Probably the best thing about being a writer in the 21st century
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished I was one of those writers who could sit down in the local coffee shop, overhear a snippet of a conversation, and write a story about it. A cup of coffee is a whole lot cheaper than a flight to Japan. But no, I had to set my novels halfway across the planet.
Since I can’t afford to fly back to Tokyo every time I want to get a specific detail just right, every day I thank my lucky stars that I’m writing in the Silicon Age. Generally speaking, I’m a major technophobe, but I’ve got to admit there are a lot of handy sites out there if you want to find out what color the floor tiles are in a particular Yokohama subway station, or how many miles it is from Hakone to Kyoto on the Tokaido Road.
If you’re like the great majority of my readers, you haven’t been to Japan, you don’t know much about Japanese history, and your Japanese vocabulary goes about as far as Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto. Since I find Japanese culture utterly fascinating, and since maybe you do too, and since I spend a lot of time googling this sort of thing anyway, I thought I’d compile some of my favorite web pages on this site. You’ll find them on the new Links page.
Since I can’t afford to fly back to Tokyo every time I want to get a specific detail just right, every day I thank my lucky stars that I’m writing in the Silicon Age. Generally speaking, I’m a major technophobe, but I’ve got to admit there are a lot of handy sites out there if you want to find out what color the floor tiles are in a particular Yokohama subway station, or how many miles it is from Hakone to Kyoto on the Tokaido Road.
If you’re like the great majority of my readers, you haven’t been to Japan, you don’t know much about Japanese history, and your Japanese vocabulary goes about as far as Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto. Since I find Japanese culture utterly fascinating, and since maybe you do too, and since I spend a lot of time googling this sort of thing anyway, I thought I’d compile some of my favorite web pages on this site. You’ll find them on the new Links page.