If you can read Japanese, be sure to buy this month’s Asahi Camera magazine (Nov. 2004 issue). It includes a small booklet called “Cameraman Benricho 2005.”

This little booklet looks unimpressive, but it is actually packed very useful information:

– List of photo galleries/museums in Japan (including gallery maps for Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka).
– A 2005 calendar of events listing the dates of major festivals in Japan (there are many!).
– A list of 120 best spots for cherry blossoms in Japan.
– A directory of tourist information offices in all 47 prefectures.

And this is only Volume 1. Volume 2 is coming in next month’s issue. I look forward to seeing what information it will have.