Rating: 
Summary: Good, with much information, but could use more maps
Review: Very useful guidebook--I used it on a trip to Japan in 2001 and I will use it again this year. Much information, about relatively small cities, even, if they would be of interest to Westerners.A few faults. First, more maps are needed. Yes, I know Japanese don't always name their streets, but they could be based on landmarks. If you choose to visit one of the smaller cities covered, say, Takayama, you will do so without a Fodor's map (get one at the Tourist office, usually by the train station). But even some large cities, which are extensively covered, like Kobe, do not have maps in the book. Second, more hotels should be reviewed, and they might want to concentrate on the sort of hotel you'd book online. Third, there's a certain incompleteness about the text. For example, they list the three top gardens in Japan. You will find that only two of the cities are listed in the index. For the third, look in vain. Still, I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Very solid guide, great maps and in-depth info
Review: We recently returned from a 2-week trip to Tokyo and this was the guide we took with us on our trip. We had originally planned to venture outside Tokyo but due to some unforseen circumstances we ended up staying in Tokyo the entire time. So, although I think we would have been better off with Frommer's Tokyo-only guide this was a solid guide and served us well on our trip.
The guide has a large amount of information about Japanese customs, food choices (which we referred to often, sometimes to figure out what it was that we had just eaten!) and transportation options in Japan. The sections on transportation are invaluable; we were able to get from Narita to our hotel using the Limousine Bus service recommended by the book and had no trouble figuring out Tokyo's metro system after reading the guide's information.
The "walking tours" the book provides in Tokyo are excellent and we had fun following the Asakusa and Omotesando/Harajuku walking tours. Shopping in Japan is world-class and the book has a huge amount of info about where to go depending on what you're shopping for. We and our travel companions found great deals at one place in particular recommended by the guidebook, Oriental Bazaar on Omotesando-Dori, which was also recommended to us by an American living in Japan as the place he goes to shop for Japanese gifts.
I have two quibbles with the book: a. The author glosses over the offerings in Ueno Park and the Ueno Park area of Tokyo which are staggering. You could spend 2 or three days just in the Ueno area, there is so much to see. Maybe she goes into more depth in the Tokyo-only book, but I felt the Ueno information in the Japan guide was really weak. 2. The restaurants recommended in the guide are extremely expensive. Everyone talks about how expensive Tokyo is and if we had eaten exclusively at places from the guidebook we would have come back very poor indeed. But we ate at the same places Japanese office workers and housewives ate and had great meals at low prices. The book glosses over Japanese chains like Mos Burger, First Kitchen and TNT where you can get a great Japanese-influenced meal at a low price in favor of highlighting Western-style restaurants. Maybe the author has to include so much info about Western-style restaurants to appeal to the people who want to avoid eating "weird food" in Japan, but if you are scared of "weird" things, my recommendation is don't go to Japan in the first place, because even in mainstream-style restaurants the food is not wholly Western and very picky or finicky eaters will have a very hard time finding things to eat.
Overall, though, this guide is excellent and was definitely worth the money we paid for it. Some great tips in here no first-time visitor to Japan should miss.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and well used
Review: Whenever I travel abroad, I usually buy at least two travel guides to pore over before I leave, but I travel with only one. This is the one I took with me to Japan because it seemed the most practical and comprehensive for its size. Although it doesn't have the depth and the off-beat information of the Lonely Planet series, the Frommer provides solid paragraphs about the attractions as well as reliable recommendations for dining and lodging (though I wish they provided longer lists.) The walking tour sections are well-planned, and the cultural details are accurate. Because of the size of Tokyo, the guide divides the city into neighborhoods, a feature you'll welcome when you're there but which makes for difficult planning beforehand, as you have to page through the various areas to find all the hotels in your price range. I have never found a single guidebook to meet all my needs, but, if you can only buy one, this would be a good choice.
Rating:
Summary: A good, solid choice
Review: Whenever I travel abroad, I usually buy at least two travel guides to pore over before I leave, but I travel with only one. This is the one I took with me to Japan because it seemed the most practical and comprehensive for its size. Although it doesn't have the depth and the off-beat information of the Lonely Planet series, the Frommer provides solid paragraphs about the attractions as well as reliable recommendations for dining and lodging (though I wish they provided longer lists.) The walking tour sections are well-planned, and the cultural details are accurate. Because of the size of Tokyo, the guide divides the city into neighborhoods, a feature you'll welcome when you're there but which makes for difficult planning beforehand, as you have to page through the various areas to find all the hotels in your price range. I have never found a single guidebook to meet all my needs, but, if you can only buy one, this would be a good choice.
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