossom party or the drum beat of a local matsuri. Pick your own way through sophisticated mega-cities packed with world-class museums. Then meet the wild snow monkeys of Chubu. How could one country offer so much? This bestselling guidebook explains it all.

* GET MORE FOR YOUR YEN insider's budget tips and smart accommodation options mean you can do what you want, whatever your budget
* KNOW THE ROUTE packed with over 150 maps, more than any other guide to Japan
* FEAST LIKE AN EMPEROR our Food & Drink chapter and mouth-watering restaurant listings dish up the best sushi and sashimi on the archipelago
* ESCAPE THE CROWDS comprehensive coverage of Mt Fuji, Okinawa and the Southwest Islands, Kyushu and Hokkaido, written by the experts
* POINT IT OUT Japanese script throughout means you'll always find what you want

From the Publisher
Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travellers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travellers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
* When we update our guidebooks, we check every listing, in person, every time.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travellers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travellers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

Book Dimension
length: (cm)19.3 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)12.8

　　Chris Rowthorn
　　Chris was born in England and grew up in the United States. He has been based in Kyoto, Japan, since 1992. Chris has written Lonely Planet guides to Japan, Tokyo, Kyoto, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Victoria (Australia). He got his start as a writer for the Japan Times, an English-language newspaper published in Tokyo. In addition to writing and photography, Chris is a published cartoonist whose work has appeared in King Features Syndicate’s New Breed series in papers across the United States. Chris speaks and reads Japanese fluently, and can muster enough Thai, French and Tagalog to ask questions but not understand the answers. Chris is an inveterate traveler and he has traveled widely in North America, Europe, Asia and South America.

The Authors
Getting Started
Itineraries
Snapshot
History
The Culture
Environment
Food 7 Drink
Tokyo
Around Tokyo
Central Honshu
Kansai
Western Honshu
Northern Honshu
Hokkaido
Shikoku
Kyushu
Okinawa & the Southwest Islands
Dircetory
Transport
Health
Language
Glossary
Behind the Scenes
Index
Map Legend

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