G.E. Nordell's
Japan / Nippon
Travel & Business Links Page
Official Japanese Government Links & Info
Japan covers 145,916.94 square miles {377,923.14 square kilometers}.
(Japan's total land area is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Montana, and slightly larger than Finland.)
Highest elevation is Mount Fuji (12,388 feet/3,776 meters); lowest elevation is minus 13 feet (-4 meters).
Japan's population (2011 estimate) is 127,799,000.
The popular name is 'Land of the Rising Sun'.
The national flower is the Cherry Blossom (sakura); the national tree is the Japanese Cedar (cryptomeria).
The national bird is the Green Pheasant; the national fish is the Koi/Nishikigoi (brocaded carp).
The Sika Deer of Nara Park are designated National Treasures.
Nationwide Links
Japan entry at Wikipedia
The Japanese Page: combination social network & teaching Japanese language site
Zen Department at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
Ooto-ya [est. 1958] restaurant chain {100 in Tokyo, 200 more in Asia}
English-language 'Go Japan Go' Guide To Japan [est. 2002]
'Go Japan Go' maps of Japan
A Few Important People
The Emperor of Japan is a ceremonial figure, symbolizing unity & tradition; the government is run by
the Prime Minister, a member of the Diet bicameral legislature.
official website of Japan's Imperial Household
Prince Akihito Heisei formally became the 125th Emperor of Japan in Novemeber 1990.
official website of The Prime Minister of Japan & his Cabinet
official website of Japan's Diet - House of Councillors
official website of Japan's Diet - House of Representatives
Hiroshi Inagaki [1905–80]
cinema master Akira Kurosawa [1910-98]
animator Hayao Miyazaki
Kenji Mizoguchi [1898-1956]
cinema master Yasujiro Ozu [1903-63]
Arts & Entertainment of Japan
Cinema of Japan Pages at Magic Lantern
on page 1: top of page •
books about Japanese cinema •
filmmakers of Japan •
actors & others of Japan •
links
on page 2: top of page •
movies of Japan •
samurai genre •
yakuza genre •
'Chushingura' •
'Godzilla' series •
selected movies:
1950s •
1970s •
recent movies & coming soon
Magic Lantern's Samurai Films Festival Page
Magic Lantern's Kurosawa/Mifune Films Page
Magic Lantern's Godzilla / Gojira Movies Page
Magic Lantern's 'Zatôichi The Blind Swordsman' Film Series Page
47 Rônin / Chüshingura Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Magic Lantern's 'Lone Wolf & Cub' Samurai Film Series Page
Thomastown in Japan {website has no English-language option}
main Thomastown location in Shinmisato
Travel & Tourism in Japan
browse travel books about Japan at Amazon
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism
Japan National Tourist Organization [est. 1964]
J.N.T.O North America website [est. 2003]
Ryokan Seikan-So - Intl. Tourism Center of Japan [est. 1990]
Minshuku Center - B&B-style inns of Japan
Hokkaido Island of Japan
North Honshu
Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi & Yamagata Prefectures
Tokyo area
Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, Tochigi & Tokyo Prefectures
Roppongi Hills Urban Centre business & residential complex [opened 4/2003] in Tokyo, Japan
Central Honshu
Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Nigata, Shizuoka, Toyama & Yamanashi Prefectures
![Oigawa Railway [est. 1927] in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan](images/OigawaRailway-logo.gif){kind=logo}
Oigawa Railway [est. 1927] website in Japanese •
English-language info webpage •
entry at Wikipedia
'Thomas Land' at Fuji-Q Highland Theme Park [est. 1998] at Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
Kyoto / Osaka areas
Hyogo, Kyoto, Mie, Nara, Osaka, Shiga & Wakayana Prefectures
Nara Hotel [est. 1909] in Nara, Japan
famous temple & rock garden Ryoanji in Kyoto
Thomas Station location in Izumi, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
town of Minoh, Osaka Prefecture, Japan - famous for momiji (maple leaf tempura) for the past 700 years
South Honshu
Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori & Yamaguchi Prefectures
Thomas Station location in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan
Shikoku Island of Japan
Ehime, Kagewa, Kochi & Tokushima Prefectures
Kyushu Island of Japan
Cita, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Nagasaki & Saga Prefectures
Okinawa Prefecture & Ryukyu Islands
Reading Material
browse travel books about Japan at Amazon
 | "The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari)" [circa 1000 CE] by Murasaki Shikibu (Lady Murasaki) [978-1014 CE] Generally considered the world's first novel; written at the beginning of the XIth Century, with manuscripts copied and recopied to the XIXth Century; first English translation in 1882, with best recent translations in 1976 by Edward G. Seidensticker {*ES} and in 2001 by Royall Tyler {*RT}. The book is intended as an entertainment for the royal court of Murasaki's time, and is highly stylized, with dialogue usually in poetry. The story relates incidents in commoner and royal households before, during and after the life of a warrior named Genji. • book entry at Wikipedia UNABR Kindle Edition {*RT} from Penguin Classics [2001 edition] for $12.99 ABRIDGED Kindle Edition {*RT} from Penguin Classics [2006 edition] for $12.00 Kindle Edition from Tuttle Publng [1974 edition] for $2.85 Penguin Classics {*RT} ABRIDGED 7¾x6¼ pb [2/2006] for $12.00 Penguin Classics {*RT} 9x6¼ pb [11/2002] for $19.80 Vintage {*ES} 8x5¼ pb [6/90] for $10.95 Knopf {*ES} 9x6 pb [7/78] out of print/many used Everyman's Library {*ES} hardcover [1/93] for $18.15 |
 | "The Tale of The Heike" [XIIth Century] Classic work of Japanese literature, compiled around 1370 CE from oral tradition. Events cover the war between the Heike (Taira) clan and the Minamoto (Genji) clan for rule over Japan, ending with the decisive Genpei War of 1180-85. The first English translation was by Sadler (1918-21); others include a complete (800-page) translation by Hiroshi Kitagawa & Bruce T. Tsuchida in 1975; Helen Craig McCullough's {*HM} translation in 1988; Burton Watson's abridged translation in 2006; and Royall Tyler's {*RT} translation in 2012. • book entry at Wikipedia Kindle Edition {*RT} from Viking/Penguin [10/2012] for $34.99 Stanford Univ Press {*HM} 9x6 pb [3/90] for $18.28 Viking Adult {*RT} 9½x6½ hardcover [10/2012] for $31.50 Stanford Univ Press {*HM} 9½x6½ hardcover [4/88] out of print/used |
 | "Read Practical Japanese" [1976] by John Braden Kenkyusha Publng 7¾x5 pb [1983] out of print/used Kenkyusha Publng 7x5 pb [1976] out of print/used |
 | "Introduction To Japanese Culture" [1996] Edited by Daniel Sosnoski
topics/sections include: Holidays & Festivals; Arts & Skill; Recreation & Leisure; Cuisine & Diet; Religion & Spirituality; Home & Daily Life; Communication & The Printed Word; and Places & Sights Tuttle Publng 10x7¼ pb [6/96] for $13.08 |
 | "Japan To 1600: A Social and Economic History" [2009] by William Wayne Farris Univ Hawaii Press 9x6 pb [7/2009] for $23.58 Univ Hawaii Press 9x6 hardcover [7/2009] for $60.00 |
 | "Hiragana! A Beginner's Guide To The Wonders of Written Japanese!" [2010] by Clay Boutwell Kindle Edition from Kotoba, Inc. [8/2010] for $4.99 |
 | "Riding The Train In Japan (Erik's Guide To Japan Series #1)" [2011] by Erik Curre "Your guide to navigating the Japanese rail system (with) confidence"; topics include: dealing with crowds; train companies; ticket machines; the train pass; ticket gates; Narita Airport; tips & tricks; and useful vocabulary Kindle Edition from Erik Curre [3/2011] for $1.50 {sic} |
 | "A Geek In Japan: Discovering The Land of Manga, Anime, Zen, and The Tea Ceremony" [2011] by Hector Garcia
Kindle Edition from Tuttle Publng [4/2012] for $11.79 Tuttle Publng 10x7½ pb [6/2011] for $12.89 |
 | "The Brittle Decade: Visualizing Japan In The 1930s" [2012] Essays by leading experts on Japanese art and history, including Jacqueline Atkins, Pulitzer Prize-winner John W. Dower, Anne Nishimura Morse, Frederic Sharf, and others; 160 astonishing full-color illustrations of paintings, textiles, and graphic arts M.F.A. Publns 9¾x9¼ hardcover [7/2012] for $32.89 |
 | "Japan Journeys: Famous Woodblock Prints of Cultural Sights In Japan" [2015] by Andreas Marks includes prints by masters such as Utagawa Hiroshige, Kitagawa Utamaro, Utagawa Kunisada, and Katsuhika Hokusai, the artform's most celebrated artist Kindle Edition from Tuttle Publng [4/2015] for $13.99 Tuttle Publng 8x8 hardcover [4/2015] for $15.18 |
here on G.E. Nordell's Japan / Nippon Travel & Business Links Page
top of page • national links • arts & entertainment • travel & tourism • reading material
Hokkaido • north Honshu • Tokyo area • central Honshu (Nagano)
Kyoto / Osaka areas • south Honshu (Hiroshima) • Shikoku • Kyushu • Okinawa
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