Beth Reiber - Frommers Japan

Frommers Japan, 11th Edition

by Beth Reiber with Andrew Bender

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ISBN 978-1-118-25262-8 (pbk); 978-1-118-28335-6 (ebk); 978-1-118-28449-0 (ebk); 978-1-118-28715-6 (ebk)

Editor: Gene Shannon

Production Editor: Eric T. Schroeder

Cartographer: Liz Puhl

Photo Editor: Richard Fox

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Front Cover Photo: Red Footbridge leading to Matsumoto Castle in Nagano Prefecture, Tokyo M. Burgess / Classic Stock / Alamy Images

Back Cover Photo: Japanese macaque, snow monkey (Macaca fuscata), two animals sitting in warm spring. Blickwinkel / Alamy Images

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5 4 3 2 1

List of Maps

Japan Highlights

Small Towns & Villages

Northern Japan in 2 Weeks

Honshus Best Gardens & Castles

Tokyo Attractions

Walking Tour 1: Asakusa

Walking Tour 2: Harajuku & Aoyama

Ginza & Hibiya

Harajuku & Aoyama

Roppongi

Shinjuku

Asakusa

Ueno

Side Trips from Tokyo

Kamakura

Nikko

Yokohama

Hakone

The Japan Alps

Where to Dine in Kyoto

Kyoto

Walking Tour 1: Higashiyama-ku

Walking Tour 2: The Philosophers Stroll

Nara

Nagoya

Osaka

Hiroshima

Takamatsu

Kyushu

Nagasaki

Okinawa

Northeastern Honshu: Tohoku

Hokkaido

Sapporo

Note About Maps

This guide contains dozens of maps of varying sizes and complexity. If you find it hard to read a map on your device, use the zoom function to enlarge. You can also download and/or printout PDFs of all of the maps in this guide. Go to www.frommers.com/go/ebookmaps and click on the title of your guide.

To my parents, who, while I was growing up in Kansas, always encouraged me to look farther than my own backyard; to my sons, Matthias and Johannes, for providing a teenagers perspective on Japan; and to the Japanese people, who have taught me more about myself and life than Id ever imagined.

Beth Reiber

Dedication: To the people of Tohoku, whose spirit of ganbare (go for it!) is an inspiration.

Andrew Bender

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank some fine and very special people without whose generous assistance and advice this book could never be as comprehensive as it is. A special arigato goes to Nori Akashi, Satoshi Asano, Nozomi Tsuji, Yoko Tanaka, Zenbon Tei, and others at the Japan National Tourist Organization for their support and behind-the-scenes guidance. I would also like to thank the following for their regional expertise and the assistance they extended during my travels: Takao Chiba in Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture; Eri Yamada in Nagoya; Yoshikazu Kitaguchi in Ishikawa Prefecture; Atsuhi Murai in Takayama; Ichiro Nakamura in Osaka City; Fumiko Tanaka in Himeji; Atsushi Tabara and Mayuka Ito in Shimane Prefecture; Takashige Ishii and Ryoji Okue in Hiroshima Prefecture; Kosuke Nasagi, Kousaku Inoue, and Lisa Nakamura in Fukuoka Prefecture; Chieko Shiozuka, Yumi Tanaka, and Kenji Odawara in Nagasaki; Hisatoshi Sakamoto, Chihiro Ono, and Yohsuke Kurose in Kumamoto Prefecture; Shigeto Moto, Mikiko Morita, Moyuru Nagata, and Satsuki Watanabe in Kagoshima Prefecture; Takashi Naoyama in Oita Prefecture; and Takashi Kinjo and Aki Miyazato in Okinawa. A special thanks to the following, who were supportive in the aftermath of Japans massive earthquake and tsunami in the belief that tourism would help Japans road to recovery: Sue Brosseau, Don Brownstein, Norman and Helen Gee, Caryn Goldberg, Jack Graham, Denise Low, Norinaka J. Matsuya, Lizette Peters, Jrgen Schmidt, Roger Shimomura, Aimee Stewart, and Luella Vaccaro. Debbie Howard gets kudos for her moral support, not to mention her years as a partner in crime researching Tokyos nightlife, while Junko Matsuda gets a huge thanks for her tireless fact-checking skills and valuable knowledge of Tokyo. Finally, Id also like to thank Tak Nagaoka for encouraging me so many years ago to take on this mammoth project, which sent my life in a totally unexpected direction.

Beth Reiber

First thanks go to Yohko Scott and her colleagues at the Japan National Tourism Organization in Los Angeles for their consistent assistance. Colleagues and new friends on the ground in Japan include Mayumi Togawa in Okayama, Akiko Okazaki of Tourism Shikoku in Takamatsu, Mie Kotooka in Kotohira, Ms. Nakaoka of Uchiko, Takuya Nishimatsu and Mai Sakai of Kyotos Tourism Promotion Division, Eiju Nakamura of Matsushima Tourist Information and Aya Satoh of the Matsushima City Government, Naoko Osawa of the Kakunodate Film Commission, Kazushi Sato of the Tazawako Tourist Association and the entire staff of the Tazawako Tourist Information Center, Reiko Kondo of the Sapporo Hokkaido Tourist Information Center, Yoko Maeda of the Noboribetsu Tourist Information Center, Dameon Takada in Akanko, and the innumerable hoteliers and tourist information counters who put up with more than their share of niggling questions from me. And thanks to Marian Goldberg for always having the right connections.

Andrew Bender

About the Author

After living four years in Germany, first as a university student and then as a freelance travel writer writing for many U.S. newspapers from the Los Angeles Times to the Washington Post, Beth Reiber moved to Tokyo, where she worked as editor of Far East Traveler. She is the author of several Frommers guides, including Frommers Tokyo and Frommers Hong Kong, as well as travel apps Hong Kong Explorations and Branson and Beyond Traveler. In 2009 she was appointed a VISIT JAPAN AMBASSADOR by Japans Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for her many years of writing about Japan, the only recipient residing in the United States to receive the honorary award. When not on the road, she resides in an 1890 Victorian home in Lawrence, Kansas, where she tries to keep peace between her dog and cat and one step ahead of her teenage sons.