The latest addition to the ranks of guidebooks about Japan is the first edition of the Rough Guide's Japan book, which follows hot on the heels of their rather fine Mini-guide to Tokyo .
Guidebooks are increasingly a matter of personal choice.
In the old days where there were fewer, choice was naturally limited. Now, with so many on the market it pays to ask friends which ones they have found useful or to have a good browse while in the bookshop. However, nothing is perfect, and the glaring mistake which I immediately noticed was that the Osaka phone numbers hadn't been updated to reflect that they are now eight digits and no longer seven. Nonetheless, the Kansai information is pretty spot on, and there is a good section on getting to Koya-san in Wakayama. Anyone looking for a new guidebook to our current, adopted home would be well advised to look at this new Rough Guide.