Originally Posted by
someotherguy
"Gateway to Japan" by June Kinoshita and Nicholas Palevsky and published by Kodansha is the best guidebook I've ever read--to anywhere. It's out of print, but not out of date.
I also have "Japan Inside Out", which is out of date, but still enjoyable.
Gateway to Japan is horribly out of date for prices and hotel and restaurant recommendations. (I know of at least one of their recommended Tokyo accommodations that no longer exists, and if you follow their stated prices in budgeting, you'll have to abort your trip halfway through.)
However, it is unequaled in providing cultural information. The major historical and cultural sights have not moved or changed significantly since this book was published, and if you want to understand the significance of what you are seeing, this is the go-to guidebook.
It has greatly enriched my understanding of the sights I have seen and suggested fascinating new ones that I had never heard of.