Rating: 
Summary: A good guide for traveling on-your-own.
Review: The 8th edition is 150 pages less than the 7th. What did they cut out? Hokkaido, Tohoku, and hotels seem to be trimmed in a lot of areas. For example, Kushiro got cut to a bare mention and Onuma National Park north of Hakodate no longer made the list. If you want to see the Ainu Museum in Shiraoi, it's still in there but you're going to have to stumble across it in a box listed under "Ainu Rennaisance." I suppose Tokyo-Kyoto is what sells so if you cut, then do it far away from these two areas.
The budget hotel listing has gotten thin, and this was the main content I liked to use. Many times, the only budget accomodation listing is the Youth Hostel. Many times there are only 1 or 2 listings after the YH, but the price is high. I know there are lots more budget options, but I also know the best lists for budget lodgings are obtained at the information center in town. Why couldn't they check out some on that list and put them in the book? You're now better off checking the web before you go or waiting until you get to the info booth near the train station to get a complete list and find something that meets your budget.
I suppose some people use the restaurant listings but I can't comment. However, I usually eat at a place that's near to wherever I am at meal time. I also like the listing of the few 'gaijin' hangouts; most of the clientele are Japanese anyway.
There are complaints on the lack of information on the banking system. It's all in this edition. My guess is a reviewer got caught out after hours and got ticked off. Banks are open until 3, M-F; you're better off checking out the Post Offices which are open until 5/6 PM. ATMs close with the bank or post office. All this is in this edition, you just have to read it. I cash enough money at one time for 3-5 days worth of hotels and expenses. Credit cards won't pull you through in this country.
The maps are either small scale or generalized. They're good for getting you to a place if not around it. I've found most of the maps in both the RG and LP very similar. The Let's Go maps are a bit better due to being bilingual, but they're the same scale. It's best if you pick up a local map upon arrival. Even some of these aren't too good either, and can leave off many smaller roads and streets. If you want a good map, I've found that I have to buy the atlas-type book for the area of interest in a bookstore or a highway rest area. There are several brands, such as "Mapple," and they are arranged by 'ken' or prefecture. Some come with both romaji (western European characters) and Japanese. You just have to page through them to see what you can read. The best are only in Japanese but they are detailed down to the traffic signals.
All in all, this guide is for the individual traveler who is traveling mostly by a JR Rail Pass. It covers more places than any other guide, and in doing such doesn't have space to give a long history, photos (Eye Witness Guides), or a long history or stories about each stop. If you need the history included in the guide, look to one of the others. The Rough Guide covers fewer places but has more of the background on each place, and is popular for this reason. If the places you're going are all covered in the RG, then use that one. If you're going to Tokyo and Kyoto, you can look to the Frommers, Fodor, or Eye Witness guides which is almost all history, culture, and pictures, or just get the LP-Tokyo guide.
This guide is for practical information: finding a hotel, getting around, and getting to the places you want to see. It's not for the "drive-only" or "tour-group" individual traveller, as the former will be everywhere that not listed in any travel book, and the information for a tour type trip is thin. It's pretty good at fulfilling it's niche except for the diminished hotel listings in the budget range. Because of the thinned hotel listings, I drop a star.
Also look at: Rough Guides Japan; Let's Go Japan; Moon Guides Japan. These are all for "on-your-own" traveling.
Rating:
Summary: very useful
Review: The lonely planet books are always great, and this one is very useful. However, if you plan to visit only Tokyo and Kyoto, you'd rather get the city guides, as the whole Japan book is big !
Rating:
Summary: Unhappy with some of the Lodgings
Review: The maps in this series could use some work. They could use some detail. Directions could be much better. I often found dirrections to be confusing or outright wrong.
Be careful when booking rooms also. I was especially unhappy with the Matsubaya Ryokan that I booked in Kyoto which was said to be "a favorite with the readers". I often stay at mid-ranged price lodgings. Well this place, for about 50 dollars a night per person had some of the rudest mangaers I had ever met. It was completely filthy with rat droppings on the kitchen floor. The odor coming from the bathroom was especially hideous. The toilets overflowed daily. And the staff reputedly tried to overcharge their customers.
What was really great is the information in the things to do sections. The authors give great details about places to go. They also give really great suggestions for places to go that you can't find in other books. For this reason I suggest this book to friends.
Rating: 
Summary: Coming to live in Japan ? Then buy this book.
Review: This book is all you need to survive in Japan. Having been living in Osaka for near on 18 months I couldn't have done without the sixth edition, a clear, well written book and well categorised. Its a little bit heavy though to be honest, especially when travelling and hopping on and off trains, but that's because it covers all areas of Japan. Its worth the effort though. If you are coming to Japan for a short period of time for a holiday and just staying within one area, then its probably not for you. If you're coming to travel through Japan or to live here, then its a must.
Rating: 
Summary: Lousy Planet
Review: This book is the worst Lonely Planet book I have come across. This book cost me hours of frustration, days of lost time, and hundreds of dollars of extra money because of its inaccuracies, mistakes, terrible maps and incomplete information.I find it hard to believe that the authors actually have firsthand experience visiting the places they describe in this book. Bottom line: save your money and shop for one of the many other travel guides about Japan instead.
Rating:
Summary: The only book I ever needed when I was in Japan. Excellent.
Review: This book was the first Lonely Planet guide I purchased. I was about to plan my travel to Japan in August 1995 and I was looking around for good, detailed, up-to-date and comprehensive guides about the subject.
When looking at this book in the bookstore, while comparing it to competitor titles, I was initially disappointed for the lack of colourful photos and images (anyway, it was immediately clear to me that it was, and still is, the most detailed and clearly laid out Japan guidebook). But later on, in Japan, I realized that images aren't what you need in your pocket for traveling-- sometimes they were thrown there just for selling books to you. When you are on the road in Shinjuku, Ginza, Akihabara in Tokyo, or in the smallest village in the Japanese countryside, what you need is _information_ (maps, timetables, addresses, directions), not photos. Without my Lonely Planet Japan Travel Survival Kit I'd have never been able to locate the tiny "Mickey House" English conversation lounge in Takadanobaba, Tokyo. Or to find all of the most interesting spots to visit in the most crowded of all countries. (Not to mention the SIZE of the book-- this one fits your hand, your pocket, or your video equipment bag!)
After my unforgettable Japanese experience I am currently collecting all of the Lonely Planet guidebooks! As far as I know, there are places on earth that are covered _only_ by Lonely Planet titles. And you don't find just travel and accommodation information: you find historic, cultural and environmental information that's often very hard to find elsewhere, even on history and geography books. I fetched from my Japan travel survival kit information for my last year Japanese examination, too.
Needless to say, if you have to go and visit Japan, get this book, and drop anything else about the subject!
(To let you better understand my point of view, I am an electronic engineer; I am studying the Japanese language, and I visited Japan, just for fun)
Marco Mussini, Milan, Italy.
(You may also write to me in Japanese!)
Rating:
Summary: The Only Guide You'll Need
Review: This is a great guide, completely unpretentious, consise and easy to read. It tells you exactly what you need to know about the places you want to visit and and how to get there. I've navigated my way around Japan with it each time I've been there and it's never let me done. I wouldn't use any other guide. My Japanese wife, Kyoko, even uses it. What better praise can you give
Rating: 
Summary: out of date
Review: This is an excellent book but this printing (7th edition) is 3 years out of date. Wait for an update before purchasing or get a more up to date guide altogether if you are in a hurry.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely a good companion for travelling in Japan
Review: This Lonely Planet book is a big help when travelling in Japan. The book provides a lot of useful information (such as bus/hotel/tourist center info and general history of each tourist attraction). The best of all is that the authors put Japanese characters next to all the locations. Many Japanese tourist spots do not have names spelt in English. Therefore, the reference in Japanese characters that the authors put out is a huge plus. Also, the book is extremely helpful for people who plan to backpack and stay in the Youth Hostels in Japan. Before leaving for Japan, I read though many tourist books and found this one the best among all. The book is a bit weak in providing detailed maps but this can be overcome by visiting the tourist centers (usually next to the train stations).
Rating:
Summary: A Real Travel Thriller!
Review: This sensational book covers every square inch of Japanese teritory! Also, extensive area on Tokyo! BUY IT TODAY!
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