Japan Related Web Resources

 

Here is a list of some resources we have found on the Web that we thought might be of interest to our travelers.

Some might be offensive or contain off-color ads even though the base content is useful or interesting. I will remove any link any member finds offensive.

If you have links to add to this list, let me know. This is an endlessly fascinating country.

Online Reference
Name as link Just the link Comments / Description
WikiTravel on Japan http://wikitravel.org/en/Japan Excellent coverage of Japan on one web page

 

Daily News Sources
Name as link Just the link Comments / Description
Asahi Shimbun http://www.asahi.com/ajw/ Be sure to scroll down for links to many features
The Japan News http://the-japan-news.com/ By the Daily Yomiuri
The Japan Times http://www.japantimes.co.jp/  
Japan Today http://www.japantoday.com/  
Mainichi Daily News http://mainichi.jp/english/  

 

E-zines, Monthlies, Trends
Name as link Just the link Comments / Description
Kyoto Shimbun http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/kp/english/ Local focus on Kyoto
Web Japan http://web-japan.org/ A look at current J-pop culture
Bento.com http://www.bento.com/tokyofood.html Food, Japanese Cuisines, Sightseeing, more
Japan zone http://www.japan-zone.com/ Unusual look at Japan trends

 

YouTube Videos of various kinds
Name as link Just the link Comments / Description
One Love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3woUe-b-Zc A song of hope after the earthquake, tsunami, and Fukishima disaster
Sapporo Beer Commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=K-Rs6YEZAt8 An incredible production number
Touch Wood http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=C_CDLBTJD4M In the forest, a homemade xylophone
Shinkansen - I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOhYuJvY5eM Tour of typical shinkansen
Shinkansen - II http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAornY8QPxY Travel by shinkansen
Shinkansen - III http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDGRNkZN3tY Changing trains in Osaka ("Shin-Osaka")
Takayama https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3y1aJ1p6eU Japan Experience video commissioned by Takayama

 

Oddities - hard to categorize
Name as link Just the link Comments / Description
Visualizing Japan - XSeries https://www.edx.org/xseries/visualizing-japan A set of online courses from Harvard
The Center 4 Hamburgers http://tiger-center4.com/ A place for comfort food in Takayama
J Garden http://www.jgarden.org/ A database of Japanese gardens around the world;  use the Resources box on the right to explore
Shonan Beach FM http://www.beachfm.co.jp/radio/ A live radio broadcast from Shonan Beach  (On the coast, near Yokohama)
Streaming Japanese radio stations http://www.surfmusic.de/country/japan.html A list of available live streaming radio stations from Japan
(with varying degrees of usefulness)
Must Love Japan http://www.mustlovejapan.com/ A large collection of videos of Japan;  The descriptions are written in ragged English;  Quality of the videos is uneven.
Pictures from the Japan Tattoo Institute http://tinyurl.com/mbwbvyq Generally speaking, any Japanese with a tattoo is considered "yakuza" - criminal;  still, some of this tattoo art is amazing; the original site is gone
J-List http://www.jlist.com/home Strange blend of Japanese soft porn with very unusual products
Japan Quake Map http://www.japanquakemap.com/ Fascinating visualization of all quakes that have hit Japan since 3/11/2011;
be sure to follow the link to Daily Energy Release Chart in the upper right hand corner.
World Quake Map http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/ To get some perspective, remember that earthquakes are constantly occurring
around the world, often more severe than the ones now seen in Japan.