Amazing Japan

Over the last few years Japan has developed into a cultural powerhouse with Muji Stores in faraway places like Germany, Anime movies being shown in local art cinemas and occasionally even in the Multiplexes and there are now Mangas in corner bookstores everywhere.

We are bombarded by new Japanese gadgets that look unrealistically futuristic and do amazing things and all of it seems to be impeccably designed. And then there's of course the wave of TV clips from Japan that can be found on YouTube, all of it delightfully crazy and more fun than anything on our TVs any day of the week.

There's quite a number of blogs out there that try to filter this cultural spring flood for us. Here's one of the latest ones with a bewildering array of posts already in a few short months: Tokyomango by Lisa Katayama. Her blogposts span the full range of Japan's culture and while she is based in the Bay Area she seems to be traveling to Japan on a regular basis for writing assignments, keeping her insights fresh and internationally relevant.