Being the typical middle-American type of guy, I don't know nearly as

much about Japan as I would like to when I work on my fanfics. My
question for you all is - what do you use for information? Is there
any particular source(s) that you prefer? I can name a few cities, a
couple of Japanese dishes (sushi, okonomiyaki(sp?), and ramen are
about it), and that's just about all I know.

Books, books and more books...  There's no substitute for
research.  Read KOC ( http://server.berekely.edu/Anime/KOC ).
There are some bozos out there (and you know who you are...)
that will tell you that KOC is drivel or insipid crap,
but at least it's well-researched insipid crap...

Books that I've used a lot:
"Everything Japanese" by Boye DeMente <-Very easy to read; and
alphabetized by subject.
"Japanese Business Etiquette" by Diana Rowland <-If you intend to do
someone more sophisticated than norm.
"Frommer's Comprehensive Travel Guide to Tokyo" <-Restaurants, clubs,
and more
"Japan- An Illustrated Encycolpedia" by Kodansha Press. <-Very
expensive, but very, very thorough
"Learning to Bow" by Bruce Feiler<-An American's journal while he taught
English to a Japanese high school
"Behind the Japanese Bow" by Boye DeMente <-A guide to understanding
Japanese behavior

In addition, buying a map of Tokyo and a Subway map
is an inexpensive and easy way to get tons of authentic
references.  It also lets you be consisten with your
locations if you write a multi-parter.

Stephen Tsai
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http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/1604/