The Akihabara district (Akiba) in Tokyo, once known as the spot for discount electronics stores, has become a veritable theme park of Japanese pop culture. With shops of all kinds, gaming centers, clubs, bars, and restaurants packed into an area of just 700 square meters, the Akiba can be a daunting place to navigate. This guidebook presents the wonderfully eccentric appeal of the district in an easy-to-understand and entertaining format.

All students of Japanese, whether they have studied physics or not, know the word "particle," and they realize that particles, like English prepositions, require a special effort to master. All About Particles covers 69 particles; the most common ones along with the less frequent. These particles have over 200 usages - sufficient to keep most students hard at work for a good many years.

Arcade Mania introduces overseas readers to the fascinating world of the Japanese "gemu senta." Organized as a guided tour of a typical game center, the book is divided into nine chapters, each of which deals with a different kind of game, starting with the UFO catchers and print club machines at the entrance and continuing through rhythm games, fighting games, shooting games, retro games, gambling games, card-based games, and only-in-Japan games.

For people wanting to take a step beyond the textbooks; for anyone wishing to speak like a native without spending two or three decades in the country learning how to do it - for such people as this, Beyond Polite Japanese has collected some 500 words and phrases of prodigious interest.

Botchan, a hilarious tale about a young man's rebellion against "the system" in a country school, is a classic of its kind. The setting is Japan's deep south, where the author himself spent some time teaching English in a boys' school. Into this conservative world, with its social proprieties and established pecking order, breezes Botchan, down from the big city with scant respect for either his elders or his noisy young charges.

Reading great books in the original language should be the culmination of language study, but reading Japanese literature unassisted is a daunting task that can defeat even the most able of students. Breaking into Japanese Literature is specially designed to help you bypass all the frustration and actually enjoy classics of Japanese literature.

Having grasped the rudiments of Japanese grammar, what the student needs next are more words, more phrases, more turns of phrase. One answer to this problem is found in affixes - nifty little prefixes and suffixes, written with a single kanji, that can be attached to ordinary words to create new ones. Just as you can attach "super-" to almost any noun to create a new one (e.g., super interesting), you can attach its Japanese equivalent in the same way (e.g., cho-omoshiroi).

This book helps the student to overcome this problem of kissing cousins and spitting images, to become aware of the subtle differences that distinguish one kanji from another. With numerous exercises and charts, the tell-tale signs that give each kanji away are indelibly imprinted on the mind.

Ever wanted to draw manga but didn't know where to start? Ever felt there's something not quite right with your drawing but not sure what? Draw Your Own Manga: All the Basics is the book for you! The textbook of choice at Tokyo Animation College, the leading school for manga artists in Japan, it covers all the basic information you need to get started on drawing manga with clear and easy-to-understand instructions.

The Draw Your Own Manga team is back to help your take your manga to the next stage. Draw Your Own Manga: Beyond the Basics expands on some of the techniques explained in this first book, All the Basics, and introduces some new ways in which you can add personality and style to your manga.

This third volume in the Draw Your Own Manga series is aimed at experienced manga artists who wish to improve their skills and technique. The book offers not only tips, practical instruction and inspiration but explains all the essential features of the main genres and the standard techniques used in common situations and action scenes.

Fun & Fancy Sushi, Expanded Edition explains such basics as rice preparation and shaping, then goes on to cover the various types and shapes of onigiri (rice balls), as well as the myriad ingredients and garnishes that can be added, including fish, shellfish, chicken, vegetables and even fruit. Sidebars include: A Simple Way to Make a Rice Ball and Various Simple Tools, Folk Customs of Onigiri, The Nutritional Value of Rice, and Packing of Onigiri for on-the-go eating.