Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120524 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Customer Reviews

I only missed one thing
And that is descriptions of longer treks.
There are a few described as 4-8 days long in this book, but when walking I found that that would have been at a snail's pace and the times given had to be halved. Even a quick look at the regional maps will confirm that all hikes described only cover relatively small areas.
So those planning a longer trek through the backcountry of Japan might be disappointed, but I understand there aren't many of those.
On the other hand, those looking for advice on short hikes in national parks or near the major cities will find lots of good ideas, and practical details that tend to be amazingly correct by guidebook standards!

Good for multi day hikes, not so good for casual hikers or one-dayers
This book is good if you plan on doing multi day hikes in Japan, but is scarcely mentions any one day hikes, apart from a couple of "alternative route" sections, which invariably make you feel like you're missing out on something, as otherwise, it would be a listed as a hike in itself.
It also only talks about set hikes, rather than providing information about the types and number of hikes an area has to offer, thereby making it difficult to plan a region to stay in for a few days for several one day hikes.
The particular hike we decided to undertake, also had chains and ladders, which were not mentioned in the book, this could be because the book is several years old now (2001) and I know that at least one of the routes had been subject to avalanche since and so is now more dangerous, but my partner is scared of heights and so we avoided any hike with mention of chains or ladders, only to be contronted half way up with such obstacles and had to turn back.
This may not be the fault of the authors, but it's worth bearing in mind that things may have changed and this book seems to be aimed at serious, heavy going hikers, rather than hobbyists and casual hikers.