Links

The links are sorted by topic, so just browse and see what you’re interested in.
I read most of the websites and blogs here myself! They’re listed in no specific order.

Overview

Great Japan Blogs (English)
Great Japan Blogs (German)
Traveling in Japan
Working in Japan
Learning Japanese
Miscellaneous
Link back to Zooming Japan

Great Japan Blogs (English):

Culture Japan	A very popular blog that features awesome photos of Japan (food, festivals, conventions). The main focus of the website are manga, anime, games and merchandising!
Jamie in Japan	A blog written by an American aspiring mangaka in Tokyo. The blog is about daily life in Tokyo and how to become a mangaka.
Tokyobling’s Blog	Awesome photos, mainly of Japanese festivals!
Shibuya246	About life in Tokyo mainly, but also lots of inspiration for traveling in Japan. Great photos. Not updated very often.
Surviving in Japan	A lot of profound information about daily life (e.g. giving birth to a baby in Japan).
Loco in Yokohama	About being black in Japan – or a foreigner in general, also a lot about racism in Japan. The blog owner is the author of the book “Hi! My name is Loco and I am a racist.“.
MoreThingsJapanese	Read about daily life in Japan, food and Okinawa. The blog owner is the author of the book “Samurai Awakening“.
Japanese Rule of 7	Another blog of somebody living in Japan for many years. What makes it unique in my eyes is the writing style! Very amusing, refreshing and yet you learn something!
Wander in Japan	Still a small blog with some interesting travel logs. The blog has a very personal touch to it!
Emily loves Japan	A pretty new blog of somebody who just fell in love with Japan and is very enthusiastic about it. Reminds me a lot of myself back in the days and that’s why I enjoy reading it. Lots of great photos, too!
Japan Australia	Another great blog with a lot of posts and information about Japan! You’ll find information about Japanese holidays, food and traveling.
Haikugirl’s Japan	While the title of the blog might be misleading, it’s not a blog about Japanese haikus, but about Japan in general. The blogger used to live in Japan for some years and provides readers with a lot of information about Japan and Japan related events in the UK.

Great Japan Blogs (German):

Tabibito’s Blog	He’s writing about daily life in Japan, also quite a lot about politics as well as updates on the situation in Fukushima and radiation.
Weltentdeckerfrosch	A German girl married to a Japanese citizen, living in Japan, talking about all good, bad and crazy things of daily life.
8900km: Berlin – Tokyo	This is the blog of a German young woman who left Germany to get married to a Japanese man. Now she’s living with her husband in Japan and blogs about her daily life there.
Samurai Biker	Check out this blog of a German guy living and working in Tokyo for the past few years writing about daily life including some photos and videos.
Satori Nihon	About traveling, tea (ceremony), kendo and everything in and around Kyoto featuring absolutely stunning photos!

Traveling in Japan:

WikiTravel	My personal main resource when planning trips. A lot of valuable information about various cities in Japan (sightseeing spots, food, hotels, other interesting things nearby etc.)
Japan Guide	A very detailed travel guide with photos in English. I also often use this to plan my trips!
Hypderdia	Best website out there if you need to check train connections and price information! It also includes subway and airplane information. I always use it when planning my trips!
Muza-chan’s Gate to Japan	A photo of Japan every day and some nice travel tips as well.
Jcastle.info	This is THE guide to Japanese Castles in English! Personally I always use it when planning my trips as I’m a castle lover and you’ll get most of the necessary information there!
Japanese Castle Explorer	Another great guide if you’re interested in Japanese castles.
More glimpses of unfamiliar Japan	Very good blog if you want to get some travel ideas. Covers especially smaller and unknown sightseeing spots, so good for insider tips.
LifeYou.tv	Need some travel inspiration or just can’t get enough of Japan? Then how about watching live videos instead of only staring at photos?!

Working in Japan:

Gaijinpot	Good to get general information (apartments, jobs etc.) about Japan. The forum isn’t always that helpful as there are a lot of “bad” comments and “trolls” around.
Dave’s ESL Café – Japan	Want to teach English in Japan? Then check out this forum for more information. The main website has job offers!
Life after the BOE	The website isn’t really active anymore, but offers funny comics about life as an ALT (assistant language teacher) in Japan. The comics have been published in a book now, so check it out!

Learning Japanese:

Reviewing the Kanji	One of the best forums out there if you want to talk about studying Japanese with others or get great study advice. It also features an online flashcard program to review the kanji you’ve studied using the Heisig method.
Anki	The best, free flashcard program out there. I’ve been using it for many years myself. A must-have if you’re studying Japanese. I’ve used it for studying vocabs, grammar and kanji. You can use it on your mobile devices, too!
Tofugu	Tofugu is not only about studying Japanese, it also features a lot of random cultural information about Japan, often by using funny videos, so check it out!
Mainichi Kanji	Want to practice like Japanese students do? This website offers great practice sentences every day. Within a sentence you have to transform the kana into kanji!
Kotonoha	Want to practice your Japanese a little? Here, you have to “O” or “X” a short statement and give a short reason for your voting. All in Japanese, of course!
Nihongo day by day (Japanese)	A blog written in Japanese by a Japanese teacher. You’ll learn a lot of grammar by reading it. Not updated very often.

Miscellaneous:

nekoblog.ch	A cute blog written by a Swiss girl in English. You’ll find delicious and cute bentos as well as cosplay and travel photos. Not all of the entries are Japan related.
Unterwegs in der Welt (German)	A travel blog with its main focus on Japan (especially smaller islands). Great photos!

Blog Directories:

Contact me if you know any good websites / blogs

If you know any good blogs or websites that have to do with Japan in any way, then please feel free to contact me. I’ll review it and then decide if I’ll add it here or not.
No shameless self-promotion, please!

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