Rating: 
Summary: Tokyo for American Kids
Review: A more apt title for this book is perhaps "Tokyo for American Kids", because that is what it is mostly about. I am located in Yokohama, which is not far from Tokyo, so fortunately it is still useful for me, as it contains some references to Yokohama. However, if you are living in other parts of Japan, the book's usefulness is limited. The book makes many references to getting access to things that you are used to "back home", where home is America, so if you aren't American that's not much help either. Having said all that, the book has many good features if you are living in or near Tokyo, including lists of English-speaking doctors, parks/playgrounds and things to see and do, however don't rely too heavily on the directions to the attractions given in the book, as some of them are pretty ordinary. There is enough general type of information to make the book worth buying regardless of your location, if only to give you an idea of what to expect if you are moving to Japan with children, just don't be disappointed when you discover that most of the specific details provided are aimed at people living in Tokyo. If you are moving to Tokyo, this book is excellent. If you are an American moving to Tokyo, then it's even better!
Rating:
Summary: Tokyo for American Kids
Review: A more apt title for this book is perhaps "Tokyo for American Kids", because that is what it is mostly about. I am located in Yokohama, which is not far from Tokyo, so fortunately it is still useful for me, as it contains some references to Yokohama. However, if you are living in other parts of Japan, the book's usefulness is limited. The book makes many references to getting access to things that you are used to "back home", where home is America, so if you aren't American that's not much help either. Having said all that, the book has many good features if you are living in or near Tokyo, including lists of English-speaking doctors, parks/playgrounds and things to see and do, however don't rely too heavily on the directions to the attractions given in the book, as some of them are pretty ordinary. There is enough general type of information to make the book worth buying regardless of your location, if only to give you an idea of what to expect if you are moving to Japan with children, just don't be disappointed when you discover that most of the specific details provided are aimed at people living in Tokyo. If you are moving to Tokyo, this book is excellent. If you are an American moving to Tokyo, then it's even better!
Rating:
Summary: Tokyo for American Kids
Review: A more apt title for this book is perhaps "Tokyo for American Kids", because that is what it is mostly about. I am located in Yokohama, which is not far from Tokyo, so fortunately it is still useful for me, as it contains some references to Yokohama. However, if you are living in other parts of Japan, the book's usefulness is limited. The book makes many references to getting access to things that you are used to "back home", where home is America, so if you aren't American that's not much help either. Having said all that, the book has many good features if you are living in or near Tokyo, including lists of English-speaking doctors, parks/playgrounds and things to see and do, however don't rely too heavily on the directions to the attractions given in the book, as some of them are pretty ordinary. There is enough general type of information to make the book worth buying regardless of your location, if only to give you an idea of what to expect if you are moving to Japan with children, just don't be disappointed when you discover that most of the specific details provided are aimed at people living in Tokyo. If you are moving to Tokyo, this book is excellent. If you are an American moving to Tokyo, then it's even better!
Rating: 
Summary: Japan For Kids - best available!
Review: OK. The book was written by an American primarily from an American point of view, and is heavily weighted towards life in Tokyo. Some basic demographics: Japan - total population about 127 million. The English speaking population in Tokyo is maybe 40,000 (if you assume that most of the West Europeans speak English on top of their mother tongues). The number of registered foreigners living in all of Japan is about 1,686,444 (as of Dec 2000) of which 2.7% are US citizens representing the fifth largest ethnic group after Koreans, Chinese, Brazilians and Philippinos. This is to give you an idea of how small the total number of English speaking foreign residents is. Naturally they are spread out very unequally all over this country with the greatest numbers concentrated in the Tokyo/Yokohama corridor and in the Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe region.Diane writes very positively. In spite of lack in total coverage of the whole country, this book makes Japan more attractive to people who would be overwhelmed otherwise by the exotic nature of Japan, a country where very few people are capable of communicating on even the simplest level in English (unlike Singapore, Hong Kong, Sweden, Holland, India, etc.) The book is too short to address every nook and cranny of an endless topic, but it is a darn good start in the right direction and the only book of it's kind. Supplemented by the Japan Health Handbook, long term visitors have a good set of tools for tackling the job of living here with limited or no Japanese language ability. There are several chapters dealing with general information applicable to living in most urban areas of Japan. She has also included a lot of web site URLs in this second edition which make more detailed information on a local basis available. This book is not the definitive resource, nor was it meant to be at only 320 pages, but it is an excellant place to get started in the exploration of a potential lifetime experience. For a family travelling as tourists to Japan this book is also immensely useful coupled with the Lonely Planet Guide and universally helpful hotel concierges (even when their English is sometimes lacking). Even if this book only manages to impart to the reader the "flavor" of this country, the multitude of things that appear similar on the surface but are actually quite different, then the reader has acquired that much more data with which to navigate. It may be best to see this book as a good reference book which will lead to other places for more detailed information once arrived in Japan.
Rating:
Summary: Japan For Kids - best available!
Review: OK. The book was written by an American primarily from an American point of view, and is heavily weighted towards life in Tokyo. Some basic demographics: Japan - total population about 127 million. The English speaking population in Tokyo is maybe 40,000 (if you assume that most of the West Europeans speak English on top of their mother tongues). The number of registered foreigners living in all of Japan is about 1,686,444 (as of Dec 2000) of which 2.7% are US citizens representing the fifth largest ethnic group after Koreans, Chinese, Brazilians and Philippinos. This is to give you an idea of how small the total number of English speaking foreign residents is. Naturally they are spread out very unequally all over this country with the greatest numbers concentrated in the Tokyo/Yokohama corridor and in the Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe region. Diane writes very positively. In spite of lack in total coverage of the whole country, this book makes Japan more attractive to people who would be overwhelmed otherwise by the exotic nature of Japan, a country where very few people are capable of communicating on even the simplest level in English (unlike Singapore, Hong Kong, Sweden, Holland, India, etc.) The book is too short to address every nook and cranny of an endless topic, but it is a darn good start in the right direction and the only book of it's kind. Supplemented by the Japan Health Handbook, long term visitors have a good set of tools for tackling the job of living here with limited or no Japanese language ability. There are several chapters dealing with general information applicable to living in most urban areas of Japan. She has also included a lot of web site URLs in this second edition which make more detailed information on a local basis available. This book is not the definitive resource, nor was it meant to be at only 320 pages, but it is an excellant place to get started in the exploration of a potential lifetime experience. For a family travelling as tourists to Japan this book is also immensely useful coupled with the Lonely Planet Guide and universally helpful hotel concierges (even when their English is sometimes lacking). Even if this book only manages to impart to the reader the "flavor" of this country, the multitude of things that appear similar on the surface but are actually quite different, then the reader has acquired that much more data with which to navigate. It may be best to see this book as a good reference book which will lead to other places for more detailed information once arrived in Japan.
Rating:
Summary: A Lifesaver
Review: This book never left the coffee table in the 2 years we lived in Japan. Although some of the info was outdated (phone numbers, etc.) it gave me so much information on wear to take my 3 year old to play, go to preschool, get a haircut, etc. It even gave me great advice on giving birth in Japan when I became pregnant with baby #2! It is written in a very easy way - I found myself picking it up and reading a few pages whenever I had a free moment. This book is a must for anyone heading over to Japan with kids - DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT! If you can wait until July an updated version will be published (thank you amazon.com for that information!)Since we will probably be heading there again for a few years (this time with 3 kids) I already have it on order.
Rating: 
Summary: This book should have been titled " Tokyo for Kids"
Review: This book should have been titled, "Tokyo for Kids". I was extremely excited to get this book but my excitement faded to disappointment when I opened it's cover to only find mostly things that realated to the Tokyo area. I am currently living in Japan with my husband and daughter and was hoping for more of an insiders view of things to do in Japan. However, I live quite a distance from the Tokyo area and had hoped to find out about things more locally, or even within a more resonable distance then Tokyo. It would have been nice to see more comprensive coverage of Japan. Not everyone who lives here, flocks to the Tokyo area. Although I do plan to visit there at least once while living here, it is not close enough to be the focus of weekend or even monthly outings. There were a few other areas mentioned, but it seemed to me that the authors of this book did not take enough time to throughly reasearch all areas of Japan. There is some useful information in here as far as contacts and ordering, but if you live anywhere outside Tokyo, I can not reccomend this book to you. It is a well written and informative book for what it is, but it should not have been titled, "Japan for Kids", nor claimed to be the ultimate guide...
Rating:
Summary: This book should have been titled " Tokyo for Kids"
Review: This book should have been titled, "Tokyo for Kids". I was extremely excited to get this book but my excitement faded to disappointment when I opened it's cover to only find mostly things that realated to the Tokyo area. I am currently living in Japan with my husband and daughter and was hoping for more of an insiders view of things to do in Japan. However, I live quite a distance from the Tokyo area and had hoped to find out about things more locally, or even within a more resonable distance then Tokyo. It would have been nice to see more comprensive coverage of Japan. Not everyone who lives here, flocks to the Tokyo area. Although I do plan to visit there at least once while living here, it is not close enough to be the focus of weekend or even monthly outings. There were a few other areas mentioned, but it seemed to me that the authors of this book did not take enough time to throughly reasearch all areas of Japan. There is some useful information in here as far as contacts and ordering, but if you live anywhere outside Tokyo, I can not reccomend this book to you. It is a well written and informative book for what it is, but it should not have been titled, "Japan for Kids", nor claimed to be the ultimate guide...
Rating:
Summary: This book should have been titled " Tokyo for Kids"
Review: This book should have been titled, "Tokyo for Kids". I was extremely excited to get this book but my excitement faded to disappointment when I opened it's cover to only find mostly things that realated to the Tokyo area. I am currently living in Japan with my husband and daughter and was hoping for more of an insiders view of things to do in Japan. However, I live quite a distance from the Tokyo area and had hoped to find out about things more locally, or even within a more resonable distance then Tokyo. It would have been nice to see more comprensive coverage of Japan. Not everyone who lives here, flocks to the Tokyo area. Although I do plan to visit there at least once while living here, it is not close enough to be the focus of weekend or even monthly outings. There were a few other areas mentioned, but it seemed to me that the authors of this book did not take enough time to throughly reasearch all areas of Japan. There is some useful information in here as far as contacts and ordering, but if you live anywhere outside Tokyo, I can not reccomend this book to you. It is a well written and informative book for what it is, but it should not have been titled, "Japan for Kids", nor claimed to be the ultimate guide...
Rating: 
Summary: Too Much Tokyo
Review: Yes, there is a lot of great information here, and if you are in Japan with your kids I'm sure this book will be helpful. However, despite the "Japan" in the title, most of the specific places mentioned in the book (museums, hospitals, parks, etc.) are in Tokyo, followed by the Osaka-Kobe area. It can make you very envious if you don't live there!
|
