Lonely Planet Kyoto

Average customer rating:

Avoid this guide
Oddly out of date
Other guides?
Waste of money - poor maps, poor info, poorly organized
Great for out of the way places, but poor crossreferencing

Lonely Planet Kyoto: City Guide (Lonely Planet Kyoto)
Chris Rowthorn
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Kyoto Travel Map: 2005/2006 Edition (Periplus Travel Maps)
Lonely Planet Japan
Lonely Planet Tokyo
Old Kyoto: The Updated Guide to Traditional Shops, Restaurants, and Inns
Japanese: Lonely Planet Phrasebook

ASIN: 174104085X

Book Description

Kyoto, imperial heart of Japan, is where arts and culture reign supreme. Escape the frenzy of Tokyo and Osaka for the flutter of cherry blossoms and the serenity of a zen garden. Let the insider knowledge in this bestselling guide transport you to another era.

• WALK IN WONDER through the famed Silver Pavillion, Tatsumi shrine and Arashiyama's magical bamboo forest on comprehensive walking tours

• DINE LIKE AN EMPEROR on steaming sukiyaki, soothing soba and the high cuisine of kaiseki - expert-written reviews show you the menu

• SELECT FROM THE BEST - Shopping chapter shows you Kyoto's finest wood-block prints, ceramics, kimono, and washi (Japanese paper)

• SLEEP LIKE AN ANGEL in a tatami-scented ryokan or serene temple lodgings - our Sleeping chapter has accommodation covered

• CONNECT WITH THE ARTS in Japan's cultural capital - local author Chris Rowthorn shows off kabuki, pottery, tea ceremonies and kimono textiles

Customer Reviews:

Avoid this guide.......2007-04-10

My wife and I just returned from Kyoto, and unfortunately we were relying on this book as our guide. The information was, for the most part, up-to-date.. but the maps were *horrible*. I dunno if they just used maps from the 1930s, or hand drew them from memory, or what.. but you are going to get seriously lost if you rely on these things. There are almost no street names included and the walking tours often rely solely on hard-to-find landmarks.

They also missed some major sights.. for example, Gion; I dunno about you, but I'm interested in seeing some of the tea houses where Geisha actually work. The guide talks about these and gives you one place to look for them. However, it totally skips one of the most beautiful tea house districts located in Maruyama Park! We stumbled on this place by complete accident, and found it to be the best place for Geisha-watching.

It also appears to be an exclusive area where the really well-off clients go, and so perhaps it wasn't covered to keep down the crowds.. but that's the kind of information I *want* in a guidebook.

In short we were extremely dissapointed in this guide. I don't know what would be a good substitute, but I can tell you to avoid this one.

Oddly out of date.......2006-06-08

No guide is perfect, but some are better than others. In the case of Lonely Planet, some are great, others leave a bit to be desired. For whatever reason, the Kyoto guide is missing some important pieces of information that I would have wanted to see. For example, the best vegetarian restaurant in the city, and one of the few places a veggie can eat some authentic Japanese "meat" dishes (made with fake meat) is the Peace Cafe -- which is not listed in Lonely Planet though it's been around for a few years. Another example: The "japanese-only guides" at the Shigakuin Imperial Residence still holds true.... except they have a full audio guide now, recorded in English, with lots of information at most stops made by the Japanese tour.

Other guides?.......2005-03-07

I borrowed this guide from a friend and have leafed through it. I haven't decided if I want to buy it yet when I go to Kyoto later this year.

What do you guys recommend as the best travel guide for Kyoto? While skimming this one, I've noticed a few of the things mentioned here like the unorganized maps and such. But are there betters one there to buy?

Waste of money - poor maps, poor info, poorly organized.......2003-07-07

Where do I start? Poor maps, chaotic organization or boring writing? Or perhaps ugly, poor quality photographs (except cover which is really nice - this is the trademark feature of this honest publisher, which is only [inexpensive] as far as publishing costs are concerned, without bothering to reduce the price of the book itself).

There are countries where Lonely Planet does a very good job (in West Africa, I would be lost without them), but oh my God how they can mess up things elsewhere! Kyoto is one of them.

With so many good guides to Japan available (Eyewitness, Frommer, Fodor, even Rough Guide, for goodness sake), why bother with Lonely Planet? Well, probably because many readers feel that they have a spiritual affiliation with this seemingly hippy-ish, seemingly anti-Capitalist, seemingly slightly rebellious serious of guides. I can only imagine how they are laughing - this lean and mean publishing house, an efficient money-making machine, being funded by mostly a naive bunch of tree-huggers.

If you feel good because you identify their sandal-wearing image, go and buy this book, by all means. This is only an image, a marketing tool - clever publishing people are laughing all the way to the bank. However, do not expect to have the best available travel advice. Usually LP guides are praised by those who have not read anything else.

Great for out of the way places, but poor crossreferencing.......2003-06-11

A few years ago we discovered Lonely Planet travel guides. They have been a staple of every trip ever since. The Kyoto book was no exception.

The major highlights of this book include:
- Great walking tours
- Fun listings of out of the way places
- Interesting history and background
- Good tips and recommendations for everything from getting around on the subway (complete with a handy map), to reliable restaurant recommendations.
- Restaurant & place names written in Japanese in the book. Even if you don't read Japanese, this was very handy for doing symbol comparison to make sure you were in the right place.

Lonely Planet guides are really excellent for helping you see the sights that not everyone else is seeing, and to help you get more out of the culture you are visiting. The authors have a good sense of humor and seem to aim towards a slightly more liberal and adventurous audience.

On their own, I found both the guide and the maps very helpful (although I do agree with the other reviewers that the varied orientation and scaling of the maps could occasionally be disorienting). However, when attempting to cross reference these I often got frustrated. Many of the references to maps in the guide were just wrong (wrong map listed), and many things just weren't on the maps. Similarly, many things on the maps were difficult or impossible to locate in the guide. Example: "We need to find a restaurant near were we are right now. Oh look, here's one a block away. I wonder what type of food they have?....<begin leafing through the guide to find the restaurant listed>... Hmmm...I can't find it...." I know Lonely Planet knows how to do this effectively (see the Condensed guide to Tokyo as an example), it was just frustrating that they did not apply that knowledge to this book.

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