The Daily Yomiuri On-Line- The English website for the Daily Yomiuri Newspaper. Many articles you will find here are by foreigners, so they may not always be from "The Japanese Perspective". However, the superior organization of this site and its wide variety of topics makes it well worth a daily visit. The sections such as: Politics, Crime, Society, International, Sports and so on, are clearly organized on the front page. Stock and Exchange Rate data are also available here as well as excellent weather reports.
Mainichi News- Make no mistake, this is a sensationalist newspaper. It also seems to lean very far to the left. This is also the home of the infamous Wai Wai News. Top stories are jumbled together on the front page.
Japan Times- A truly excellent source for Americans wanting to learn more about Japan, while catching up on the news. Well organized and with sections dedicated to Arts and Culture, Sports, Life in Japan, Editorials and Business, this is a professional and worthwhile source of news.
Asahi.com- Although lacking a pretty face, asahi.com offers a wide variety of topics that are not covered in other Japanese online newspapers. However, much like Mainichi News, Asahi also seems biased in its coverage of world events, which is perhaps explained by its close relationship with the New York Times.
Wai Wai News- I'm not responsible for what you find here, and I would take everything I read here with a grain of salt if I were you. This will provide you with the...extreme side of Japanese "news".
Japan Zone- I have listed this under entertainment since that is what the Japan Zone says it is, but more accurately, this is a place where you can find seemingly endless cultural information, news, language lessons and much much more.
JPOPmusic.com- A message board for JPOP news and discussion.
Geino Gazette- A part of the Mainichi family, Geino Gazette is an online guide that showcases movies of celebrity events, endorsements and announcements. Unfortunately, it is not updated daily.
J-ENT!- This is a massive resource for Japanese entertainment news. And as I'm sure you will find out, this site offers much more. For over ten years this site has been providing Japanese pop-culture information in English.
Japanese Drama Database- A celebrated database of the Japanese cultural phenomena, terebi dorama.
Kung Fu Cinema- A hip and stylish website devoted to bringing the latest news on Asian film releases, and reviews to the world.
Midnight Eye- The Midnight Eye is a four-man miracle as perhaps the largest English language database for Japanese film reviews. These reviews are on almost a scholarly level and can offer some deep insight for movies foreigners are bound to misinterpret.
Useful Expressions- Some useful introductory expressions courtesy of the Japan Zone
Tosa Accent- A huge listed guide to speaking like a native of Kouchi Prefecture in southern Japan.
Kyoto Accent- Many anime fans are used to hearing about "Kansai-ben", often compared to an American "southen accent". This is a guide to some useful phrases from the Kansai region.
Nagoya Accent- Nagoya-ben is another accent that Americans might call "laid-back". If you are interested in speaking Japanese, you may want to pick up some phrases here to surprise your friends with.
Okinawan Accent- Should you ever travel to Okinawa, you may want to familliarize yourself with some of the hougen from this beautiful island. Chances are though, not too many people on the main four islands of Japan will understand what you are saying.
Japanese Streets- A guide to "modern" Japan with coverage of fashion, trends, and cultural tidbits. Excellent for a glimpse of youth in Japan.
Shorinji Kempo- An English website for the martial art, Shorinji Kempo. All sorts of information on this technique's history and purpose are here, not to mention some online tutorials.
The Japan Window- A look at "modern" Japan for those of you looking to live or travel there. There are plenty of photographs and thoughtful entries to educate you.
Japan Atlas: Festivals- I searched far and wide for a decent website dedicated to Japanese festivals, and finally came upon the Japan Atlas: Festivals. Although every festival is not covered here, this is an excellent source for finding famous regional festivals throughout Japan. Plenty of data is presented on each given festival, down to the number of visitors they receive.
Anime News Service- An excellent source for Japanese animation and related news.
Subway Cinema- This is a society in New York City that provides showings for popular Asian films. Each year in the Spring they hold an Asian film festival, and of course, Japanese films are a part of the fun.
Tokyo Food- Do not let the name fool you, it covers all sorts of Japanese food, and provides links to other excellent Japanese food pages that cover much of what isn't on the website. My only criticism is that while this site offers extensive information on food foreigners may be familliar with, it does not cover popular regional dishes.
Pictures of Shinjuku- A look at the architecture of Shinjuku, the so-called "business district"
Timeline of Japan- It is impossible to compile a fully accurate or comprehensive time-line of Japan without filling a library, but this website courtesy of The Japan Guide will give you an excellent idea of what happened, when and where.
Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs- Are you interested in Japanese politics? This site covers political and international news relating to Japan. Among the data housed at this site, it makes available full transcripts of speeches by Japanese officials and leaders such as Prime Minister Junichirou Koizumi.
The Japan Society- The epicenter of scholarly evaluations of Japan in New York City. Exhibitions are almost always showing, and the countless lectures, movie viewings, not to mention language lessons are worth the trip.
The World of Frederik Schodt- Although it serves as somewhat of a commercial, this site will help expose you to the work of Frederik Schodt who is most certainly, America's greatest manga fan. Frederik has written extensively on Japanese manga and has aided in the translation of countless works. Might I add he occassionally worked as the personal interpreter for Osamu Tezuka.
Japanese Politics Web Resources- A database that provides many useful links to websites on Japanese culture. The CIA's Factbook on Japan through information on "modern" weddings in Japan are made available here.
Liza Dalby Home Page- One of the most respected names with regard to anthropoligical study of Japan, Liza Dalby's website provides a short autobiography, but more importantly an entry to her website The Tale of Murasaki. The Tale of Murasaki is essential website for a foreigner that attempts to take on the task of reading the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji.
Engrish.com- You know what this is. If you don't, you're about to find out.
Japander.com- A website with many Japanese commercials using American stars (or in the case of The Simpsons, cartoons). The purpose of the site is to expose how actors and celebrities spend a few hours, (or minutes), making commercials for a country they don't care about and in return, make a bundle of cash.
Dan in Japan- The stories and experiences of Dan, a college student who spent a year studying in Japan. Unlike the countless web diaries that you can find on the Internet which are the result of foreigners studying in Japan, this particular site does not ridicule, or make fun of what the author encountered. Rather Dan makes subtle observations and records the events of his daily life as the member of a Japanese host family in Shiga Prefecture.
Decorative English- A site much like engrish.com Have fun.
Morning Musume Online- A Morning Musume fansite with lots of group data and some info on sub-groups. Downloads and other media are available.
Morning Musume Miracle- A truly scary amount of data pertaining to Hello! Project groups and plenty of downloads.
Maki Goto- downloads, downloads, downloads. Please be kind, don't destroy the bandwidth.
Hello! Minna- A H!P fansite site with news and downloads. Maybe you're seeing a trend now.
Koi no Website- Yo no hablo espanol. But if you do you can enjoy this H!P fansite. Even if you don't understand a bit of Spanish, you can still enjoy the galerias and multimedia...wait, that's English.
Here are some Dragon Ball sites that you should frequent if you're looking for excellent Dragon Ball coverage. They are in NO PARTICULAR ORDER! Every site is randomly placed on here. Enjoy!
1.Save Our Sailors! What's the next best thing to large muscular sweaty men beating each other up? Small sweaty women beating each other up.....wait a minute, that didn't come out quite right... Anyway, check out SOS for the lastest news on Sailor Moon.
2.Dragon Ball VortexA great source for DB information and a healthy dose of multimedia from the Daizenshyuu.
3.The Next DimensionI'm considering this site my "little brother". It is maintained by a dedicated individual, James Walker, but really shines because of the original content. It is obvious that he has put an awful lot of work into the site and has stayed loyal to his work. Check out the manga summaries! James, keep it up!
4.The Dragon Ball Z Otaku AllianceA site that I helped bring to popularity years back. I don't know anyone in charge there now, they could be jerks for all I know, but I support their cause in showing fans of DB the truth.
5.Pojo's Dragon BallIf I had a large staff during any point of my site's life, I'd have been able to make my site into something like this. Fantastic source for DB/Z/GT information.
6.SSJ4 Kain's HomepageThis shoulda been here a long time ago, but better late than never. Everything but the kitchen sink at this site, and a picture of Sorimachi with each new update. How much better can it get?
7.Kame House A DBZ site from a group of tried and true DB enthusiasts. Certainly a good place to set your sites when looking for unique info and perspectives on DB!
8.DBZGT Legacy It's everything Planet Nameck was, without the scams and hate. Feel the love and the info at DBZGT Legacy.
9.Dragon Ball Menace Wow! An outstanding DB site with original content! Very creative, be sure to add it to your list.
10.Temple O' Trunks- I don't think I have ever seen a character shrine last this long or get this big. For everything and anything you did (or didn't) want to know about Trunks, this is the place.
11.Daizenshuu EX- An oldie but goodie, the greatest resource for the sounds of Dragon Ball.