The Best of Japan on the Web
By James Hadfield
Blogs
3Yen.com
For a project that's still in the beta phase at the moment, 3Yen is shaping up quite nicely. A kind of – what? - metablog or something, it collects together blogs for a range of subjects, from anime and music to technology, business and current affairs.www.3yen.com
Click Opera
Indie obscurantists may remember intellectual oddball Momus as a player on the 90s Shibuya-kei music scene, but he's since assumed a far more potent presence online. Never mind that he lives in Germany these days: his blog is ripe with witty, penetrating and refreshingly optimistic commentary on all things Japanese.http://imomus.livejournal.com
Jean Snow
By his own admission, blogger extraordinaire Jean Snow "lives and breathes design and pop culture in Tokyo". If you're too lazy to keep your finger on the pulse, why not let him do it for you?http://jeansnow.net
Néomarxisme
Néomarxisme's writer/musician/grad student curator, Marxy, dubs his blog "the pop sociology of pop", which is about as good a description as you're going to get. Detailed analyses of society, entertainment industry machinations and the like intermingle with random slice-of-life observations and paeans to forgotten 80s pop culture.www.pliink.com/mt/marxy/
Watashi to Tokyo
Whether it's tackling the latest news, geek culture or what landed on her dinner plate, Mari Kanazawa's skittish survey of everyday life in the capital is a consistently entertaining read.http://smt.blogs.com/mari_diary/
What Japan Thinks
As cut-and-dry as its name suggests, What Japan Thinks offers English translations of Japanese opinion polls and surveys – which, in practice, yields a veritable plethora of interesting factoids.http://whatjapanthinks.com
Communities
Asoboo
Talk about an overhaul: the past few months have seen Asoboo transform from a low-tech meat market into a pretty nifty social networking site – think Mixi with an English-language interface and you wouldn't be far off. Users create online profiles detailing what they're into, where they hang out, etc. and then trade tips with similarly-minded folk.www.asoboo.com
Big Daikon
While the JET Program seems to be heading on a slow, downward spiral into the dustbins of educational history, Big Daikon is still in pretty rude health. This web community, originally created for JETs but open to all, is home to one of the most kicking discussion forums on the net. Just get ready to duck when the shit starts flying.www.bigdaikon.com
JGuy USGuy
We got in trouble last year for mentioning this one merely as an afterthought, so to give props where props are do: JGuy USGuy is the place to go if you're a gay guy living in Japan. The internet dating element is complemented by some saucy (and not-so-saucy) member photo albums and discussion forums covering important issues. Kiss Japan (www.kissjapan.com) offers more of the same, with lesbians and bisexuals also getting a look-in.http://jguyusguy.org
Being a Broad
Some 9 years after it first started, Caroline Pover's support and information network continues to be a focal point for foreign women living in Japan. Its online incarnation features a decent discussion forum, event information and excerpts from the well-regarded Being a Broad book.www.being-a-broad.com
Culture
Movies
Still the reigning champ among J-film websites, Midnight Eye's (www.midnighteye.com) combination of insightful reviews, high-profile interviews and features is a surefire winner. Gotta love that monochrome look, too. Scott David Foutz is still plugging away with his idiosyncratic, insanely upbeat reviews of populist fluff and cult oddities, but he's moved to a new domain, SaruDama (www.sarudama.com). For movie news and details about the latest releases in Japan, try Twitchfilm (www.twitchfilm.net); their remit extends to a lot of other-world cinema, too, which can only be a good thing. And for up-to-date movie listings, look no further than SeekJapan (www.seekjapan.jp/current_movies.php).Performing Arts Network Japan
A nice, if rather dry (well, this is a Japan Foundation effort, after all), introduction to the performing arts scene in Japan. News, synopses of important contemporary works of theater from the past half-century, and – most interestingly – lengthy interviews with key artists, all in both English and Japanese.www.performingarts.jp
Anime News Network
Geeks of the world, unite! Anime News Network serves up a motherlode of up-to-the-minute information on the Japanimation universe, including an ace IMDB-style database that'll resolve even the most obscure trivia disputes.www.animenewsnetwork.com
Nippop
When we included Nippop in last year's internet feature, they were only just getting started. Since then, the site has since blossomed into a comprehensive and gloriously inclusive resource, its 230+ band and artist profiles finding as much space for Keiji Haino as they do for Kumi Koda. Which is nice.www.nippop.com
Shift Japan
Nice to see that Shift Japan is still going strong after all these years. This hip e-zine continues to forge valuable links between the art scenes in Japan and other, even more fashionable, countries. Features on up-and-coming artists mingle with event previews and reviews, a regularly updated art blog and more. Much of the content is available in both Japanese and cutely mangled English, which just kinda adds to the charm. Check the faintly blog-esque PingMag (www.pingmag.jp), too: it's shaping up to be quite a corker.www.shift.jp.org
Down with the Scene
Clubheads can always get their fix at Samurai FM (www.samurai.fm), whose overflowing bag of DJ mix ear candy is a constant source of delight. Higher Frequency (www.higher-frequency.com) has also kept us hooked during the past year, with news, interviews, party reports, deliciously partisan club listings and more – all in both Japanese and English.Food
Bento.com
Like the waistline of a hardened gourmand, Bento.com just keeps expanding. Its database of restaurants, bars and cafés now includes over 1000 joints in Tokyo and 350-odd in the Kansai area, all searchable according to area, cuisine or feature (non-smoking, veggie-friendly, late night opening, etc.). Add to that a host of information about Japanese cuisine, the regular Brews News column and a whole whack of other stuff, and you've got a veritable culinary goldmine.www.bento.com
Gourmet Navigator
Hey, kids! Do you like to "enjoy tasty dishes and Sake with your friend and snookums in the relaxed setting"? Wanna hit "a resort-like space that makes matured people spellbound by a night panorama and starlight"? Okay, the English wing of Gourmet Navigator (a.k.a. Gurunabi) won't win any prizes for language chops. On the plus side, it has listings for restaurants and bars all over the country (albeit mostly in Tokyo and Kansai), complete with maps and money-off coupons.www.gnavi.co.jp/en/
eSake.com
Although this is a commercial site that directly sells and ships sake overseas, esake.com is an excellent resource for learning about Japanese rice wine and varietals, and for doing your homework before you spend a small fortune on a bottle of "the really good stuff." The site publishes a monthly e-newsletter and has an extensive section on pairing sake with food, as well as a glossary of Japanese sake terms. Good stuff. ICwww.esake.com
The Instant Ramen Home Page
The official website of the mundane-sounding Japan Convenience Foods Industry Association is actually a fascinating presentation of "various information about the Instant Ramen." Did you know the first instant ramen was made in Japan in 1958? Or that 70 billion unique instant ramen meals are consumed globally per annum? Well, thanks to this Web site, you do now. ICwww.instantramen.or.jp/english/
General
Japan Reference
Sometimes you have to bust some weird moves if you're going to stay ahead of the pack. So it is with Japan Reference, once best known for its hella big directory of Japan-related websites, but now scoring extra brownie points for having a travel guide that puts even the JNTO's site to shame. In a word: fab. There's a lot of information on the Land of the Rising Sun at Japan Guide (www.japan-guide.com) too.www.jref.com
SeekJapan
Home to the potty-mouthed rag you're currently reading and a whole lot more besides. General living information, travel guides, a searchable indexed directory of Japan-related websites, blogs, an ever-expanding classifieds section, national movie listings... yeah, we could go on but, well, there's only so much fun to be got out of blowing your own trumpet.www.seekjapan.jp
Web Japan
A bit of a mixed bag, this one: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs-endorsed Web Japan collects together a bunch of specialist mini-sites, peddling everything from statistics to tips on raising kids in Japan. Have a nose around and you'll be amazed by how much information is lurking under the hood here.http://web-japan.org
Wikipedia
Okay, so we're not going to win any prizes for originality on this one... but, really, isn't Wikipedia just great? The free online encyclopedia has clearly picked up more than a few Japanophile contributors over the past couple of years, too: the range and depth of Japan-related information here is truly impressive. Well, for the most part.http://en.wikipedia.org/
Japanese
General Reference
Nihongo Resources (www.nihongoresources.com) offers a range of dictionaries, plus a grammar guide, jouyou kanji lists and even a few lessons. Whatever your language ability, there's a lot of useful info on TheJapanesePage.com (www.thejapanesepage.com), though it's a bit haphazardly organized. On the plus side, the forums get a lot of traffic, so you'll always be able to find other devotees to the cause. Recently, we've taken a liking to JGram (www.jgram.org), a searchable database of grammar explanations and example sentences, all contributed and commented on by users. Entries are arranged according to JLPT level, and there are also quizzes and a useful section on E-mail Japanese.Self-Test Tools
Ice Mocha (www.kanjicafe.com) is a seriously powerful bit of kit for building your vocabulary, once you get used to the interface. Technophobes might prefer the rather simpler Speedanki.com (www.speedanki.com), which has flashcards for all the kanji and kanji compounds you'll need for the JLPT. Charles Kelly's Online Japanese Study Materials (www.manythings.org/japanese/), meanwhile, provides a shedload of easy-to-use quizzes, including daily kanji tests.Translate This!
Sadly, in the field of translation, the internet has yet to yield a viable lazyman's alternative to years of study and hard graft. Google's Translate function (www.google.com/language_tools) and Altavista's Babel Fish (http://world.altavista.com) can cook a mean pot of gibberish and non sequitur, but they're still a long way off being able to write your thesis paper for you. As far as dictionaries go, Jim Breen's vast WWWJDIC (www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html) remains the industry standard: if you haven't already done so, bookmark this baby right now. Breen's project is used as the raw fuel for a number of online learning tools, including Rikai (www.rikai.com), a neat site that allows you to read Japanese webpages: simply input the URL, then drag the cursor over unfamiliar words to get a definition. And then there's Space ALC (www.alc.co.jp), which boasts a dictionary that can translate phrases as well as individual words – just input text in the search bar at the top of the page.Jobs
Gaijinpot
The day is fast approaching when it'll be downright misleading to describe GaijinPot as a mere "job website". With living resources, classifieds, apartment listings and one of the busiest forums on any Japan-related site, there's much more to this baby. But, heck, the job listings are pretty damn good.www.gaijinpot.com
Jobs in Japan
As rival sites get ever-flashier, Jobs in Japan remains as determinedly low-tech as it's always been, the closest thing you've got to an online version of the job board at your local international center. Then again, looks aren't everything, and there are always plenty of listings here, mainly for teaching and IT work.www.jobsinjapan.com
O-Hayo Sensei
Now 15 years young, the biweekly O-Hayo Sensei e-newsletter remains essential reading for English teachers in Japan. Over 100 job vacancies get listed in each issue, and the classifieds section lets you post non-commercial ads for free.www.ohayosensei.com
Those Who Can't, Teach...
Hooking up with private students has never been easier, though it's getting to the point that you could spend more time registering for all the online student-teacher matching services out there than you actually spent teaching classes. You'd do well to start with some of the more well established names, and work from there. FindaTeacher.net (www.findateacher.net) has been around for ages and now has over 8000 teachers on the books. No mean feat, it must be said. Eigotown's Senseibank (www.senseibank.com/sensei) is another strong contender, while the rather newer Hello Teacher (http://job.hello-teacher.com/index.html) lends a fresh spin to a familiar formula. Finally, the jury's out on the merits of Orangutan English (www.orangutanenglish.com), but they do score points for most bizarre moniker.One for the High Fliers...
Bilingual professionals, city slickers and disgruntled eikaiwa teachers looking for a career change: form an orderly line here, please. The following sites are aimed more at the executive, highfalutin end of the career market – though, even if you don't speak fluent Japanese and have a decade's worth of relevant experience, you might hit gold here.Job Seek Japan: www.jobseekjapan.com
DaiJob: www.daijob.com/dj/en/index.html
CareerCross: www.careercross.com/en/
Ecentral: www.ecentral.jp
Job Dragon: www.jobdragon.com/index_e.asp
News
MSN-Mainichi Daily News
Alarm bells started ringing when Mainichi announced last year that they would be moving their operations onto Microsoft turf, but turns out there was nothing to worry about: things are as eye-opening and salacious as ever at the trusty old MDN. Get translated versions of articles from the Japanese edition (including links to the originals – a nice touch, that), plus video news, photo specials and the ever-readable WaiWai section.http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp
Crisscross News
Brought to you by the brains behind Tokyo's Metropolis magazine, Crisscross News (formerly Japan Today) attaches a discussion board to the end of every article, meaning you can now read the news and voice your ill-considered opinion on it... at the same time! Marvelous.www.crisscross.com/jp/
Reference
iTownpage
If there's a better use for the phone directory than as a handy paperweight, we've yet to find it. Kudos to the NTT folks, then, for whacking an English-language version of it (the business listings, at least) online.http://english.itp.ne.jp/
Mapion
One of the only sites featured in this guide that requires a bit of Japanese ability... but then, Mapion's worth the effort. Input the address for the place you want, and get a detailed map that can then be sent to your mobile phone e-mail address. What's more, it's all free. Google's maps (http://maps.google.co.jp) are also very good, and sometimes easier to decipher than the Mapion ones.www.mapion.co.jp
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Weather forecasters are the first to admit that they're never able to get it completely right – and, after a comprehensive, year-long study, Japanzine can only conclude that the buggers are right. Still, if you want to get at least a vague idea of what (if anything) is likely to fall from the skies today, both the Japan Weather Assocation (www.jwa.or.jp/english/index.html) and the Japan Meteorological Association (www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html) have English sites.Regional
Tokyo Art Beat
There are more galleries and art spaces than we'd really care to count in the Big City, and this handy little site helps you navigate them all. Details on all the latest exhibitions (and we mean all of them) are complemented by a neat community function that allows users to recommend worthwhile events.www.tokyoartbeat.com
Metropolis
No point beating around the bush here: Metropolis is a bible for many Tokyoites, and not without good reason. The online version is no less tip-top, with all the stuff from the print edition, plus a job search function, classifieds and a cool visitors guide to Tokyo and Yokohama. The lifestyle-oriented TokyoQ (www02.nokia.co.jp/tokyoq/) can't hope to compete in terms of volume, although it does possess a certain insouciant cool that's entirely its own.http://metropolis.japantoday.com/
Superfuture City Tokyo
The best neighborhood-by-neighborhood online shopping guide to Tokyo’s inner-city micro-Meccas of style. Full of interactive local maps and shop reviews, Superfuture City reads like a cool-hunter’s crib sheet on where to spend money in one of the world’s greatest cities for shopping and fashion. IChttp://superfuture.com
BikeClub
In the space of a year, the BikeClub posse have risen from nobodies to doyens of the Osaka club scene – and much of their success hinges on this deceptively simple website. Get events listings for the Osaka area, shoot the shit in the forums section, and add your snaps to the natty user photo library. Well, as long as they're good.www.bikeclubosaka.com
Fukuoka Now
The web incarnation of Kyushu's premier gaijin rag maps the ins and outs of one of Japan's youngest and fastest-growing cities. Users can take advantage of weekly news, nightlife and movie mail magazines – sweet. While we're at it, we should also give a shout-out to Fukuoka Live (www.japanalive.com), a bustling virtual community for the city's residents.www.fukuoka-now.com
Shopping
The Foreign Buyers' Club
When you just can't face another day without a Mars bar, a tub of Vegemite or, ahem, condoms that actually fit, the FBC is there to help you out. This long-running institution is in the business of sating the gaijin community's various appetites, however bizarre. Tens of thousands of import items: food, toiletries, magazines, educational materials, and pretty much anything else you could think of. The specialist BritShop and Aussie Shop sections are a nice touch, too.www.fbcusa.com
HMV
Now, wouldn't life be easier if all sites were like this? HMV's clean, easy-to-use site is completely bilingual (just click the "English" button at the top of the page), making the efforts of Amazon Japan (www.amazon.co.jp) seem a bit ham-fisted in comparison. The latter's prices are better, mind you. It's a topsy-turvy old world, innit?www.hmv.co.jp
The Flying Pig
Some imports just catch on better than others. So while there are over ten thousands 7-Eleven outlets scattered around this country, there are still a mere five branches of Costco. Pah. Thank heavens The Flying Pig is there to help those of us who don't live close to one of the elusive bulk-buy behemoths. Just find what you want here and, like the most helpful mate you've never had, they'll pop down the store, buy it and send it your way.www.theflyingpig.com
The Meat Guy
"Grade-A Meat and Cheese delivered to your door in Japan!" Says it all, really. The Meat Guy has garnered an enviable reputation amongst the gaijin community: get pretty much every cut imaginable, plus pies and sausages, cheese, Halal food and even herbs and spices. We'll presume the listing for an "entire tofu eatin, patchouli stinkin', no-wool sweater wearin' Vegan" is just a joke, though.www.themeatguy.jp
GDEX
Sure, you can give yourself Playstation thumb playing Japanese games, but it just feels, y'know, kinda different. GDEX provides the latest overseas games, plus the kind of nutty gaming accessories you're never going to find in your local Bic Camera. The site's mainly in Japanese, but there's all the English-language assistance you'll need to get by.www.gdex.co.jp
A2Z Auction Zone
Billed as "the premier English auction site in Japan", A2Z is there to help out hapless munchkins who can't get their heads around Yahoo, Bidders and all those other nihongo-only sites out there.www.a2zauctionzone.com
Sport
Outdoor Japan
Readers with a longer memory than ours will probably remember Outdoor Japan from the pages of Japanzine. If you still haven't checked out their website, though, you should really give it a gander: this sucker is positively packed with information for sports and outdoors enthusiasts. They've got an online booking function, too – invaluable if you're looking for somewhere to stay.www.outdoorjapan.com
Snow Japan
It isn't an idle boast, that claim to be "The Ultimate Guide to Winter Sports in Japan". Snow Japan is a jumbo-sized grab bag of powderhead-friendly data: the lowdown on zillions of resorts, accommodation guides, snow reports, user journals, a busy forum and more besides.www.snowjapan.com
Japansurf.com
Home base for Japan's gaijin surfing community, with tips, area guides, a well-frequented message board, links to life surf cams around the country, and more besides.www.japansurf.com
Football (Japan) Lost in Translation
This site covers all things related to Japanese football with the blogging-skill equivalent of a Brazilian free kick. The J-League isn’t quite at the level of the Barclay’s English Premier League or the Italian "Serie A," and Japan’s chances of winning the World Cup this year are slim in the eyes of even the most optimistic fan. Nevertheless, "the beautiful game" has come a long way here in the past decade. Football (Japan) Lost in Translation brings it all into focus and scores. IChttp://footballjapan.blog14.fc2.com/
Three Strikes and You're Out
Japanese baseball aficionados are more than adequately served by a trio of detailed, well-maintained fan sites. Japanese Pro Yakyu (www.geocities.com/s_borisov/jb2006/index.html) and JapanBall (www.japanball.com) both have the latest news, standings and all that gubbins. As Japanese Baseball's (www.japanesebaseball.com) disclaimer loudly proclaims, "this data is incomplete and has errors!" – but if there's a more comprehensive English-language guide to the world of yakyu, we've yet to find it.Sumo
Go, fatty, go! Sumo may well hold more gaijin in its thrall these days than it does Japanese and, sure enough, there are a few good English-language sites out there dedicated to the world of Tubby Wrestling. The official Nihon Sumo Kyokai homepage (www.sumo.or.jp/eng/) is surprisingly decent, with basho information, a who's who guide to current wrestlers, and records stretching back to 1927. You'll find a veritable abundance of analysis and commentary at Sumo Talk (www.sumotalk.com), while Sumo Forum (www.sumoforum.net) lets you, the punter, have your say... and then some.Travel
FlightFinderJapan.com
Maybe it's all just part of some karmic pleasure/pain cycle, but sometimes the hassle of arranging flights in Japan feels utterly disproportionate to the limited pleasure that awkward family reunion you're going back for will actually provide. Nice to have folks like FlightFinderJapan.com making life easier for us, then: their free service rounds up the best discount travel agencies around, meaning you can find that elusive cheap ticket home in one fell swoop.www.flightfinderjapan.com
Japan National Tourist Organization
It's far from perfect, but the official JNTO website does throw up some pretty useful pointers for foreigners who are staying in Japan for longer than it takes to make the Tokyo-Kyoto-Hiroshima round trip. The utilitarian Practical Travel Guides, in particular, will appeal to anyone too stingy to fork out for a copy of Lonely Planet.www.jnto.go.jp
Hyperdia
Sometimes the simplest websites are the ones you find yourself returning to most often. Such is the case with Hyperdia: when you're looking for train times and route information, you go here. 'Nuff said. Jorudan (www.jorudan.co.jp) isn't quite as comprehensive, but scores points for having a keitai site that has saved a boozed-up Japanzine from missing the last train home on more than one occasion.www.hyperdia.com
Japanese Guest Houses
C'mon, how do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it...? In our book, everyone should try staying in a ryokan (Japanese inn) at least once – and Japanese Guest Houses makes the whole process a heckuva lot easier. Search through a database of over 500 ryokan throughout the country, and make bookings online. In English. Score! For conventional hotels, Rakuten Travel (http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/) offers an English-language online booking service.www.japaneseguesthouses.com
Japan Driver's License
Denizens of the Land of the Free (oh, and a fair few other countries, too) are generally dismayed to discover that their driver's licenses aren't valid here in Japan. I mean, really! That's where Japan Driver's License comes in: they offer some free resources for people taking the Japanese driving test, plus a paid-for service that helps make the whole process as painless as possible for you.www.japandriverslicense.com
When Paper Just Won't Do...
A variety of English-language publications, online.The Asahi Shimbun – www.asahi.com/english/
Avenues – www.avenuesmagazine.com
The Daily Yomiuri – www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/
Fukuoka Now – www.fukuoka-now.com
The Hiragana Times – www.hiraganatimes.com
Japan Echo – www.japanecho.co.jp
J@pan Inc – www.japaninc.com
The Japan Times – www.japantimes.co.jp
J Select – www.jselect.net
Japanzine - www.seekjapan.jp/japanzine.php
Kansai Flea Market – www.kfm.to
Kansai Scene – www.kansaiscene.com
Kansai Time Out – www.kto.co.jp
Kateigaho International Edition – http://int.kateigaho.com
Kyoto Journal – www.kyotojournal.org
Metropolis – http://metropolis.co.jp
The Nikkei Weekly – www.nni.nikkei.co.jp
Outdoor Japan – www.outdoorjapan.com
Tokyo Notice Board – www.tokyonoticeboard.co.jp
Weekender – www.weekenderjapan.com
Xene – www.xenemag.net
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