Best way to print routes?

We are preparing our travels and since we do not speak, write or read any Japanese, I want to be prepared as well as can be. I therefore want to print the walking routes from the JR stations to our hotels and to any of the sites we definately will be visiting. I was thinking of using Google maps for this. Do you think this is the best solution or do you have any alternatives?

Thanks.

When I was in Tokyo I simply used my iPhone's "Maps" app to look up places in the area I was living. Worked perfectly for me. Would suggest it for getting anywhere as you can also check ticket prices for the trains by selecting the train when looking up the directions. If you're going to be in Tokyo and have a smart phone look at getting one of the subway apps (I used Tokyo Metro for iPhone by Presselite). They'll save you time and headaches (you input your start station and destination and it gives you the fastest/cheapest routes to get there -- some of em will even give you timetables for them). Also, get well acquainted with what the Kouban (police box) signs look like. Thanks to English being a part of normal curriculum in Japan they helped me out a few times when I was lost when I first got over there (and, spoke no Japanese at all). Hope that helps some.

Thanks. That certainly helps. We plan on hiring a pocket WIFI device to use with iPhone and iPad. But I am afraid that at the moment we need the 3G connection, there will be no service ;-).

I didn't know this before I went over, but if you are an AT&T customer I was told they have a great package for going abroad (that includes network internet -- if you have that on your plan, of course). They would just have you on Docomo or Softbank, but you would be good to go.
Again, I have no clue where you're heading, but when I was in Tokyo, the only time I lost connection was in the subway tunnels themselves (there's free wifi in most stations, and you get network connection back during stops for the most part it's just in the tunnels). Occasionally they'll have places like Tulley's and McDonald's that will have free wifi you can hook into as well.

Those of us that live happily without cell phones--especially during a vacation---not only look at all sorts of maps on the internet (many hotels, like Toyoko inn, have a small map on each hotel page) but also look at Google street views...

Google street views shows you actual photos of a street, area etc. you can move the photo around to look at one side then another, look at the hotel or..you are looking for..
The first time I left Ueno JR station by the Asakusa exit I wasn't prepared for the maze of elevated walkways and highways...
Google s.w .would have helped (it didn't exist then).

I therefore want to print the walking routes from the JR stations to our hotels and to any of the sites we definately will be visiting. I was thinking of using Google maps for this. Do you think this is the best solution or do you have any alternatives?

For hotels you are usually best printing the instructions from the website of the hotel. Some of the booking sites also have a good map, so I will print that as well as check the website of the hotel directly if they have one. It can sometimes be handy to also print the Japanese version as this is easier to show to people on the street/taxi driver if you get lost.

As a rule, for hotels, try and always have the address in Japanese as well as the phone number as this makes things easier for a taxi driver/Japanese person.

For sites I tend to use the Japan-guide directions or carry a decent guidebook with me which will usually have directions/map. I use Lonely Planet Japan which tends to be by far the most popular one.

Google maps is another option but you have to be careful as sometimes it doesn't know where the entrance to a site is, or it will highlight an area that is not quite where the site is. In general it is pretty good though.

Enjoy your trip!

I tend to use the Japan-guide directions or carry a decent guidebook with me which will usually have directions/map. I use Lonely Planet Japan

agree wholeheartedly.
we have downloaded LP Japan onto the ipad, so wont need internet connection. we also have the LP Kyoto and LP Tokyo Apps on the iphone; again, no need for internet.