Never lost in translation.

What can one say. Of course we all have our fav travel guides. The big ones that gave us places to stay, what to buy, what to see, maps etc. No self respecting backpacker leaves home without one or two. And yes I know the Internet knows all, but during my more mature years I've always bought the DK swag. Why? Because I love the color productions, the organization, the mini maps that you can carry unobtrusively and the lushness of them.
I use them way long after any trip as reminders, travelogues of where I've been and occasionally as dreaming tools of where I might be next heading.
This updated 2019 version of top 10 places to visit in Tokyo is informative and a pleasure to look through.
Its organizational themes are helpful enabling you to approach your sightseeing by interests e.g. temples, galleries etc., or by areas.
Once again a great DK production.

A NetGalley ARC ( )

This is far from my first review of a book in DK's Top 10 travel series. I love them. They are my preferred source of information when traveling. Considering that I have done several more detailed breakdowns of the series's format in the past, I will keep it short this time: the book is organized around lists of ten. It starts with a Tokyo Top 10, or the top ten sites that a tourist should definitely visit. It then breaks those down with a top ten list for each site, followed by various top ten lists for particular types of attractions - museums, restaurants, parks, and so on. This is followed by a section that explores the city region by region, and a final section that deals with broad travel items such as hotels and transportation. My experience has been, and remains, that the places the travel guides from this series suggest never disappoint. In this book, the absolute Top 10 featured such places as the Imperial Palace, Ueno Park, and Senso-ji Temple. I chose my hotel from some of the lists in the book and it was great. We visited some of the shops listed, including an amazing antique book and map store, and they were all as described and just what we were looking for. I recognize that with the particular format of putting everything into lists, some material will be left out. This is not a comprehensive guide. However, the lists are extensive and cover a lot of different places. Also, I don't have time to visit every nook and cranny of a city I am visiting for just a few days, so I appreciate a book that highlights some of the must-sees. One note of caution: the Top 10 books only feature cities, probably because this type of approach requires a smaller area to cover. If a person is traveling within a country or state, they will need more references than just the Top 10 book. ( )