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10 Really Awesome Japanese Sites /JBlogs!
Yesterday I stumbled upon two really fun j-blogs and came to the conclusion that my list of cool Japanese sites is getting quite deep and I should share some of it! And also, I lied. There are 12 13 links below. :p
1. Gakuranman.com
→ http://gakuranman.com/
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I don’t quite remember how I stumbled upon Gakuranman, but I’m quite glad I did! He also has an account on Edufire.com where he teaches Japanese and offers private tutoring sessions for students learning Japanese. His blog articles range from mostly life in Japan to the odd entry on bio luminescence. He has a lot of helpful and interesting articles on the Japanese language and interesting content on aspects of life in the land of the Rising Sun. Note to the ladies — he’s kinda cute and has a lovely British accent. 
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2. NihongoNotes.com
→ http://www.nihongonotes.com/
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Nice j-blog with a focus on learning Japanese. I haven’t had as much time to explore this one as I have with others, but he’s on my feed. 
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3. DannyChoo.com
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If you want to be floored just take a look at his about about page and see all the places he’s worked. 
Good grief! Very interesting j-blog with a range of topics…everything from pop-culture, to dollfie and figures. I found another great site through this one: http://japanprobe.com/ <— News and Entertainment articles from Japan.
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4. YesStyle.com
→ http://www.yesstyle.com/en/home.html
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Yes Style is a shop specializing in Japanese and Asian fashion and designs that is accessible to the US! 
Woowoo!!! If you follow Japanese fashion and lust for a shopping spree in Harajuku or 109 but don’t have a private jet to fly you over there, this may well be a good option for you. And the prices aren’t too bad at all!
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5. VirtualJapan.com
→ http://www.virtualjapan.com/
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Growing all around resource for everything Japan!
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6. Sushi-Cat.net
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This is more of guilty pleasure of mine since the Japanese market here in Houston closed and I can no longer get Japanese fashion magazines. *sigh* But anyway! She keeps up on everything and posts scans of the current issues of CamCan and other J-fashion magazines. I love looking at them because they are so different than American magazines. Pages are devoted on how to make different outfits and looks…complete with step by step pictorial make-up directions among other tutorials. I really wish some magazines over here would do that as less of a ‘special’ and more of a staple. Anyhow! Her blog is cute too.
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7. Jay-han.com
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This is the blog of a graphic designer I follow — he posts some nice reference and resource articles for fonts, some of them Japanese.
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8. Pingmag.jp
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Ping Magazine is sadly closed, but they have left up their log of articles and such for people to browse through. They cover the art and fashion scene in Japan and much more. Do give them a look. Hopefully one day they will come back. I found this designer, Hirocoledge, through them and am eagerly awaiting the day when I have some change to spare so I can buy one of the hand bags or *dies* the onepiece or one of her yukata designs… TOT Alright, to heck with it. I’m going to make Hirocoledge link number 8.5.
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8.5 Hirocoledge
→ http://www.shophirocoledge.com/
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If you’ve ever looked through my closet on Pupe (see number 12), you might notice that I have a thing for bold geometric patterns involving circles. Truth be told I gravitate more towards that than anything else in design, and I love when I can sneak it into my own work and play around with shapes. So, when I found this designer I went nuts. Beyond her signature line of sleeve bags, she takes the traditional kimono and yukata and infuses it with circle based patterns and designs. I find that clash of old traditional grace and a new, clean and sterile design edge absolutely delicious.
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9. JustBento.com
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Oh. My. God. Do not click this or link number 10 if you are hungry! Or if you are…be prepared for it to get worse and to be launched into an unwavering mission towards the fridge! Just Bento and it’s sister site, Just Hungry are two that I love to lurk through late at night for ideas and recipes. The author has great tips on bento making, as well as a ton of features on different types of bento, not to mention a catalog of totally awesome looking recipes. (I’m going to try the mini bowtie pasta salad soon!) You can learn how to pack your bento properly and take special precautions during Summertime or if you have used mayo and other temperature sensitive ingredients.
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10. AnnaTheRed.com
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Meet Anna the Red! Her kyaraben (Character Bento) are absolutely amazing. With each bento she steps through the making process with pics and also does side posts on how to make some of her more common filler and bento ingredients. She starts out most of the time with a sketch and then does most of the prep the night before, with full bento assembly happening in the morning. Very inspirational should you want to try your hand at kyaraben. She just moved to her own domain too! (Formerly annathered.wordpress.com)
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11. Tofugu.com
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I found Tofugu through Gakuranman.com, much like I did with NihongoNotes. I really like Tofugu’s writing style and the blogs are quite fun and the articles are packed with great resources on learning Japanese. Take this entry for example on his Top 10 Online Resources for Learning Japanese! Definitely a good read!
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12. Poupee Girl
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This is very addictive. This is very addictive. This is very addictive. It’s a dress-up game plus you get to participate in themed contests and upload pictures of your own closet!You get ribbons for taking daily snapshots of your avi and then can shop in the Pupe Market or at Katherine’s for new fashions. There are pupe event items as well as current fashion items available in the shops. On a funny side note, I saw Anna Paquin (Sookie from True Blood) wearing a shirt at SDCC that I had bought on Pupe a couple weeks before…it shows they really do watch what is current in terms of fashion trends! And another plus, they don’t annoy me like some sites where they dump nearly everything cool into the cash shop and pretty much abandon the development of the areas that built the community in the first place………………… ¬_¬ And they also aren’t over run by obnoxious ads.
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