Another specialized book from the Lonely Planet team, this one catering to those who like to take exercise with their nature. Japan is heavily populated, and the megalopolis called Tokyo is easily the world's biggest, but nearly all the people live on the coastal plain of the Pacific coast, leaving the rest of this mountainous country open for the adventurous hiker.
The book follows the usual Lonely Planet formula with the first pages devoted to the geography, history, climate, flora and fauna as well as social and religious areas of Japanese life.
The second section deals with specific information for the hiker, including suggested itineraries, weather information, safety while hiking and, usefully, pre-departure planning. This last section tells us to have health insurance and know something about First Aid; good advice for those who haven't thought of such things.
The hikes suggested in the book, and there are over a hundred, cover the length and breadth of Japan, are classified into five levels from easy to hard, and are divided up into day-long walks.
The maps in the book show a marked improvement over earlier Lonely Planet publications, early editions of which often had no scale or compass point! "Hiking in Japan" on the other hand contains maps that are very difficult to obtain even in Japan itself.
For those who speak no Japanese, there is the glossary of everyday language at the back of the book, and, perhaps even more essential, a transliteration of the Japanese character place-names into the roman alphabet.
Recommended.