The Rough Guide to Japan Fourth Edition (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

I have been dissapointed with Lonely Planet over the last few years.

So I again bought both Lonely Planet and Rough Guide. This is my last time, from now on Rough Guide it is.

The best thing about the guide is that it organizes information in a way that makes planning very easy. Overview of country, overview of region, overview of town. I planned my two week trip in a matter of hours.

Lonely Planet, in contrast, essentially lists places, one after the other. Unless you follow one of their 5-8 itineraries, the only way you plan your trip is reading the book cover-to-cover.

Also, a friend of mine lived in Japan for 10 years. All the tips he gave me were in the Rough Guide.

Just came back from a memorable 6-day stay in Kyoto, and also used the book for an earlier trip to Tokyo which is far less interesting. Like most Rough Guides (I own more than 30), this book is excellent overall, with detailed descriptions, background information, and clear maps (unlike Lonely Planet, whose maps are a pain to read). Thought it was almost perfect until I researched the excellent japan-guide.com and Kyoto's official web site and realized how many sites were missing from this book. Kyoto has 17 World Heritage Sites, but 6 of them are not mentioned at all. The most glaring omission is probably the beautiful Ninna-Ji, which can be easily visited after the famous Kinkaku-Ji and Ryoan-Ji, the latter only a 10-minute walk away. Ninna-Ji is historically the favorite temple of Japanese emperors and is famous for a dense grove of late-blossoming cherry trees, so it's a must see if you've just missed the peak sakura season. Also missing is Daigo-Ji, which is easily reached...Read more

I was first inteding to purchase Lonely Planet on Japan (as on several previous trips). Then I borrowed the previous edition of Rough Guides from a friend. I instantly realized that Rough Guides is far more superior than Lonely Planet. The best thing about it is the introduction of the whole country with 32 must-see places. Each section also has a highlights page with some 8 must-see spots in the particular region. This makes the planning of the trip very easy. Moreover, the information provided in the Rough Guides is much more detailed than in LP. I will definitely choose RG for my next trips.