Rating: 
Summary: The most practical guide to Tokyo by far
Review: Time Out works hard to present itself as youthful and offbeat, and labors so much over this image that the oh-so-hip tone often sounds phony. The writing seems more inspired by a quest to look trendy than an effort to express anything meaningful about the city. I particularly dislike the descriptions of various Tokyo neighborhoods, which come off as little more than bravado, and rather than making me excited about going to a place, they leave me feeling annoyed, as though some jackass were trying to impress me with how cool he is because he's been there. But then again, we don't buy travel guides for their literary value alone (or at all, maybe). As for actual information, I'd say Time Out is quite comprehensive, although not as complete as Lonely Planet. It does include entertaining bits about Love Hotels..., which you're not likely to see in guides that aren't trying so hard to be alternative. I've only come across one factual error so far: the "Japan Gift Center" in Ginza appeared to have (long since) closed and was no longer at the address listed. One reason I chose Time Out was that is one of the only books I could find that contained a Gay & Lesbian section. I give them some credit for at least thinking about this, but the 2 pages devoted to it are essentially useless, unless you want to know where you can go to have anonymous sex in the bushes, in which case this might be right up your "alley". If you're gay and also have a life, prepare yourself to be disappointed with Time Out. Here's some much more useful information in a nutshell: The gay neighborhood of Tokyo is Shinjuku-2-chome..... A major drawback of this guide is the poor design of the maps of Tokyo neighborhoods in the back. They are well drawn and mark useful things, but are fatally flawed because there is no indication of which direction is north. I can hardly imagine how the editors missed such a glaring oversight, but somehow they did. Having been here for several weeks and pieced together an understanding of how the city is laid out, whenever I look back at these maps I can only laugh at what a joke they are. Not only is the compass not marked on the maps, but the orientation also varies from page to page. It's worse than useless; the maps in this book are likely to get you lost. For a more authentically off-the-wall guide, I would say you are much better off with "Tokyo Q" by Rick Kennedy et al..., and "Little Adventures in Tokyo: 39 Thrills for the Urban Explorer", also by Rick Kennedy. For a comprehensive guide with fun but not such tragically-hip writing, go with "Lonely Planet".
Rating: 
Summary: Occasionally useful, but mostly just pretentious
Review: Time Out works hard to present itself as youthful and offbeat, and labors so much over this image that the oh-so-hip tone often sounds phony. The writing seems more inspired by a quest to look trendy than an effort to express anything meaningful about the city. I particularly dislike the descriptions of various Tokyo neighborhoods, which come off as little more than bravado, and rather than making me excited about going to a place, they leave me feeling annoyed, as though some jackass were trying to impress me with how cool he is because he's been there. But then again, we don't buy travel guides for their literary value alone (or at all, maybe). As for actual information, I'd say Time Out is quite comprehensive, although not as complete as Lonely Planet. It does include entertaining bits about Love Hotels..., which you're not likely to see in guides that aren't trying so hard to be alternative. I've only come across one factual error so far: the "Japan Gift Center" in Ginza appeared to have (long since) closed and was no longer at the address listed. One reason I chose Time Out was that is one of the only books I could find that contained a Gay & Lesbian section. I give them some credit for at least thinking about this, but the 2 pages devoted to it are essentially useless, unless you want to know where you can go to have anonymous sex in the bushes, in which case this might be right up your "alley". If you're gay and also have a life, prepare yourself to be disappointed with Time Out. Here's some much more useful information in a nutshell: The gay neighborhood of Tokyo is Shinjuku-2-chome..... A major drawback of this guide is the poor design of the maps of Tokyo neighborhoods in the back. They are well drawn and mark useful things, but are fatally flawed because there is no indication of which direction is north. I can hardly imagine how the editors missed such a glaring oversight, but somehow they did. Having been here for several weeks and pieced together an understanding of how the city is laid out, whenever I look back at these maps I can only laugh at what a joke they are. Not only is the compass not marked on the maps, but the orientation also varies from page to page. It's worse than useless; the maps in this book are likely to get you lost. For a more authentically off-the-wall guide, I would say you are much better off with "Tokyo Q" by Rick Kennedy et al..., and "Little Adventures in Tokyo: 39 Thrills for the Urban Explorer", also by Rick Kennedy. For a comprehensive guide with fun but not such tragically-hip writing, go with "Lonely Planet".
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