This book is VERY clever. I was last in Tokyo ~17 years ago, (so we didn't have Google maps or smartphones yet) and I used only guidebooks and a printed book of maps to get around. Now that both these things exist, this book does a great job of incorporating links to pre-delineated Google directions for each of the routes. Each route also has points of interest, with lots of inexpensive food options (the author states that he's committed to keeping the route info updated, which is rare for guidebooks, as they can easily go out-of-date). I was also excited to see some of the more hidden places that I found during my brief time in the city mentioned in the text. The images and location descriptions gave me that ~~*natsukashii*~~ feeling and made me want to hustle back to Tokyo with this book in tow. Next time I'm in Tokyo I will definitely be doing some of these urban hikes!

Matthew Baxter’s Tokyo Outdoors is a travel guide tailor-made for the traveler interested in exploring the city’s many obscure attractions as well as the familiar tourist spots. With easy-to-follow maps and informative descriptions, this concise guide is the perfect companion book to make your trip an intriguing and memorable adventure.

This is one of those truly fantastic books that should be in every traveller's backpack or Kindle, if they're visiting Tokyo. It has a wealth of information about everything you'll find in that gigantic city but, even more importantly, it has easy to follow subway instructions for getting around. Tokyo isn't tourist-friendly when it comes to readable signage, and that includes subway signs. Of course, apps are making it easier and easier, but it's still not as easy as having clear instructions in your own language whenever going out, and this book does that. I'm keeping this one in my Kindle, and I'll be buying a physical copy next time I head to the Rising Sun.

I wish I had had this book when I lived in Tokyo many years ago. In the year that I lived there, I spent many days walking around the city, seeking out various sights and museums (without smartphone or Internet). I gradually discovered how the various wards and neighborhoods all have their own distinct characters, from quiet residential streets to bustling shopping districts, to verdant parks. For someone who doesn't have a year to learn their way around Tokyo, this book offers an excellent way to make the most of your time there, with a wide selection of walking and biking routes that will give you a feel for the wonderful variety that Tokyo has to offer. Each route in the book focuses on a specific region, with an easy-to-follow map, and descriptions of the highlights (shopping, historical sites, temples, shrines, etc.).

I really appreciated the books' attention to detail, such as recommendations on days of the week to take (or avoid) a particular route. There are also suggestions on places to eat or drink along the routes. "Tokyo Outdoors" also includes some routes somewhat outside of the Tokyo area, such as Mount Takao, to the east, and Yokohama, including its famous Chinatown. If you're the type of traveler who enjoys getting off the beaten path and appreciates walking as a way to really see a city up close, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book.

I'm planning a trip to Japan in a few years. This book has given me many thing to add to my agenda when traveling there. The book has a really nice layout, with a map of the whole area at the beginning of it. I love that the author goes further with adding in places nearby those areas, and suggesting things like where to stop for food and such.

Your ultimate guide to discovering Tokyo and its surrounding Kanto region. With 45 diverse walking, cycling, and hiking routes, this book goes beyond tourist hotspots to unveil hidden treasures. Packed with insider tips from a seasoned Tokyo resident, it features 12 exciting day trips, detailed maps, and online resources for easy navigation. From historical landmarks to modern attractions, ensures a memorable and authentic exploration of Japan's vibrant capital.

This is a very good guidebook. I liked that there are maps of the area added to each itinerary. For me, Tokyo is a very difficult city to navigate. There are good descriptions of the sights and what is especially nice are the places to eat.

I've been to Tokyo a few times, and I wish I had this book on one of my trips! This is a unique way to experience a big city, and offers a very different perspective than the usual Tokyo guidebook. Tokyo is a beautiful city, take advantage of this book to experience it to the fullest!

I love to travel and plan out the details of the places I visit. I often conduct extensive research on my destination and try to find unpopular places to visit. This book leaves no stone unturned when it comes to things to do, places to see no detail is left out. This is a must have guide when traveling to Tokyo.

Tokyo Outdoors is a guide to explore Tokyo and the surrounding areas by walking, hiking, and cycling. The book starts with map of the area with the routes shown on it. Next, there is a short section of essential information. The 45 routes form the main section of the book. The back of the book divides the routes by interests.

The routes start with a title, distance and whether it is best by foot and/or bike. There is a nice map with a QR code to open a custom Google Map. Next is a short description along with how to get to the starting point. Places of interest are indicated by a number on the map and have paragraph long descriptions. Most routes have a recommended cafe and/or meal spot. There are a couple pictures under each walk. The back of the book has a one page list of useful Japanese.

I am looking forward to doing some walks with this book. It is a good size to carry around and looks to have just the right amount of information.

I have not been to Tokyo, so have not had the chance to try out any of these walks. Nor do I know if any good sites were missed. I do have a trip coming up but am not in the planning stages for a while yet. So I read this with the aim of getting an idea of what there is to see in Tokyo, and it was interesting in that regard. I appreciated that the author included little tidbits of history or culture where appropriate.
Each of the book’s 45 “walks” is a little tour of a given area. Each walk lists a handful of sites, each with its own short descriptive blurb and entry fee & hours (which is very helpful as it saves me from looking this up). Each walk also includes directions from a nearby subway station, a photo and the author’s recommendations for a café and a place to eat (not with vegetarians in mind). There is also a picture of a little map (with the walk outlined) & a link to the online map, which is priceless, as you can click on the sites for online photos and google reviews, thus better enabling you to decide if the given site is somewhere that you want to visit.

At first, I was thinking that the book seemed heavily focused on shopping districts, and food, and I thought that was maybe where the title’s “like a local” comes in, rather than being geared to tourists with limited time. But as we progress through the book, there are more diverse offerings, like museums, temples and hikes etc. The first half of the book is for Tokyo and is mostly meant to be on foot, with the walks being only a few kilometers each. Whereas the latter half covers the suburbs & side trips, with more cycling options. At the end of the book are lists of the best walks for different indications, (such as ‘top picks’ or cherry blossom season).

So bottom-line: I appreciate the author’s enthusiasm, notably when making suggestions about what sweets to try. For my eventual trip to Tokyo, I will still be plotting out my own google map of sites to visit and doing my own research with other resources. (I always use a few different sources for trip planning). But this book has certainly given me a great head start and made some of my work a lot easier. (Though it would have been even easier if the walks were numbered, so that I could refer back to them easily afterwards.) Also, I will try to check out some of the shopping areas mentioned in the book, for their reflection of Japanese culture (meaning people-watching), which I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise (dismissing them because I am not there to shop). So I am happy to have read this book. Thanks to the author.

Very easy guide which you can use to explore Tokyo, walking or cycling . The author covers central Tokyo & the suburbs. Invaluable resource.

Good

Nicely written and very informative. Nice size, easy to carry around and use for reference.

Hokkaido generally isn't as well traveled by foreigners so this book is a great step in a generally unexplored area