Time Out Tokyo is an excellent guidebook for those who have tons of money, but not for those who are on a budget. This was especially apparent in the accommodations and food section. Although they listed some capsule hotels and some ryokans, most places on the list was over $100 a night for a single room. Restaurants on the list were all expensive as well. I know there are cheaper places to sleep and eat in Tokyo because I looked online and found a lot of them, and thats what we did. So for those of you who are not looking to stay in a four or five star hotel, just look online for a cheap place to stay.

Another complaint I had was the inaccuracy of the descriptions of some of the venues. For example, one club listed in the Time Out book described the place as modern and futuristic, but when we actually found the place it was a whole in a wall. The place was so small and filled with other foreigners who probably found the place in the Time Out book as well. There was nothing modern or futuristic about it. The worse part for me was there were very few Japanese locals at the places listed in the guidebook. Foreigners dominated most of the venues. My friends and I ended up at a nicer club that was not listed on the Time Out book and we got to meet some cool people.

Also, the information on how to get to Nikko, Kamakura, and Yokohama could have been more descriptive. I know this is a Tokyo book, but it would have been nice if they had more information on these places since they are just outside the city.

On a positive note, their little articles on Japanese culture and history is very well written and fun to read. The Time Out folks definitely have a sense of humor. So, if you want to splurge and go crazy in Tokyo, buy this book. But if you are backpacking through Japan or want to save some money, get another guidebook.

I give this two stars because the book isn't necessarily bad, its just geared towards a select few.

My husband and I go to Japan often, and I wind up buying each new edition of this guide, (which is probably unnecessary) because I want to stay current on things, especially the restaurant and hotel reviews. The information is fairly comprehensive, very good for shopping, museums and galleries, though not strong on the traditional arts such as Kabuki, traditional music, etc.

The old Kodansha Guide was better, but it's not being published anymore, so this is your best bet. I gave one to a friend who just went to Japan, and she loved it.

Time Out has done it again. This is a great city guide, full of useful information. Easy to follow and
a joy to look at. We are looking forward to taking it with us to Japan. I must say that everything
that Time Out does is excellent, and I thoroughly recommend their publications to everyone.

If you are looking for a very comprehensive guidebook on Tokyo, you won't get anything better than Time Out Tokyo. The Time Out guidebooks are almost always very complete with a wide range of activities, restaurant, and recommendations. There is also cultural information in there to help you get a little more acquainted with the cultural differences of the country you are visiting. No matter wat your purpose is for the trip, Time Out Tokyo is definitely a good buy.

Just got back from a trip to Tokyo and this book was great. I bought the Rough Guide to Japan as well as this book, and I was glad to have this book while in Tokyo. It provided tons of info and lots and lots of pictures...I like to have pictures when I travel, it helps me make quick decisions about what I want to see and when.

I was on a business trip for the first time to Tokyo and stayed over the weekend to do some sightseeing. Since I only had limited time I found the "Don't Miss Sights" section very useful, did most of what the guide had recommended and was very satisfy with their recommendations.

I found the guide in general very informative on what to do, but don't rely on it to get you there. The major attractions are fairly easy to find but if you are looking for a specific restaurant, bar, club, etc., the map doesn't provide you with enough street detail and the addresses are only in English. My recommendation is to get a map in both Japanese and English to get you around.

Train and Subway are the best way to get around, but the stations can be quite overwhelming. Again, the guide only provides station maps in English. You can purchase a pre-paid card in 1000yen, 5000yen and 10000yen for travel on the subway lines so you don't have to try to figure out how much to pay for each trip (most are between 160yen to 190yen). For JR lines, you will also need to purchase a separate pre-paid card at the station ticket offices. I heard from locals that there will be a common pay-as-you-go card (like Suica) you can purchase for both JR and subway by summer 2007.

I ignored the sarcastic comments from the author since I did not buy the guide to get insight on Japanese culture. But it does make for some interesting reading on the subway/train.

I did a fair amount of research before deciding to purchase this particular guidebook for my week-long trip to Tokyo. I read much of it on the plane ride over, which is when began to see some of its weaknesses. The book could have stood better editing, for one thing. On p. 11, for instance, a passage reads, "Emperors became largely figureheads, manipulated by a series of powerful regents from the dominant Fujiwara family. The invention of the kana syllabary, " etc., and then immediately following "The emperors were largely figureheads, manipulated..."!

The writing, in general, though, is engaging, even if it very much underplays the intrinsic interest of so many sites in Tokyo. As an example, at the Meiji Shrine, "the treasure house...isn't that interesting." About the Meiji Jingu Gyoen garden at the same shrine, "It's neither large nor especially beautiful...." Now that might be just the frank information that a tourist wants, except that it seems to be the general attitude the book holds towards so many sites that I thought were more interesting than my "guide" suggested. I felt that I was traveling with a cranky aunt.

Also, as another reviewer suggested, directions to attractions from subway stops are not always very helpful. Try, for instance, to find the Godzilla statue on the sole basis of the directions the guidebook gives. At least in that case, its lack of clarity gave me an opportunity for an amusing interaction with a shop clerk.

For my part, I didn't like having to flip back and forth from the sections on sightseeing to the separate sections addressing food and lodging. When I am touring around, I like to be able to relate the locations of the good restaurants to the places I am visiting. This isn't easily done with this guidebook.

My criticisms aside, I took this relatively slim volume everywhere with me. The maps aren't terrific, but they they were helpful. The schematics for the rail and subway system were indispensable. The historical context the book provides is concise and illuminating. The resources section at the back could stand some expansion on topics such as buying international phone cards.

This is a good resource for a short trip. It's just that it could have been a better resource.

My week trip to Tokyo was made much easier with this guide. I researched a great deal before I took the trip using this book and others but this is ultimately the travel guide that came with me.

The book has a good layout by separating the areas of Tokyo into their distinct areas. I do wish there had been a larger overall map to get a better picture of how close together the actual areas were.

The most used portion of the book for me was the train and subway maps at the back of the guide. They are invaluable! The actual directions given to sights from the subway exits, however, is not accurate. You are really on your own for that.

I personally did not use the referrals for resturants but I definitely used the shopping and site guides. We had a fantastic trip and this book fit great into a small bag. Highly recommend. I can't wait to go back!

I've just returned from my first 10 day trip to Tokyo and had to write about how fantastic this guide book was. The maps were excellent - especially since the streets in Tokyo are not always labeled. They enabled my group and I to find the excellent clubs, shrines, temples and restuarants with ease. All the places we checked out in the guide were fantastic and the paragraph descriptions were insightful and helpful. I will always take a Time Out Guide when traveling going forward!