Information on Japanese Pop Culture, Anime, Manga for Visitors

Internet search is a fantastic resource to find information on just about anything, but this information is often scattered to the four winds and it is pretty much a treasure hunt.

Today, I'm going to put down some links to some accessible sources of high-quality information for the traveler to Japan about anime, Akihabara, manga, and Japanese pop culture. Hopefully, the treasure hunt becomes a little easier.


Web Information About Japanese Pop Culture


Books
Cut and paste the text into your browser for the Japanese characters if you have to.
  • The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan [Paperback]
    Patrick W. Galbraith
  • TOKYO The Greatest Travel Tips 英語で歩く東京 [単行本]. Must order this on Amazon.co.jp
  • 旅の指さし会話帳〈21〉JAPAN (ここ以外のどこかへ!) [ペーパーバック]  This is a point and look Japanese phrasebook with lots of images.  Must order this on Amazon.co.jp
These books, pdfs, and links gave a pretty good intro for traveling to Japan for modern pop culture.  Just don't forget about the wonderful food and historical culture over there too.   I had a great time when I was there and probably had a big goofy grin much of the time I was there.  I've traveled to number of other countries and even lived in Greece for awhile, but I had a lot of fun on my trip there.  Some places have changed in Akihabara since this information was published; a big one being the demolition of the Radio Kaikan Building (where Stein's Gate is set), but the businesses will temporarily relocate and move to another "permanent" home at some point - maybe even back into the rebuilt replacement building.

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