Life in Japan

Websites for Foreigners in Japan

  • Gaijin Pot Lots of info on jobs, apartments, stuff for sale in Japan.
  • Tokyo Employment Service Center for Foreigners Government sponsored centre which specializes in placements and providing information relating to work to foreigners living in Japan. Help available in Japanese, English and Chinese.
  • Seek Japan Comprehensive guide to life in Japan. Also home of the online site of Japanzine, a free English language magazine available in the Kanto/Chubu areas.
  • Hiragana Times Site for travelling/living in Japan - jobs, visas and more.
  • Metropolis Online site of the free Tokyo-based English language magazine.
  • Japan SAQ Answers to peoples questions about the quirks, customs and just downright randomness of Japan (including one by our very own David Keddie)
  • What Japan Thinks Japanese opinion polls translated into English. An interesting read!
  • JetSetJapan Has useful guides to life in Japan, contests, and tons of links.
  • Big Daikon Great for idle hours at school, Big Daikon is a message board site dedicated to (complaining about) life in Japan.
  • I Think I'm Lost A newer JET/Japan discussion forum. Claims to be like BigDaikon but with a friendlier atmosphere.
  • Jetblag.com A new blogging website set up specifically for JETs.

Sports etc

  • Outdoor Japan Japan's quite pretty if you get out of the concrete areas! This site has loads of info about doing stuff in the great outdoors.
  • Snow Japan Contains information on ski conditions at resorts around the country, as well as directions, prices, and maps for a lot of them.
  • Hakuba Village English website with information on Hakuba, one of the best places for skiing/snowboarding.
  • Nihon Sumo Kyokai Official Grand Sumo Home Page English webpage with info on sumo tournaments

Entertainment

  • Takaoka Warner Mycal Japanese site for the Warner cinema (in Saty). Scroll down for the listings. JPN means the film has been dubbed into Japanese, alas.
  • Takaoka TOHO Cinema Listings for the Toho cinema in AEON. 字幕版 means subtitles.
  • Favore TOHO Cinema Listings for the TOHO in Favore.
  • Tokyo Gig Guide A good list of upcoming gigs in the Tokyo area.
  • Metropolis concerts listings The concerts listings section of Metropolis (Tokyo area only). Use the links on the left to find out about clubs, art exhibitions etc too.
  • Japanzine Music Listings Japanzine's concert listings for Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and other big cities.
  • Kyodo Hokuriku A Japanese site which lists gigs in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Updating seems to be a bit hit or miss though.
  • Toyama Clubs and gigs A Japanese site listing club info in Toyama and Kanazawa - click on the club names in the スケジュール section on the right to see if there's anything going on.
  • Design Festa A really cool event that's held twice a year. Artists and designers from Japan and all over the world show their work - lots to see and buy.

Misc

  • The Japan Post Office English Webpage Loads of useful information about the Post Office.
  • Location info for the Miss Selfridge/Warehouse Franchises in Japan.
  • World Clock Confused about what time it is back home? Use the world clock to see the current time all over the world.
  • The Japan Meteorological Agency's English Page Japan's weather...in English.
  • Yahoo Tenki Weather in Japanese, and often wildly innacurate, but if you choose the 富山 kanji from the list of kens you can enjoy finding out the likelihood of needing an umbrella, catching a cold / having rough skin or eating nabe during winter or in summer you'll see the likelihood of having a beer, needing a sunhat or eating icecream.
  • Be Prepared! We don't get many earthquakes in Toyama but as evidenced by the recent Noto Quake they do happen. Here's a good guide for preparing for and earthquake-proofing your house.
  • The Distance LearningCenter Fill up your spare time at school and get qualified!
  • My Mother is a Tractor A rollicking new book written by a former JET Program teacher while based in Omi, Niigata - just across the border from Toyama. The Crazy Japan Times and Rough Guide Japan both rated it, "A must read..."