Insight Guides Japan

Insight Guides

• Publisher: Insight
• Print ISBN: 9781780050331
• eBook ISBN: 9781780056203
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Travel

Insight Guide Japan offers a uniquely comprehensive approach to getting the most out of one of Asia's most alluring destinations. Engaging History and Culture chapters explain the island's intriguing and proud past, and the factors influencing its future; from ancient Shinto temples and samurai legend, to the impact of Western influences and the tsunami of 2011. The burgeoning arts and crafts scene, architectural treasures and local cuisine are fully explored and provide essential background information on the islands' distinctive culture and character.

The Places chapters cover the islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu in detail and suggest excursions to the smaller surrounding islands. Full-colour photographs throughout give a true flavour of life in the country today. Detailed maps plot all major sights, and the Travel Tips offer selective advice on where to stay, the best places to eat and on the range of cultural and sporting activities.

Accommodation

Price Categories

Price categories are for a double room without breakfast and taxes:

¥ = Under ¥10,000

¥¥ = ¥10,000–25,000

¥¥¥ = ¥25,000–40,000

¥¥¥¥ = Over ¥40,000

Hotels

There are hotels everywhere, but unfortunately not all of them are up to international standards. Those that are reflect it in their price. However, convenience is a very dear commodity here, so often you are paying for the location more than the service or luxury. Please note that the rankings of the listings that follow are according to prices of twin or double rooms, with the price per room (based on double occupancy) not per person.

Be aware that many hotels offer only twin beds, which are the most popular arrangement in Japan. Smoking rooms (and even entire floors in budget accommodation) may have a thick stench of stale smoke. Hotel rooms are also quite compact. Even a ¥20,000 room in a deluxe hotel can be snug. So-called business hotels (favoured by many Japanese business travellers), generally found in the moderate and budget categories, have rooms that are not just snug, but cramped. As a rule, smaller hotels have fewer amenities, including no room service. If you are not intending to luxuriate all day in your room, though, these can be good bases for exploring destinations. Most business hotels and Western-style hotels provide free in-room Wi-fi or broadband internet, but traditional accommodation such as ryokan (Japanese-style inns) typically don’t. In most hotels and all ryokan, you are provided with a yukata (light kimono) robe, toothbrush, razor, shower cap, etc.

Western-style hotels offer rooms whose rates may vary from ¥8,000 to ¥30,000. There are hotels that also provide Japanese-style guest rooms and landscaped gardens. Others have restaurants serving Continental food as well as local cuisines.

Capsule hotels, conveniently located near key stations, provide Apollo spacecraft-style compactness as a last resort for the drunk, stranded or merely inquisitive. Capsule cells come complete with TV, air conditioning, a radio and alarm. Complexes have showers, bath, sauna and sometimes restaurants. Rates are around ¥3,000. The majority are for men only, but a few have women-only floors.

Ryokan exude an atmosphere of traditional Japanese living and a stay will be a rewarding experience. They charge an average of ¥9,000 per person, depending on the type of bath facilities and dining offered. The rates at a truly elegant ryokan can rise far higher.

There are about 80,000 ryokan in Japan, of which 1,200 are members of the Japan Ryokan Association (JRA; www.ryokan.or.jp), which ensures that a high standard of service is maintained. Guests sleep in rooms covered with tatami (straw) mats, on futon. Ryokan usually have large gender-separated communal baths (ofte...

Table of contents

• How To Use This E-Book
• Introduction: A Singular Place
• Japan’s Top 10 Attractions
• Editor’s Choice
• A Nation of Islands
• Decisive Dates
• Japan’s Early Centuries
• The Edo Period
• The Modern Era
• Living in Modern Japan
• Religion
• Insight: Undercurrents of Life and Ritual
• Art, Crafts and Literature
• The Performing Arts
• The Cinema of Japan
• Architecture
• Insight: The Art of Landscaping
• Sport and Leisure
• Insight: Rikishi: Life on the Bottom and on Top
• Food and Drink
• Insight: Japanese Food
• Introduction: Introduction
• Introduction: Kanto Plain and Chubu
• Tokyo
• Insight: Japan’s Trains Turn Travel into an Art
• Around Tokyo
• Central Honshu
• Introduction: The North
• Tohoku
• Hokkaido
• Insight: The Great Outdoors
• Introduction: The Kansai Region
• Kyoto
• Around Kyoto
• Nara
• Southern Kansai
• Osaka and Kobe
• Insight: Kimonos for all Seasons and Styles
• Introduction: The South
• Chugoku
• Shikoku
• Kyushu
• Okinawa
• Transport
• Accommodation
• Eating Out
• Activities
• A-Z: A Handy Summary of Practical Information
• Understanding the Language
• Further Reading