Since today Nov. 3 is Culture Day in Japan (a national holiday), I want to announce a new Japan-related photography mailing list at Yahoo! Groups that I have just started.

Its main purpose is to share information and tips for photographing Japan. Be it festivals, sports, people, seasonal events, flowers, landscapes, etc. You can also upload and show your Japan pictures in the Photos section and read/post notices about upcoming festivals and events in your area. We also have discussions that pro photographers in Japan would be interested in.

Most of the starting members on the list are professional photographers living in Japan or who have lived in Japan. They are a very knowledgeable group of people and many are bilingual or trilingual. They serve as a firm and friendly foundation for this mailing list.

Note that we are not here to answer touristy questions like where the best camera shops are or street prices of camera equipment in Japan.

I’m the moderator and membership is restricted. This means you have to sign up for a Yahoo ID and join the group in order to read the messages, view photos, etc. We are not listed in the Yahoo! Groups directory yet.

If you’re interested in joining, send me email and introduce yourself if I don’t know you personally. As long as you’re not a spammer or an undesirable person, your membership will be approved.

When you join, I will ask you to introduce yourself on the list and also upload at least one photo of Japan that you took or provide a link to a Web page showing your photo(s) of Japan. That will break the ice and everybody will know who you are. Hope to see you there!

Update: This mailing list has closed in 2010 in favor of a new Facebook Group.