The natural settings allow you to feel the delicious contrast of the hot waters against the pine-fresh open air. Luckily, the misplaces shrines/monuments were never to far from where they were mentioned, but I'm glad I double checked.

Lonely Planet covers must-see spots but also enables curious travellers to get off beaten paths to understand more of the culture of the places in which they find themselves. You'll be developing a deeper connection and understanding of the Japanese people, places and culture. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and phrasebooks for 120 languages, and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers.

Overall, I think it's a great reference as long as you have a larger context of where things are in relation to each other, but not great for split decision making on the ground. Lonely Planet's Experience Japan travel guide reveals exciting new ways to explore this iconic destination with one-of-a-kind adventures at every turn. I imagined that if I was somewhere in Japan I'd never been to before, and had The Rough Guide maps in front of me, they wouldn't have been much help on the ground.

Tokyo is a city forever reaching into the future, pushing the boundaries of what's possible on densely populated, earthquake-prone land, adding ever taller, sleeker structures.This is a good introduction to travelling around Japan, with sections on all the geographical areas of the country. Supongo que, con el paso del tiempo, este tipo de guías desaparecerán completamente en beneficio de páginas web que ofrecerán lo mismo a través de GPS, incluyendo audioguías y otra serie de cosas muy beneficiosas. Detour: If you – or the kids – prefer a calmer way to be spirited away by anime, the Ghibli Museum in West Tokyo is also magical. They can often have the advantage of being able to draw on more extensive travel experience in other countries, and regions within the same country, giving them additional perspective and insight. Or enjoy the Japanese art of coziness in izakaya (taverns) with winter comfort dishes like oden fishcakes in a dashi broth.

The same could be said of my long cherished dream of exploring sites from the films of Akira Kurosawa or Nagisa Oshima. The kami (deities) range from Princess Konohanasakuya, the Shinto deity of Mount Fuji, to founders of powerful clans, or neighborhood deities.The Jomon Prehistoric Sites collectively form a Cultural Heritage Site, at which you’ll learn about the culture of the indigenous Jōmon people across 17 archaeological areas. Evangelists insist that the best ramen is at nothing-fancy ramen-ya (ramen diners), which boomed after World War II. The other big festivals worth planning for include Kyoto’s summer bash, Gion Matsuri, in July, when you can catch giant floats and locals dressed in elegant yukata (cotton robes). The subsequent courses are dedicated to in-season sashimi, color-coordinated vegetables and tofu, grilled seasonal fish, sake, rice in a clay hot pot and dessert.