Japan by Rail

I carried this and my partner carried LP. This had great info about hotels near the rails (very developed in Japan) which was money saving. If you have a JR pass (you must get it before you go .. allow at least two weeks to process), you save 10% at the JR hotels which are very nice, very reasonable but not touristy luxury. Another tip is that we found is that Japan is very reasonable for the single traveler since they charge by the person with a sometimes nominal "discount" for the second person. The Western chain hotels charge by the room with a nominal increase for the second person. So you could sometimes get two Japanese hotel rooms for about the same as a comparable Western hotel room (depending on availability, location, etc). Japanese Ryokens are also very good ... we stayed in one and are old enough that we were thankful that we didn't have to get up to go to the bathroom that night! Great if getting up off the floor is not a concern. We also like to book as we go. In China there were many widely available inexpensive internet cafes. In Japan, there were free internet connections widely available (even in the bigger train stations), but you had to have your own computer. Many hotels had one or two available, some you had to pay or only certain tourist sites were available only occasionally were one or two computers free .. but sometime you had to wait to use them. Next time I'm taking a netbook .. couldn't buy in Japan because everything was in Japanese. If you could change the language of the operating system, none of the sales persons I talked to knew how (even at Sony). The keyboard is different also. You can do without if you are willing to spend the time tracking down a reasonably priced connection. One hotel had coin slots where you would deposit 100 yen (~$1.10) for 6 minutes. That's OK to check for emergency email or to update your contact info, but a lot to browse to find the best deal for your next hotel. We booked online .. several times Orbitz had better deals than Expedia, and they were usually significantly cheaper than the official hotel site. Also on these you are paying in dollars, avoiding exchange fees and (for us) falling exchange rates. We didn't take the time/money to explore the Japanese sites which I would have done w/ a cheaper connection. He particularly focused on sites easy to access w/ the RR ... which includes a lot since Japan is so connected. Entirely adequate. However, if you are adventuring away from rails, coverage is more spotty. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars is because of the index. I found it very inadequate unless you were looking up a city or area. When I read something I wanted to get back to, I made a notation of the topic and page on the back cover.

If you are planning on visiting Japan using a JR Pass you need this book. It is a fantastic collection of many venues available to those using a pass or just for those traveling by rail in Japan.

If you are going to Japan and plan on traveling around a bit you absolutely have to get this book. It will pay you back a hundred fold. Literally. There is so much to see and do in Japan and if you want to travel a bit you have got to use the rail system which criss-crosses the whole country and will get you wherever you want to go fast and on time. Now here is the gold in this book. Japan has a very special deal for tourists where you can get an unlimited rail pass (free ride) practically anywhere for either a 1 week or 2 week period. The cost of the pass is less than a single train ride from Tokyo to Kyoto. Which is a ridiculous bargain. But the caveat is that you have to purchase a voucher for the pass out of the country! And then when you arrive in Japan you cash in the voucher for your rail pass. I did all of this and am so happy I did. I rode around, all over the place from city to city, for free. I can't tell you how much money this saved me. The rail pass gives you the freedom to see what you want to see, and where, without even considering the cost. This is the focus of this book. It tells you exactly where and how to get the rail pass, where to cash in the voucher, and how to use the rail system to see the country. Loaded with lots of great information about the stunning tourist attractions in the country. If you are going to japan and want to travel around a bit, maybe see Himeji castle, Kyoto, Mt. Fuji, Tokyo etc. then simply buy this book. There is no question that it is money well spent. The train system for outsiders: The Japanese train system is very laid out, very organized, very disciplined and on-time. But it can be hard for a foreigner to understand. There are different types of trains and different train lines, you can reserve a seat etc. This book helps you figure all that out. One caveat: The rail system in Japan is composed of the rails from several different companies so the Japan Rail Pass will not be good on every track and every train, or on the city subway systems but that doesn't matter much. It's good on the vast majority of rails and trains. So glad I got this book!

I browsed through this guidebook in the bookstore before I bought it and was really impressed with how it covered almost all areas of Japan, provided ample maps and photographs, and had lots of practical detail information, like on lodgings, cheap meals, and unique attractions. Once I bought the book and started reading/researching for my trip, I was even more pleased with it as I thought it was written in a casual and practical style, giving ample hints and pointers to the best of the best and more than a few offbeat and unusual things to see in Japan. I bought my Japan Rail Pass and airline ticket and with this guidebook in hand, I had the most fun, interesting, relaxing, remarkable and indeed amazing trip of my life through the magical land of Japan. In every city (at every rail stop) I consulted this book and felt fortunate to have experienced some of the wondrous not-to-be-missed sites and attractions thanks to this book. It was an excellent resource, and I highly recommend it. If I had to mention any minor criticisms of the book, I'd just have to mention that the author's tastes/preferences in food differ a bit from mine, and I found some of his restaurant recommendations questionable. But that's a personal choice matter. Of course, his general recommendation to look for good eats near railway stations and in the basements of large department stores was absolutely true, and I found lots of great, delicious foods that I liked. Also, a large section of the book is devoted to railroad timetables and itineraries, and though it might be very useful to some people, I had a very enjoyable time being a more casual and free form traveler, just choosing whether to step onto a train or not on a whim. I personally found this section unnecessary. He mentions that there are 3 types of Shinkansen ("bullet trains"), the Kodoma, the Hikari and the Nozomi, but he doesn't really explain the difference between the trains. The Kodoma (meaning echo) is the slowest of the Shinkansen, stopping at every train station, hence represented by the "speed of sound". The Hikari (meaning shining light flash) is the intermediate speed Shinkansen that makes only limited stops in the biggest cities, hence represented by the "speed of light". The Nozomi (meaning hope) is the fastest of the Shinkansen and tend to go non-stop from one major destination to another i.e. Osaka to Tokyo, hence are represented by the "speed of thought". Finally, I had two particularly thrilling and entertaining special events on my trip. I attended a pro baseball game, and I witnessed the Hamamatsu Kite Festival. Though both are briefly mentioned in this book, the author does not convey how exciting, energetic, and moving these experiences are when witnessed firsthand. I've never seen anything like it! Japanese baseball fans are insane (yelling, singing, banging sticks for the whole game)! I thought perhaps because the author is a Brit that baseball was not really an interest.