PHOTOGUIDE.JP:About

As our slogan, "JAPAN: In Pictures & English," implies, it is (or will be) a Web site serving as an image-rich guide to Japan in English. It is a project in progress started in 2005 by Philbert Ono, a photographer based in Tokyo, Japan.

The site is driven by and consists of three main sections: Photos, Articles, and News. Each section is driven by a different system so the design and layout looks different. Photos is our online photo gallery, Articles is where you find in-depth articles, and News provides site news and announcements.

Note that for some reason, Internet Explorer for Windows is unable to properly display most pages at the Photos section. I recommend using Firefox (which is free and works great) or another Web browser.

Since I just started, the site is still largely under construction. It will probably take 10 years worth of spare time to reach the level of site development I would be happy with.

The main objectives of this site are:

To showcase my pictures of Japan.
To write about Japan and my travel experiences here and offer travel tips.
To help people understand Japan better.
To entice more people to visit Japan.
In doing all of the above, to study and learn about Japan on a much deeper level than ever before.

What motivated me to start this site was:

I have a lot of pictures of Japan doing nothing but living in shoe boxes and hard drives. It's high time that I give them a little exposure.
Even the best travel guide books on Japan cannot show that many pictures of Japan and do not cover what I think should be covered.
Online travel guides also do not have that many photos and do not explain things in depth.
I like to take pictures of Japan, and I like to write.
I tried doing something like this on Wikipedia, but I kept running into endless (and mostly useless) arguments about style, etc., and unnecessary editing by amateur or non-expert writers or vandals.
I think that I have spent enough time (10 years) on my other Web site called PhotoGuide Japan and want to pursue a more exciting project. (I will still be maintaining PhotoGuide Japan and its online business, but there are no plans for major improvements or expansion.)

PHOTOGUIDE.JP is also a sister site to my first baby (now all grown up) called PhotoGuide Japan, the world's leading guide to photography in Japan since 1996. Since the two sites share common resources, you might sometimes see the PhotoGuide Japan logo instead of the PHOTOGUIDE.JP logo.

For more information about PHOTOGUIDE.JP, see the FAQ.