Links to Other Sites

Takamatsu and Kagawa Prefecture

Takamatsu — the official site maintained by City Hall in Takamatsu. It covers many topics with lots of interesting information and photos.

Ritsurin Park Website — maintained by Kagawa Prefecture, this is a nice introduction to the park and includes some beautiful images. While some parts are only in Japanese, there are enough in English to make a worthwhile "virtual visit."

I-PAL Kagawa — the official site of the Kagawa International Exchange Center, which has various services available to the foreign community.

Anabuki College Japanese School — a great place to learn the language in Takamatsu. When the page loads be sure to click English.

Japan and Japanese in General

Japanese Lessons from Basics — a great place to get familiar with the language, with a wide range of self-study materials, quizzes, and more.

Language Express Kana Game — This is a new and very nicely done Flash-based game which tests your hiragana writing ability. You are given English words (mostly adjectives) which you translate into Japanese and write in hiragana. Presently, there is only one "correct" translation for each word (for example, aoi is accepted for "blue" while ao is not), but as long as you remember that this was created more for hiragana practice than translations you will soon see its value. With your sound on you can hear the word pronounced as well as words of praise when you get it right. Be sure to read the FAQ before playing. They have told me that this is the first version, so I highly recommend totally mastering it before the next one comes out. Very nice visuals and fun to play.

Japan Reference - Introduction to Kanji — is great for those with a deep interest in kanji. This is actually just one page of a large site containing all kinds of information about Japan and Japanese.

Yookoso.com — offers lots of links, grammar notes, articles and more.

Slice of Japan — has nice photos taken in various areas of Japan.

Debito.Org by Dave Aldwinckle — Though Dave lives up at the other end, many of his experiences parallel mine. He has quite a variety of detailed stuff covering the nuts and bolts that you would never see unless you worked many years and raised a family here. I would strongly recommend his essays to anyone who is thinking of living in Japan for an extended period.

ELT News — for a peek at the challenges faced by English teachers in Japan.

The Japan Times Online

Yahoo! Japan: Society and Culture — If you can't get enough, this is the gateway to the works. From tedious historical accounts to entertaining stories, just about everything you need concerning Japan is here.

Japan Forum — lets you check out the most current issues of interest, and even get involved if you feel like it.

Others

World Exchange Rates — takes you to a neat conversion table by Rubicon International for all the major currencies — and a few minor ones.

Online Conversion — tons of great conversion tools to help make sense of the numbers we live with.

Cultural Homestay International — for anyone interested in cultural exchange programs.

Foreign Buyer's Club — This site is all about getting those food items that we gaijin hanker for from time to time. FBC works hard to keep us expatriates in Japan happy. Deli items, books, internet services, investments — they have all kinds of connections. Their service is outstanding and always friendly.

Top