Lonely Planet Japan (Travel Guide)

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Nearer Tokyo, over a hundred monumental sculptures slumber across the hills of Hakone Open-Air Museum. Plenty of small restaurants specialize in just one dish, such as kara-age (fried chicken), udon (thick wheat noodles), soba (thin buckwheat noodles) or katsu-kare (crumbed pork-cutlet in mild curry). Read more about the condition New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages. I wonder what it was that you read in the article that made you choose that guide over the many others?

Luckily, the misplaces shrines/monuments were never to far from where they were mentioned, but I'm glad I double checked. This is not a place for socializing, which is heaven for solo travelers who just want a good night’s rest in what looks like a spotless space station. There are plenty of matsuri (festivals) to celebrate snow, summer, music or any subject you can dream up.

You'll be developing a deeper connection and understanding of the Japanese people, places and culture. His most famous work, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, might not be there, as it was last seen in 2012 at The British Museum, but with the help of the guidebook, you can find the prefecture of Kanagawa, along with the other 35 views of Mt Fuji, the series from whence it came. Pray to the kami of rice at Kyoto's Fushimi Inari-Taisha and its tunnel of vermillion torii gates, ask for good exam results at plum-tree decorated Tenjin shrine Dazaifu Tenman-gū, or pray for general good luck at what is thought to be Japan’s oldest Shinto shrine, Izumo Taisha.

The castle has crumbled, but samurai residences live on in Tsuwano, a Japanese mountain town where time seems in no hurry. The building’s exterior resembles the pages of a book being turned, while inside you’ll find craftworks by Ishikawa’s master artisans. Their recommendations on restaurants and accommodations in the bigger, more touristed areas however can be mostly discounted.There is a touch of yesteryear to the hard-wearing carpets and putty-colored luggage racks of some train models, but nothing looks weathered; it's just carriage loads of retro-futuristic charm. The Jomon Prehistoric Sites collectively form a Cultural Heritage Site, at which you’ll learn about the culture of the indigenous Jōmon people across 17 archaeological areas. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Among them are the monumental, like Kinkaku-ji (an exquisite pavilion sheathed entirely in gold leaf), and the meditative, like Ryōan-ji, with its stark Zen rock garden. What I liked most about it was instead of focusing on Tokyo and the other obvious destinations, reporter Ian Wright started in the capital and then made his way to the very end of the southern chain of the archipelago.

Okushibu runs parallel to the new rooftop Miyashita Park, and you can stay in the heart of the action when the new Trunk Hotel Yoyogi Park opens in 2023. When it arrived, I was delighted to discover that many of the better production values of the older Lonely Planet guides had been incorporated – more colour photos, colour-coordinated sections, better, more detailed maps, thicker paper(! The information isn't organized by neighborhood (except for the smaller maps and top sights) so you have to flip through to the massive Tokyo Eats or Sleeps section if you want to find information about a specific restaurant or hotel.A man and his daughter wearing kimonos play with snow in a garden in Kyoto © Eriko Koga / Getty Images 2. Tokyo is a city forever reaching into the future, pushing the boundaries of what's possible on densely populated, earthquake-prone land, adding ever taller, sleeker structures. When we're actually on the ground, the LP helps with things like train stations, connections and useful tips about taxi's, money etc.