|
 Here
are some VERY interesting and useful sites about Japan and all
subjects Henna Gaijin (and wannabees) might find worth looking
at. We are very interested in your recommendations and additions
to this page. Please send site urls and the reason why you like
the site and want to include it to
."
Want to know what being
a "Henna Gaijin" is all about?
Here's a good personal piece on that subject, from an experienced
henna gaijin.
www.timyoungonline.com/japan/gaijin.html
 Would
you like to have your own dream trip to Japan, escorted and interpreted
by a professional Japanese interpreter from Baron Charms International
Services?
Click
here to find out how you can arrange your fabulous trip to
Japan, with a personal interpreter who will take you to places
you simply could not go on your own. Photographic and journalistic
tours a specialty.
This is one of the most
fascinating sites I have discovered, and if you don't know it,
you're in for a treat.
WARNING: You may get lost here for HOURS!
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl
This is the page that starts with "henna gaijin" and
from there takes you deep into amazing information about everything
including Japanese elevator etiquette, spaghetti omelets and Japanese
pizza. You can also link from here to the wonderful Everything
Japanese Encyclopedia.
Welcome
to Japan Review Net "This is a fairly new
web site with reviews of books about Japan. As I said it is only
a year+ old and is building a base. When you have time
on a winter day you might want to look at www.JapanReview.net.
-Recommended by Cece
Frank, Kobe.
The Japan Information
Network site includes lots of other great links, including
regional information and maps of Japan, and links to governmental
bodies. Also connects to "Nipponia" the terrific magazine
about Japan published in both Japanese and English, which provides
great study material on current topics.
http://jin.jcic.or.jp
 Planning
a trip to Nihon? Here are regularly updated sites for visitors.
The Japan FAQ:Know
before you go, or what I wish I knew before going. It is a guide
for working, visiting and living in Japan. http://thejapanfaq.cjb.net/
http://www.gojapan.about.com/
which even includes weather details along with seasonal sightseeing
recommendations. Also includes some japanese etiquette tips such
as how to use chopsticks politely (READ THIS! It is not polite
to pass food from one person's chopsticks to another, despite
scenes you may recall from the movies "Shogun" or "The
Karate Kid.")
Japan
resources - Japan related news, books and regional resources,
from another HennaGaijin in Canada.
http://www.japan.co.jp/~pbw/
is the link to the Tokyo English Information Source home page,
which is full of all kinds of goodies.
Welcome  to
Japan
 If
you are looking for a place in the Pacific Northwest to experience
real Shinto practice, please check out www.tsubakishrine.com
"Tsubaki Grand
Shrine of America is the place for renewal of life power... offering
a full spectrum of shrine Shinto activities and ceremonies.
Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America
is located on a pristine 25 acre site near Granite Falls,WA just
1 hour drive from the Seattle Metropolitan area or Eastside. "
  Planning
a romantic getaway, business trip, or personal retreat in Western
Washington?
If you are in the Seattle
area you will enjoy a great little Japanese getaway at the Fuurin-Oka
Futon & Breakfast, a private, detached house and garden
built in traditional Japanese style.
Quiet and secluded,
comfortable and exotic, Fuurin-Oka Futon & Breakfast offers
a bit of fantasy and a refuge from hectic schedules only a 30
minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle.
Kobe Trade Information
Office promotes trade between the United States and Kobe City,
Japan. www.us-japan.org/ktio.
Photographic
Slice of Japan consists of photographs I took during my three-year
residence in Japan, and during a three-week return visit last
year.
I think that what separates my site from many other Japan photography
sites is the focus on rural life; I lived in a small fishing and
farming town in Chiba Prefecture, and many of the scenes I captured
are of things the vast majority of tourists would never see, let
alone would know exist.
Regards,
Michael Thaler
New Jersey, USA
Have you heard Susan
Osborn's lovely recording of traditional Japanese songs in
English for which she received the Japanese equivalent of a Grammy?
Her six additional releases for her Japanese audience and a score
of tours established her as a substantial performing artist in
contemporary Japanese music and theater . . . A documentary film
of her life for Asahi H-D TV was aired there in 1997. Listen
(Real Audio required.)
Here you will find Randy's
detailed personal notes on Sushi and Sushi Bars and Independent
Travel in Japan -- with heaps of travel and cultural info on using
Japanese inns, trains, buses, and baths; plus insights on Japanese
history, religion, and language.
 michi:
n. road; path; method; "The Way"
online: adj. connected to or available through a computer or telecommunications
system
Michi
Online is a gathering place for everyone interested in the
cultural arts of Japan. It is both an electronic journal and a
collection of online resources for the Japanese arts community.
Language
Learning
Want to study Japanese?
http://www.pimsleurapproach.com/learn-japanese.asp offers
a great method!
And if you know some
Japanese, have fun improving it with:
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/hennanihongo.htm
What are some tips
you've picked up for mastering Japanese, or which at least help
you make your way around in Japan?
Send your tips to
Maiyim says:
"I forgot to
mention that when I started studying Japanese, I repeated first
year Japanese twice! That means, there were some sections I
did three times over, with different teachers and texts.
I just didn't feel ready to go on,
and laying aside any shame about hanging back, I felt it was
the right thing for meto do .
After I had a good
solid comfortable feeling about basic grammar and sentence construction
(which of course revamps your thinking and creates entirely
new neural pathways) it was easy to add vocabulary on to that.
But there must have been some classes I slept through more than
once - some grammar points and verb forms still escape me!"
Caitilin, a French and
German translator in Seattle, who is raising two bi-lingual children,
says:
Don’t forget
how useful videos and TV are in language learning.
Remember to learn the things children
learn, and in the ways they do: practice counting rhymes on
your fingers, and learn folk songs and childrens’ songs
and rhymes. Learn your body parts, nd colors, days of the week,
and play counting games.
Maiyim agrees: Yes,
the stories and rhymes ALL children who are brought up in a culture
seem to know, is one area I’ve really had to try to fill
in, since I wasn’t born and raised in Japan.
And Yes, I LOVE watching tapes of current Japanese television
dramas and such to keep my language up to date.
I learn things like “me-ru-tomo” which
means “e-mail friend” and is very current. And of course
I have great fun puzzling out some of the advertising messages
in television commercials.
We want to develop
a recommended reading list for our community, and will also be
happy to include your reviews of books you recommend. Please send
your selections and comments to
.
Japan Inside Out
by Jay and Sumi and Garet Gluck. Second Edition 1992. Yes, it's
old but not out of date.
Gateway to Japan
by June Kinoshita and Nicolas Palevsky. They offer ore Japanese
history than most other books I have read.
recommended
by Cece Frank.
BoyeLafayette
De Mente's "Behind the Japanese Bow" and NUMEROUS other
books on Japanese etiquette, psychology and behavior can really
unravel a few secrets for new and seasoned HennaGaijin. When friends,
especially anyone going to Japan on business, asks for your advice,
recommend they start on these books!
|
