informative sites:
fallen angel (zh)
has information on several artists. english version is available.
grass thread (jp)
site with line-up, discography and history for several bands. very useful!
hysterical asylum (en)
has artist info, galleries, music and video samples and a whole lot more.
in the zalemu (en)
good site with a few band shrines and music samples.
invasion dream (en)
an excellent resource on indie visual kei bands, you can also request music files through streamload.
j-music ignited (en)
has artist profiles, reviews, translations and forums.
jrocker.com (en)
visual kei webring, has lots of info on several bands.
jrocks (pt)
has visual kei info, plus band profiles, jrock news and more.
keikaku (en)
has profiles and reviews for many jrock artists (good for people who are looking for non-visual bands).
lunchbox (en)
has indies band profiles, galleries, samples and more.
raison detre (en)
general info, media rotation, lyrics and more.
route 52 (en)
a directory of jrock sites.
so rock (en)
offers an introduction to different indies artists and samples too.
sound of japan (hu)
site with artist profiles, reviews and other info.
the japanese channel (en)
defunct site, but still has a lot of info and galleries on many bands. also has lyric translations. parts of the site may be unavailable though.
tomibiki's j-pop guide (en)
has introductions to several jrock (and some jpop) acts. a good read.
toxic illusion (en)
has information on visual indies bands, magazine scans and more.
visual shock therapy (en)
has articles introducing different artists. also has samples and other goodies.
visual zero (de)
site with information about several indies vk bands, with news, profiles, interviews and more.
vk database (jp)
site with a large visual kei artist database. has active and disbanded bands, short profiles, discographies and more info.


 news, reports and portals:
audioleaf (jp)
indies band music database with many music samples.
bands aid (jp)
indies portal with news, information, live videos and more.
glam japan (en)
site with some very entertaining live reviews. some nice live shots and visual kei posters/leaflets too.
heaven to perfection (fr)
has live reports, ticket booking and livehouse information.
homedespot (en)
another foreigner in japan diary. has lots of bits and rants on japan but also has live reports and photos. amusing read, use the search box to find what you want.
jmusic america (en)
the american version of jame.
jmusic europa (fr)
built up from the extinct jrockfrance.com. news, reviews, reports, profiles and more. content is now available in several european languages.
jrock online (en)
has news, reviews, articles, fanart and more.
jrocknyc (en)
the old jrocknyc site in blogspot format, seems to have less reports but still has jrock reviews.
kazane (fr)
visual kei site with news, reviews, profiles and more.
nanigoto (pt)
has news, reviews, interviews, lyrics and more. (register for downloads)
rushed blue (en)
has live reports, band info, lyrics among other things. it also has a pronunciation guide!
sakura tokyo (en)
has cd reviews and also a few band profiles.
shiroi heya (en)
site with news, articles, birthdays, links and more.
visual bank (jp)
news, reports, artist profiles, samples and more. (site registration needed to gain access to certain features)
visualive (jp)
artist profiles, live houses, releases, news, interviews and other goodies.
visualrocks.com (jp)
music news, resources, etc. mostly visual indies. has videos, interviews and music samples.
visunavi (jp)
the mother of visual indies bands. has artist info, discographies, releases, live schedule and history, videos, reports and more. definitely worth a visit.


 downloads and trackers:
aural stimulation (en)
has a rotating selection of mp3's plus reviews and a shopping guide.
dvd (pt)
media rotation site (english hints on the site).
eternal night (en)
has a good selection of videos and other media such as book/magazine scans. worth a visit.
horizon (en)
mp3 rotation site.
jmusic exchange (en)
forum for torrents, direct downloads and music discussion.
jrock downloads (pt)
brazilian jrock media site with videos and audio, plus scans and other things.
jrock rotation (en)
myspace group. music requests and downloads.
junk story (en)
a jrock rotation ftp site.
l'aurora (en)
site with a LOT of jrock videos to download and request.
momusu tracker (en)
torrent tracker with lots of music, videos, commercials, etc.
nijigen sakuran (en)
streamload-based mp3 rotation site.
nothyng rotation (en)
mp3 and video rotation site.
rêve noir (fr)
had one of the best ftp's around. unfortunately it's down for an indefinite time.
song japan (th)
site with audio and video, galleries and other stuff. lots and lots and lots of jpop but also some jrock (english hints on the site).
the japanese music room (en)
has a soulseek/bittorrent request forum.
tokyo nights (en)
another torrent tracker.
tonberry torrents (en)
bittorrent tracker with a lot of jrock stuff.
vicious sparks (zh)
cool site with info, news and media to download.
vr world (zh)
a nicely designed site with band profiles, audio and video.


 online shopping:
akibado (en)
personal imports and japanese auction bidding services. (lately there have been many complaints about akibado's services. use at your own risk!)
amazon.com (en)
amazon has a fair selection of imported jrock cd's (even indies and visual bands).
amazon.jp (jp)
amazon japan has a wide selection of different jrock artists. (english version is available)
brand-x (jp)
good shop to buy indies merchandise (also have major stuff too of course). you have to email them your order or use the online form. their site has a very useful upcoming releases list.
cd-japan (en)
sells indies and majors, also handles magazine subscriptions. different payment methods and shipping options if you don't want to spend a lot on it. very reliable. good customer support too.
celga (en)
proxy bidding service for yahoo japan and rakuten furima auctions.
crescent shop (en)
online auction proxy-bidding and shopping services.
fujisan (en)
they handle many magazine subscriptions. you can also order magazines that they don't have listed or specific magazine issues.
guruguru (jp)
indies and majors. never tried this shop, but have never heard anyone complaining either.
hmv japan (jp)
carries majors and an increasingly number of indies. shipping is kind of expensive. (english version is available, see bottom of the page)
j-pop house (en)
has jrock cd's, magazines, posters and other merchandise.
j-xyz (zh)
sells different kinds of merchandising: cd's, books, magazines, posters, etc. (english site version is avaible)
japan fan club agency (en)
signs you up for japanese fanclubs and ships the goods back to you. also handle ticket bookings, etc. can't really vouch for them, but give it a try if you're interested.
jpop help (en)
carries indies and majors. some of their items are a bit overpriced but on the other hand you might save some money on shipping (they're based in canada). i've seen some ppl complain about their backordering services though.
jvstore (fr)
japan vibes' online shop, carries mostly visual kei artists.
ka yiu (en)
sells magazines and handles magazine subscriptions.
konci (fr)
french store, sells mostly cd's and dvd's, major and indies.
neo-tokyo (de)
germany-based store, sells merchandise and magazines, major, indies, visual kei.
plajapan (en)
california-based online store, has a few cd's and other types of merchandise for sale.
rinkya (en)
proxy bidding service for yahoo japan auctions.
third stage (en)
good shop to find rare stuff (and new releases too, of course). sometimes a bit slow on the delivery, but always very reliable. very helpful staff, they speak english and are usually quick to reply. i buy most of my stuff from them.
tofu records (en)
tofu records is an american label planning some interesting jrock releases. check the site for online shopping and info.
tower records (jp)
has a few indies but it's mostly all major acts.
yes asia (en)
mostly majors. sometimes carries some indies releases.


 lyrics and translations:
adonys (fr)
has lyric translations (bilingual french and english site)
amethyst purple (en)
has lyrics and translations. also has guitar tabs.
centigrade-j (en)
has loads of lyric translations, among other things.
crackly romance (en)
has japanese and romanized lyrics.
deadly circus (en)
has romaji lyrics of mostly visual indies bands.
gimogimo29's (jp)
large lyric vault, with plenty of indies bands. japanese lyrics only.
kashi souko (jp)
has japanese lyrics by different bands.
kirin no kashi (en)
has japanese and romaji lyrics for several artists.
kurai's translations (en)
site with original, romanized and translated lyrics. some reviews and interviews too.
lyrical nonsense (en)
lyrics archive, not just devoted to jrock, but it has several bands listed. worth checking out.
mayonaka no gensou (en)
has a lot of japanese and romaji lyrics (lots of indies bands).
mognet (en)
has lots of translated and romanized lyrics.
not greatest site (en)
has lyrics and english translations (mostly from buck-tick, but also from other artists).
what the hell did kyo just say? (en)
nice selection of romanized jrock lyrics.


 fun and humour:
archaic kei (en)
a jrock fanart community.
chibi shock comics (en)
a bit chewed on by kyo, but otherwise in good condition!
esos ponjas que parecen chicas (es)
has a very amusing section with tips on forming your own visual band.
flamboyant (en)
this site has many jrock skins for the sims.
japanese flannel (en)
funny jrock parodies à la meathead.
mana wannabe (en)
a step-by-step mana make-up guide.
the lighter side of black (en)
jam packed with jrock hilarity!
the visual kei academy (en)
site with lots of amusing pictures and also some indies info.
visual kei on the rocks (en)
"visual comics" – about visual kei.


 online broadcasting:
itv24 (jp)
different online broadcasts (see music section).
live.net radio (jp)
live online broadcasting featuring many different artists.
many freaks show (en)
visual kei podcast show.
nip radio (fr)
french station with a jrock show.
nippon groove (hu)
hungarian radio broadcast site, online archives are available.
starchildren24 (jp)
has many streaming clips and previews.


 labels and management:
applause records (jp)
lareine's label.
columbia japan (jp)
major label. lots of jpop, some jrock.
crow music (jp)
indies label. home to nude, aikaryuu.
danger crue (jp)
indies label, l'arc-en-ciel, mucc, sid, sons of all pussies among others. (english version is available)
donuts record west (jp)
indies label. acts like phobia, vizell and aliza marie.
enter brain (jp)
visual indies label (jinkaku radio, death gaze, etc.).
extasy records (jp)
yoshiki's label. x-japan, luna sea, glay, etc. (english version is available)
free will (jp)
managing company for other labels like sunkrad, s-cube, lizard, ps-company, etc. their site has sound samples.
free will europe (en)
free will's reaching for the european market! with signed acts like dir en grey, kagrra and kagerou, among others, this sure is exciting!
fuji production (jp)
formerly big stone inc. indies label. jakura, merry go round, vogus image, gimmick, among others (their subsidiary label, marder suitcase, appears to be gone, but the remaining bands are still there)
gan-shin (de)
branch of brainstorm music promoting and marketing japanese artists in europe/germany.
kapparecords (jp)
mandrake root corp. label.
king records (jp)
major label. jpop, jrock, metal. home to onmyouza, the pillows, among others.
loop ash (jp)
michiru's label. home to michiru's projects, scissor, sinkro and others.
mabell (fr)
this french label is releasing some interesting and very reasonably priced versions of indies vk records (these are not bootlegs, they're official items made for the european/international audience).
midi:nette (jp)
mana's label. home to moi dix mois, schwarz stein.
nippon crown (jp)
major label. laputa, gackt, psycho le cemu, sugizo, hakuei, etc.
plug records (jp)
indies label. psycho le cemu (indies), mystic moon, among others.
ps-company (jp)
indies label, due'le quartz, miyabi, kagrra, gazetto and others.
sequence records (jp)
they seem pretty much small time, even by indies standards, but look promising. signed bands include sulfuric acid, tokyo michael, miseria and isolation.
sun-krad (jp)
major label. among others, home to dir en grey.
sweet group (jp)
managing company. home to acts like pierrot, la'cryma christi, plastic tree and d'espairsray.
toshiba emi (jp)
major label. signed acts include glay, sex machineguns, etc.
under code (jp)
kisaki's post-matina label. signed acts include phantasmagoria, vidoll, karen and others.


 magazines:
astan (de)
german goth magazine, recently started featuring a few visual acts.
cure (jp)
all visual indies and fashion magazine.
devil's night (jp)
indies magazine. accepts overseas orders.
fool's mate (jp)
mostly visual indies and majors.
hevn (jp)
features a lot of visual indies bands.
ongaku senkasha (jp)
publisher of music magazines like shoxx and arena37C. accepts overseas subscriptions.
orkus (de)
another german magazine, they've been featuring some vk artists.
purple sky (en)
american magazine devoted to japanese rock.
shinko music publications (jp)
publisher of music magazines like b-pass and gigs. also publishes music score books.
zy. & gab. (jp)
official site for the zy. and the freely distributed gab. magazines.


 live houses:
area (jp)
tokyo livehouse. site has schedule and map.
club holiday (jp)
livehouses in tokyo, osaka and nagoya. info and schedule.
livestation (jp)
tokyo livehouse. site has schedule, info, maps, etc.
loft project (jp)
livehouse management company who, among other things, runs venues like shinjuku loft and loft plus one. (english information is available)
macana (jp)
sendai live house. has info, schedule, maps, record label catalog and more.
narciss (jp)
saitama livehouse. has schedule, history and map.
on air (jp)
on air west/east/osaka site.
rockmaykan (jp)
tokyo live house. has schedule, info and map.
shibuya ax (jp)
tokyo livehouse. has schedule, map and more.


 fashion and cosplay:
atelier pierrot (jp)
gothic/gothic lolita and lolita fashion shop.
avant gauche (en)
gothic lolita site with info, links and magazine scans.
ba-tsu (jp)
popular fashion brand. dir en grey's kyo designed some neck-ties for them.
baby, the stars shine bright (jp)
lolita and gothic lolita shop. they ship internationally (see the mailorder page for english instructions).
black lolita (en)
gothic lolita mailing list. good faq section.
closet child (jp)
sells many brands, ships internationally.
coeur de roi (jp)
another label that caters to the visuals of several artists. also sells cosplay articles.
cosmania (zh)
jrock cosplay site.
cosplay lab (en)
not just jrock cosplay, but 'seek and you shall find'...
firefly path (en)
they have some pretty cosplay costumes, they also do comissions.
growhair (en)
really nice page with lots of cosplay photos.
hellcatpunks (en)
punk fashion store. ships internationally. (english version)
id japan (jp)
this company creates costumes for many artists. some of their past designs include dir en grey, aliene ma'riage, eliphas levi, gackt and machine. you can actually buy stuff from them, but i don't think they take overseas orders.
lolita @ dolores-haze.net (en)
site dedicated to lolita/gothic lolita fashion, has information, tips, where to shop, etc.
lolita snap (en)
gothic lolita cosplay site, where members can show off their costume photos.
love replica (en)
custom cosplay costume orders.
metamorphose (jp)
lolita clothes brand. they ship internationally (english version is available).
milky ange (jp)
maid/gothic lolita fashion. ships internationally.
mirror (ru)
jrock cosplay site.
moi-même-moitié (jp)
the site of mana's egl+ega shop.
moi-même-moitié overseas (en)
cdjapan has started acting as the middle-man between mana's shop and overseas customers. they're selling clothes and other articles and they ship internationally.
oxiare.net (jp)
fashion guide, with hair, make, fashion and shopping tips, complete with glossary and much, much more.
putumayo (jp)
gothic and punk fashion label.
refuse to be usual (en)
ebay store selling mostly punk, gothic and lolita-styled clothes (ships worldwide).
romantic neurosis (jp)
gothic and punk fashion label. the visual band PIASS and romantic neurosis support each other mutually.
s-inc (jp)
fashion site. h.naoto, gouk, t-kunitomo. english version is available.
sex pot (jp)
punk fashion label, known for collaborating with musicians.
takuya angel (jp)
this colorful fashion brand is often used by the visual band, doremidan.
tokyo gothic & lolita shopping guide (en)
lists stores, with directions, maps and photos.
yukari ohba (jp)
this fashion designer has created many visuals for different artists, like malice mizer, gackt, d'espairsray, kamijo, kana and more.


 forums and chat:
antique delusion (zh)
chinese forums, mostly about visual kei.
batsu jrock forum (en)
a nice forum for casual chat, also has many artist-specific sections.
d:vd forums (pt)
nice place to chat or ask for info about visual kei-related things (portuguese/english).
inertia's visual kei board (en)
not exactly a place to chit-chat but a great forum to ask questions about jrock and visual kei.
invk forums (zh)
chinese discussion boards about visual kei.
jrock mafia forum (pl)
polish jrock forum.
jrock meetup (en)
not actually a forum, but it has listings of jrock fan meetings all over the world.
loveless in eden (en)
the owner of this site maintains a fair amount of jrock mailing lists.


 tabs and scores:
aokaze (en)
has guitar tabs for a lot of jrock bands.
j-rock musician (en)
has guitar tabs, midi's and guitar pro files of several jrock bands.
j-total music (jp)
has tabs for a lot of different artists.
jrock guitar tabs (en)
has tabs and bandscores.
jrock tabs (en)
livejournal community sharing different jrock guitar and bass tabs.
kyosuke's tabs (en)
has guitar and bass tabs of a few bands.
mochidaze (en)
guitar tabs and midi.


 trading lists:
jrock trade (pl)
jrock trading site.
liar liar (en)
trading site. lists good traders and bad traders.


 galleries and wallpapers:
blue neurose (en)
jrock photo galleries.
jrock scans (en)
livejournal jrock scans community. most entries are protected and you will need to join the community to view them.
lovely rot (en)
graphics site, has wallpapers and icons for download.
public eyes (en)
large gallery of scans.
visual ecstasy (de)
has magazine scans of different artists (mostly visual).
visual wall (jp)
has many wallpapers of visual bands.


 ticket reservation:
e-ticket (jp)
online ticket reservation agency (especially for big venues/acts).
lawson ticket (jp)
buy tickets online.
ticket pia (jp)
ticket reservation agency.