Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [670]
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THIS BOOK
THANKS
OUR READERS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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THIS BOOK
This 11th edition of Japan was written by a team of authors led by Chris Rowthorn, who also coordinated the last four editions. This guidebook was commissioned in Lonely Planet’s Melbourne and Oakland offices, and produced by the following:
Commissioning Editor Emily K Wolman
Coordinating Editor Gina Tsarouhas
Coordinating Cartographer Diana Duggan
Coordinating Layout Designer Aomi Hongo
Managing Editors Geoff Howard, Annelies Mertens
Managing Cartographers David Connolly, Adrian Persoglia
Managing Layout Designer Sally Darmody
Assisting Editors Carolyn Boicos, Jackey Coyle, Justin Flynn, Charlotte Harrison, Victoria Harrison, Joanne Newell, Rosie Nicholson, Kristin Odjik, Stephanie Pearson, Fionnuala Twomey, Saralinda Turner
Assisting Layout Designers Nicholas Colicchia, Kerrianne Southway
Assisting Cartographers Fatima Bašić, Alex Leung, Marc Milinkovic, Jacqueline Nguyen, Amanda Sierp, Brendan Streager, Bonnie Wintle
Language Content Laura Crawford
Project Manager Chris Love
Cover Image research provided by lonelyplanetimages.com
Thanks to Lucy Birchley, Nicole Hansen, Corey Hutchison, Carol Jackson, Craig Kilburn, Yvonne Kirk, Katie Lynch, Lauren Meijklejohn, Wayne Murphy, Jeanette Wall
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THE LONELY PLANET STORY
Fresh from an epic journey across Europe, Asia and Australia in 1972, Tony and Maureen Wheeler sat at their kitchen table stapling together notes. The first Lonely Planet guidebook, Across Asia on the Cheap, was born.
Travellers snapped up the guides. Inspired by their success, the Wheelers began publishing books to Southeast Asia, India and beyond. Demand was prodigious, and the Wheelers expanded the business rapidly to keep up. Over the years, Lonely Planet extended its coverage to every country and into the virtual world via lonelyplanet.com and the Thorn Tree message board.
As Lonely Planet became a globally loved brand, Tony and Maureen received several offers for the company. But it wasn’t until 2007 that they found a partner whom they trusted to remain true to the company’s principles of travelling widely, treading lightly and giving sustainably. In October of that year, BBC Worldwide acquired a 75% share in the company, pledging to uphold Lonely Planet’s commitment to independent travel, trustworthy advice and editorial independence.
Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Melbourne, London and Oakland, with over 500 staff members and 300 authors. Tony and Maureen are still actively involved with Lonely Planet. They’re travelling more often than ever, and they’re devoting their spare time to charitable projects. And the company is still driven by the philosophy of Across Asia on the Cheap: ‘All you’ve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!’
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THANKS
CHRIS ROWTHORN
I would like to thank the following people: Hiroe, KS and HS, Araki Toshiaki, Keiko Hagiwara, Perrin Lindelauf, Christopher Wood, Kise Erina, Mary Marjanovic, Rebecca Chau, Emily K Wolman, Chris Love, David Connolly, Andy Bender, Wendy Yanagihara, Ben Walker, Tim Hornyak, Matt Firestone and Paul Warham. I would also like to thank all the readers of Lonely Planet Japan books who sent in letters and emails with information about Japan – your input really helps and I’ve tried to use as much of it as possible!
ANDREW BENDER
First thanks to Yohko Scott and Naoko Marutani at the JNTO Los Angeles office for their always excellent support. Other key helpers on this project include Yamada Eri in Nagoya, Endô Akira in Matsumoto, Wani Naoko and the staff at Takayama’s friendly tourist offices, Yoshie Yasuko in Fukui, Matsubara Takuya in Obama and Kita Kazuko in Noto. Inhouse, thanks to Emily K Wolman, Chris Rowthorn, Gina Tsarouhas and Diana Duggan, while back on the home front thanks to Susan and Leonard, Elaine, Nancy and Steve.
MATTHEW D FIRESTONE
To my loving parents and wonderful sister, thank you all for always offering me nothing but your limitless