This is, from my perspective and for my purposes, the worst travel guide I ever bought. The major world heritage sites are described in just one paragraph each, exactly the same amount of information as is given for each petty bar and cafe in the city (and that's dozens if not hundreds). Given the low quality of the english guides which you can buy at these sites themselves (huge pics of what you can see anyway plus one or two pieces of information mostly describing what you can see, e.g., "the shrine is 26.9 meters in width and 6.5 meters in height"), having bought this guide left me with almost no information on the cultural and historical background of the sites I was visiting. Btw, there are no guided tours in english in Kyoto, probably due to the fact that almost no Japanese at major Japanese world heritage sites speaks a decent English. Major information was lacking in this guide (e.g., closures around New Year), details simply incorrect (I tried two phone numbers, one for a restaurant, one for the major museum, both wrong). Without guessing you wouldnt be able to find even the one paragraph about some of the major sites at all, as the index is cursory (many sites missing) or uses the Japanese names (e.g. gosho instead of Imperial palace). The structure of the book based on the quarters of the city requires you to know where to find what in advance, as there is no overview plan. There are hardly any pics of the word heritage sites, but a whole lot of (paid?) pics of bars and hotels in the guide. The maps do not enable you to find sites quickly, the subway and bus stations are not on the maps. Overall, if you are in Kyoto to go to bars and restaurants, this guide is your choice. If you rather go there to see and understand the major historical sites, stay away from this guide!
