Japanese resources (NOT language resources!)

[Kait]

I've been searching for non-Japanese language resources and haven't come across a whole lot... Well, there's Wiki for starters: All pages - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


But I would like to read much more than just Wiki! I don't see a topic like this here, so...are there any good lists of non-language resources? (there's already a good topic for that, and tons of resources on the web)

Specifically things like culture, pop culture I suppose (it's good to be aware), history, people's expectations of you while living in Japan, etiquette (restaurants, onsens, etc), popular websites like Mixi/nicovideo, differences between Western and Japanese culture (like love for example), umm...all the things people are expected to know.

Basically I'd like to know as much as Japanese majors (my school doesn't offer that). Or someone raised in Japan! How well-prepared can a silly gaijin be before going over? I'd like to do my best in every situation...but at the moment I can't hold chopsticks even. Can't be that hard to learn, right?


Sooo yeah just looking for all the resources out there for this sort of thing! And I suppose any good English blogs by people living in Japan who share educational experiences and tips.

I'm not cheap, so I'll buy any good books etc. I mean I already bought Rosetta Stone, why stop there?

(I'm not sure if I come off as a dumb kid in this post, but I have already graduated and know a lot about JET and whatnot. Although any resources on teaching would be nice, as I have no experience teaching yet, and I'm a little concerned about that...but again it can't be that hard!)

[kirakira]

Try google.

Seriously, if you want literature on Japanese pop culture etc., you'll need to study Japanese. I have a book here just about Shibuya and the culture there published in 2008 but it is in Japanese.

It make sense doesn't it, there are more books about Japan in Japanese than there are in English.

If you just want travel information, try japan-guide.com - Japan Travel and Living Guide

Oh and if you do make it to japan, keep an open mind. Remember, you are gaijin, if you see some Japanese behaviour/values are weird, remember noone else thinks so except you.

[Sanchome]

Some of us from Japan Forum have been working on a resource called Virtual Japan - writing various articles on and off for a few years. There are a lot of articles over there on music, hotels, fashion, anime, harajuku, etc. That site was originally part of Japan Forum years ago.

There is even a forum on JF for discussing the Virtual Japan articles.