SOME USEFUL WEB SITES
ON JAPANESE CULTURE, CUSTOMS & LANGUAGE

These web sites are recommended reading for business visitors to Japan, especially first-time business visitors. They present an overview of Japanese culture, customs, and etiquette. Japanese culture is very different from the American. All aspects of Japanese life, especially business relations, are governed by strict rules of etiquette. A foreign business person who is either ignorant of, or insensitive to, Japanese customs and etiquette needlessly jeopardizes his company's prospects in this country. An elementary knowledge of the language is also useful, although not required. We hope that CS clients will find the contents of these web sites useful as they prepare for a business trip to Japan or get ready to deal with visiting Japanese business people in the United States.

Planet Tokyo http://www.planettokyo.com/
Excellent general-purpose web site especially helpful for first-time travelers to Japan, with features on “Arriving” (planes, trains, buses , and taxis), “Culture Notes,” “Travel Basics,” “Language & Culture,” “Getting Around,” and “Travel Planning Links.”

japan-guide.com a very good basic guide to Japanese culture

Japanese culture http://www.japan-guide.com
Japanese etiquette http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e622.html
Japanese customs http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e638.html

Japan Web Guide FAQ

"Japanese Culture: A Primer for Newcomers" http://www.thejapanfaq.com/FAQ-Primer.html
"Japanese Manners & Etiquette" http://www.thejapanfaq.com/FAQ-Manners.html

Japanese language

"Some Notes on Japanese Grammar" http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/jgrammar.html
"Japanese for the Western Brain" http://kimallen.sheepdogdesign.net/Japanese/index.html
Jim Breen's Japanese Page http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/japanese.html