[X] CYBER WORLDS
sakura friend club
little J-community with chat, message board & e-pal lists

Japanese On-line
another J-community. check out the forum.

Communications Breakthrough
probably the best net communication place I've seen that deals with Japan. promotes people to get a understanding of japanese culture etc. without a language barrier. the couple that created this wonderful page translates your messages English to Japanese vice versa. one of the many pages that inspired me in making this page.

[X] CULTURE
Tokyo Q
weekly city guide of Tokyo. great format and so up-to-date.

Tokyo food page
nice layout. packed with content?

japan file
lots of articles. some are interesting. maybe sometimes too critical but all around ok.

Japan Guide
has all around general ok info. layout good. like the communication forum section. wish my page had a great forum like that. If you have time, please post some interesting message in my forum so someday, mine will look like this one. ha ha

Neo-Tokyo Magazine
Great site with great articles that reveal a western view of J-pop culture. Now with a brand spankin' new design.

My Japan
This site is cultural, educational AND fun! The journal entries are very "real," and everyone needs to check out the little comics under "My tips for Japanese living."

Gil Asakawa's Nikkei View
I don't know why I hadn't linked this site earlier but here it is! There's a line on his site that discribes the site very well : "A weekly column of pop culture and politics from a Japanese American perspective." Oh and btw, Gil writes VERY well!

urban essence. a photographic journey through Tokyo
This is probably the only sight I've seen that has great urban Japan pictures. Excellent design and layout. I'm planning to have a section like this after I take billions of pictures from my Japan trip during this summer. Well, I'm not sure if it's going to be this good but . . . give me a break! ha ha.

United Front Japan
This place is extremely interesting and very helpful for non-Japanese people living or not living in Japan. "An organization working to promote the welfare and legal rights of non-Japanese with Japanese spouses, and other long-term or permanent residents of Japan" It has great Articles that discuss about discrimination and well just little things that a non-Japanese resident might experience. I just joined the mailing list and I can't wait to get some mail! check this place out if your into any kind of "Japan issue" in general.

FEW
This is a network organization for foreign women in Japan. It seems like the women have meetings every month where you get to listen to various speakers. Sounds very inspirational to me but I'm not old enough to join and I don't even live in Japan!

[X] ENTERTAINMENT
Oricon Ranking
best place to see music rankings. enough said. make sure to click and see the album, manga and computer game rankings.

J!-ENT: A Japanese Entertainment in English Zine
This place is great if you already have some background knowledge on J-ent but if you don't you'll be a little confused. Another thing that I don't like about this site is that it tends to focus on specific artists and doesn't really get into a variety. The gossip might get a little annoying but still the site has a lot of content for you to look around and get a glimpse of J-pop culture including lots of links to other sites on the web. Recently they really organized the site and added little sections onto the main page like a newsletter. It has alot more J-modern culture stuff than it did before.

Bonsai's Jpop Pages & Jpop Search Engine
This is another place where you have to have some background knowledge on J-ent but still it's a great place to browse and get familiar with it! Check it all out.

Japan Lyrics
a domain full of romanized J-pop lyrics. what more can you ask for! the layout is great and it has a big selection. However, if you're looking for
very recent singles, you sometimes won't find it there but at the same time you would be amazed at how updated this site can be!

Jpop Mp3 Searcher
All the mp3s you can get! Linked to sites all over the net so you can sample lots of J-music.

Viva Music
although this place isn't just about J-music/ent, it still has a good section on Japanese music so check it out! You can listen to samples and see music videos.

[X] ONLINE SHOPPING
CD Japan
You can find new stuff here but it's basically because the shop is based in Japan I think? So I guess the shipping might be expencive. I don't know but check it out.

DeoDeo
This is another Japan based online CD shop. I personally like it because of it's layout which I think is better than CD Japan and obviously there is more of a selection compared to japanime.com etc.!

Japanime
if your looking for music, this might not be the place to go. you might find what you want but still, the selection here is pretty limited. Also you won't find new stuff here. still I think you should check it out because it has a variety of stuff other than cds.

Yes Asia
This place is a personal favorite of mine. It used to be called Asia Cd but it's now called Yes Asia (whatever that's supposed to mean). They are reliable and have legitimate overseas version which are cheaper than the Japanese versions.

HK Pop
You have to register yourself to see the selections they have I guess. Although the registration is free, I just didn't feel like doing it. Sorry.

Tokyo Pop
I've heard that most of the stuff here doesn't come really quickly but still they have some cool articles on their site I'd wish I could write someday. Not only that a pretty cool magazine.

Stone Bridge Press
If your looking for books about Japan, this might be one place to search for them. Obviously you will find some books at www.amazon.com, www.borders.com and www.bn.com which is barnes and nobles.

[X] TECHNOLOGY
Computing Japan Magazine
This is probably the first J-tech magazine I've seen in English on the web. Not sure of the quality since it's the first one I've seen, but hope you enjoy.

[X] THE NET
Original Free Web Graphics Ring
Although this place is in Japanese, you can check out lots of cute web graphics you won't be able to find on American sites. Especially the one's with Japanese on them. Although I personally don't like pre-made animated graphics, these were too cute to resist.

[X] FASHION
Cutie
This is basically the webpage for one of the coolest Japanese magazines. The fashion they focus on is mostly funky ones and a little past the norm but still, it kicks ass. Check it out although there aren't many pictures to see.

Shibuya 109
"Marukyu" is one of many cool places to shop and catch up with fashion trends in Tokyo. On this site is a floor guide and a shop list. You can find pictures of some stores inside the building.

Gals Oops!
An online Gal Magazine that amazingly enough has an english version! Although not all of it is in English, check it out because it has lots of pics!

[X] DESIGN
Shift
digital design from Japan. this page kicks so much ass!