Rating: 
Summary: How to avoid restaurant shock (and whale meat) in Japan
Review: A fun tradition of my Japanese colleagues is to invite the European or American visitor to a dinner and try to haze him or her with unfamiliar and frankly weird foods. They positively live for this. We prepared for this event by practicing on Natto (gooey fermented beans. Ignore the mozzarella-like strings and they taste a bit like Boston baked beans.) We ate the yama-imo with ume sauce (slimy raw taro potato with sour pickled plum) and commented on its refreshing crispness and delightfully salty-sour flavor. They were deeply disappointed. It was great. You also need this book to avoid ordering whale meat, which shows up on many menus. So don't even THINK of going to Japan without this book. You'll thank the author with a deep bow.
Rating:
Summary: An indispensable book for anyone travelling to Japan
Review: Ever ordered raw chicken platter or cow's stomach when you couldn't read the menu? I have, and it's a very unpleasant experience eating it with the whole staff watching and laughing. With 'What's What in Japanese Restaurants' in your pocket this will never happen to you. Robb Satterwhite has written an indispensable book for anyone travelling to Japan for the 1st or even the 30th time. The book is divided into sections detailing regional styles, types of food, etc., and each section gives the Japanese characters that you will find on the menu, a transliteration into Roman characters and an explanation of the dish. He talks about diferent types of eating places, from standup noodle stalls to the VERY exclusive Japanese traditional restaurant. Included also are useful phrases for dining and there's even a section on drinking. He touches on etiquette and finishes with a glossary of terms. This is the most comprehensive book on eating in Japan that I have come across in more than 20 years of travelling to and fro. An absolute must buy.
Rating:
Summary: Extend you Culinary horizons!
Review: Great book. I know some Japanese, but the restaurants have proven daunting at best, and it's especially difficult since many of the best ones are specialty restaurants -- and when you walk in and sit down, you can't even guess how to order since you're not sure what they serve! A little time spent with this book helped me immensely, and I was able to pick up some of the kanji along the way. Even if I can't make out an entire menu item, I can usually tell "this is a chicken dish, this is a beef dish, this is some sort of fried vegetable dish", etc. A couple nights with this book and I was suddenly much less intimidated by all that great food available out there!
Rating:
Summary: I CONSIDER MYSELF TO BE ADVENTUROUS EATER HOWEVER EVEN I
Review: HAVE MY LIMITS AND WITH THIS BOOK I FOUND IT VERY EASY TO ORDER FOOD THAT I KNOW I WILL ENJOY! It can be intimidating to order food of other cultures and having this book helps alot. While I know that the resturant staff TRULY do their best to describe menu items there can still be problems (i.e. busy staff, language barriers etc. I found this book able to make my dining much more enjoyable as i can experiment with new foods while avoiding something that I am not interested in eating at all. ALSO NOTE: IF YOU HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO EAT JAPANESE FOOD BUT ARE TOO IMTIMIDATED BY ALL THE CHOICES, NAMES, AND INGREDIENTS THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU.
Rating:
Summary: I CONSIDER MYSELF TO BE ADVENTUROUS EATER HOWEVER EVEN I
Review: HAVE MY LIMITS AND WITH THIS BOOK I FOUND IT VERY EASY TO ORDER FOOD THAT I KNOW I WILL ENJOY! It can be intimidating to order food of other cultures and having this book helps alot. While I know that the resturant staff TRULY do their best to describe menu items there can still be problems (i.e. busy staff, language barriers etc. I found this book able to make my dining much more enjoyable as i can experiment with new foods while avoiding something that I am not interested in eating at all. ALSO NOTE: IF YOU HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO EAT JAPANESE FOOD BUT ARE TOO IMTIMIDATED BY ALL THE CHOICES, NAMES, AND INGREDIENTS THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU.
Rating: 
Summary: Downsized?
Review: I found the content of this book very interesting. It's a complete guide to the different restaurants and other eating spots you might find in Japan. The familiar sushi, tempura and teppanyaki are just a few of them. Also there is information on the big regional differences and on ethnic cuisine (Korean minority).
But, unlike Japanese dishes, the visual aspect of this book is poor. Either out of cost effectiveness or to scale it down to pocket size. Type is small and any Japanese character with more than 5 strokes is absolutely illegable.
The different kinds of counting are not explained, but phrases as 'please, turn up/down the flame' and 'please turn off the burner' are translated at the end of half of the chapters.
Less content and bigger type would work wonders for this unique book.
Rating:
Summary: Useful and accurate.
Review: I used this book during a business trip to Japan and found it very useful and accurate, both in and outside of Tokyo. The descriptions of the types of food were helpful, as were the prices (even though the exchange rate has deteriorated). I would recommend this book to anyone who has questions about Japanese food.
Rating:
Summary: As indispensable as any map or guide book
Review: If you are going on a trip to Japan, take "What's What in Japanese Restaurants" with you. It is a handy, pocket-sized reference book that will save you many a stomach-ache and hopefully let you discover many a good taste. Not all strange Japanese food is to be feared! The guide outlines many of the main Japanese foods, a few ways to eat them and some simple restaurant etiquette. The food are named in both English and Japanese, with the Japanese written in Katakana and Hiragana. This is important, as most Japanese menus will not contain an English translation. The books small size is most convenient, as luggage space can be at a premium. In the end, you will be glad you brought this book along.
Rating: 
Summary: For the adventurous
Review: If you are going on a trip to Japan, take "What's What in Japanese Restaurants" with you. It is a handy, pocket-sized reference book that will save you many a stomach-ache and hopefully let you discover many a good taste. Not all strange Japanese food is to be feared! The guide outlines many of the main Japanese foods, a few ways to eat them and some simple restaurant etiquette. The food are named in both English and Japanese, with the Japanese written in Katakana and Hiragana. This is important, as most Japanese menus will not contain an English translation. The books small size is most convenient, as luggage space can be at a premium. In the end, you will be glad you brought this book along.
Rating:
Summary: As indispensable as any map or guide book
Review: If you are going on a trip to Japan, take "What's What in Japanese Restaurants" with you. It is a handy, pocket-sized reference book that will save you many a stomach-ache and hopefully let you discover many a good taste. Not all strange Japanese food is to be feared! The guide outlines many of the main Japanese foods, a few ways to eat them and some simple restaurant etiquette. The food are named in both English and Japanese, with the Japanese written in Katakana and Hiragana. This is important, as most Japanese menus will not contain an English translation. The books small size is most convenient, as luggage space can be at a premium. In the end, you will be glad you brought this book along.
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