Tokyo Q: Annual Guide to the City

This is a terrific book by literate, droll writers who really love and know the city. It's extremely idiosyncratic, which is part of its pleasure. How many other guides would give so much coverage to sento (public bath houses) or serious appraisals of 5-buck noodle joints? I only wish they would keep to their promise and update it annually.

This little book won a spot in my bag every day I was in Tokyo, and that is the best of compliments when you are out exploring a city all day and want to travel light. I used it mostly for restaurants and it never steered me wrong. I quickly tossed my copy of Zagat Tokyo because it is biased to the most expensive places, TokyoQ has excellent listings in all price ranges organised by type of food. Dining is a huge part of the Tokyo experience and it's worth seeking out great restaurants. A couple of the places I chose from this book were a bit out of the way but well worth it.Directions are not always given, which annoyed me until I accepted the fact that the only way to find an address in Tokyo is to find a police box and ask. Apparantly giving directions really is the main purpose of the Tokyo police.I enjoyed the attention given to modern Architecture, an other main component of the Tokyo experience. I also loved the little sketch of neighborhoods, not a road map but more of a personality map. The sento section is much more extensive than I found elsewhere and an experience not to be missed.TokyoQ is not an all-inclusive guide book, but it does an excellent job of filling in the gaps left by the others.

Tokyo Q ... is an English language web site that covers the cultural scene in Tokyo. This book pulls together many of the reviews and listings published over the years.It's a small book. The listings do not attempt to be comprehensive, and don't cover the mainstream hotels and restaurants you'll find in the typical guidebooks. It tries to be the guide your friend who's lived in Tokyo for 10 years would write, sharing his favorite places.There's a photo of a sketch map in the center of the book which explains the neighborhoods of central Tokyo. On a recent business trip, I found this the single most useful two pages in any guidebook (and I bought several). I still needed the others to get around, but now I had a perceptual map of what I was doing.If you're just going on business, you can probably skip this book. If you have a few days to explore, it's probably worth picking up. Don't miss Rick Kennedy's book, Little Adventures in Tokyo, which is essential for an exploratory newbie.

In addition to the online travel shorts they have published (I think on a weekly base), this is a great little book to carry to Tokyo. It's a quick read (2 hours, so you can read it 6 times over on the flight) with many memorable stories and experiences that made me looking forward to enjoy the city, aside from the typical tourist attractions. This is for those who want to see Tokyo from the insider's view as many hidden gems (restaurants, shops, backalleys) are revealed in this guide. However, this guide could've been even better is it had more points of interest for those ages 17-25, rather than mostly for ages 30+ type of interest.