The Groundbreaking Female Artist Who Shaped Manga History

A new collection introduces English-speaking audiences to an overlooked Japanese cartoonist who smashed both gender and genre norms during her short life.

NHK News Web Easier

NHK News Web Easier provides content for people wishing to learn Japanese, in the form of text, voice and video.

NHK News Web is the online newspaper edited by NHK (日本放送協会), Japan’s public broadcasting company. News Web Easy is a version targeted at children with simpler words, kanji and sentence structures, and with furigana (振り仮名).

NHKEasier gathers content from News Web Easy … [ Read more ]

How to Live (And Sometimes Work) in Japan on Working Holiday: The Ultimate Guide

If you’re an independent soul and would like your time in Japan to be flexible and adventurous, a working holiday could be your best option. What follows is the full guide—from applying for your visa, to work and housing options, and even how to convert to a standard working visa if you want to stay in Japan—all from someone who has done it. I’m British, … [ Read more ]

10 Incredible Japanese Movies You Need to Watch RIGHT Now

Japan has released some legendary, heartfelt, strange, fantastical, and horrifying films over the decades. They’re also a great learning tool! So, here are the very best Japanese films to watch and learn Japanese from movies.

25 Ways to Save Money While Traveling in Japan

Is Japan really as expensive as people say it is? Ashley Thompson has discovered many ways to save money, both as a resident and as a traveler. Some are fairly standard, but others were learned through trial and error.

How Japanese Went From Illegible To Legible In 100 Years

At the core of Japanese there’s hiragana, the basic Japanese alphabet (or syllabary, if you want to be pedantic about it). But it wasn’t until pretty recently that hiragana was standardized. Until the 20th century, people could basically write hiragana however they wanted to. Those different ways of writing hiragana were called hentaigana (変体仮名).

JGuide: Stanford Guide to Japan Resources

The J Guide is a topically arranged directory of online information resources in and about Japan, with focus on resources about Japan in the English language.

Yamato Kotoba: The REAL Japanese Language

A lot of people don’t know this, but the Japanese language is actually a big mishmash of several not-Japanese languages put together. At one time though, a long long time ago, the Japanese language was a slightly less mishmashy combination of several languages. This is what’s known as “Yamato Kotoba” ー the real Japanese language from a time when there wasn’t so much outside language … [ Read more ]

Japanese Etiquette: How to Save Yourself from Embarrassment in Japan

If you’ve ever considered a trip to the land of the rising sun you’ve probably done some research on proper Japanese etiquette. Many daily customs are significantly different from those of the western world. Hopefully this compiled list of proper manners will be all you’ll ever need to survive your stay in Japan. Check out these etiquette resources and never again bring shame and dishonor … [ Read more ]

Indeed

Indeed claims to be the most comprehensive
search engine for jobs in Japan. It achieves this by providing free access – in a single search – to thousands of jobs and internships from hundreds of job boards, newspaper classifieds and company websites.

Children of Japan

This pre-WWII video from Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, shows home, work and school activities of a middle-class Japanese family.

JAPUNDIT

JAPUNDIT is a social bookmarking site that gives you an instant overview of the most popular English language articles about Japan and the other countries of East Asia. Basically, social bookmarking allows members to post links to articles or sites so others can view and evaluate them. In many ways, JAPUNDIT is similar to the popular Digg.com site.

Acceptable submissions to JAPUNDIT include blog posts, mainstream … [ Read more ]

Vending Machines of Japan

PhotoMann has a large ‘collection’ of images of unique vending machines found around Japan. Over 50 of them can be seen here

Japan’s Crisis of the Mind

Washington may see Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, as a powerful nation, but the Japanese don’t see themselves in the same light.

Careerjet

Careerjet is an employment search engine for Japan. In one simple search, Careerjet gives the job seeker access to a massive selection of jobs that are compiled from various internet sources, saving the trouble of having to visit each site individually.

Editor’s Note: This site is in Japanese only.

Anna’s Japan Guide

A large collection of articles about Japan, forums, a friends/penpal system, travel tips and links, photos, a blog, a Q&A feature and I think more…

Japanezy

Scott Macpherson built this site to make resources for learners of Japanese and fans of manga as well as publicize events throughout Scotland. I think the most useful aspect of the site for many will be the Japanese scripts of the famous animated movies from studio Ghibli. Print or scroll through whilst you watch on DVD to gain a greater appreciation and an osmotic boost … [ Read more ]

History’s 100 Most Influential People: Hero Edition (Video)

Further confirmation, if any were needed, that we all have a firm sense of our own place in the world is the release of “History’s 100 Most Influential People, Hero Edition,” a survey conducted by the Nippon Television Network, Japan’s largest broadcast system. Thirteen of the top 20 slots on the list, and about half overall, are occupied by Japanese people, an impressive(f somewhat ethnocentric《prinkling … [ Read more ]