Available in both English and Japanese, this site is a good source of information on Japan's largest lake. Its features explore the cultural, historical, and environmental significance of Lake Biwa to the Japanese people and serve to keep visitors up to date on the progress of various research projects being conducted at and around the lake.

Kansai is a region of Japan bordering the southern banks of Lake Biwa, which is the primary water source for the more than 14 million people who live in Kansai. The Kansai Waters Web site highlights many of the important aspects of the lake, with sections devoted to the various animal species that make their home there and the Japanese cultural traditions specifically associated with the lake.

The Lake Biwa Research Institute supports interdisciplinary research into the natural, social, and cultural environments of Lake Biwa and its catchment area.

RiceWeb is co-sponsored by the International Rice Research Institute, the West Africa Rice Development Association, and Colombia's International Center for Tropical Agriculture. This site, which describes itself as a compendium of facts and figures from the world of rice, is the online rice resource par excellence. Find out basic information about how rice is grown or peruse countless jargon-loaded summaries of current rice research at this award-winning site.

RiceWorld is not just an address in cyberspace. It is a museum located outside of Manila on the campus of the International Rice Research Institute. The museum's Web site displays electronic versions of the various exhibits on display at the terra firma museum—from artistic photographs of rice farmers and their paddies to photos of the traditional rice-farming implements and clothing kept in the museum's permanent collection.

Satisfy all of your ursine urges at this Web site maintained by two bear lovers. Whether you want to find out more about any of the nine species of bears or browse through a list of films related to bears, this site is an excellent resource.

The North American Bear Center's mission is to provide information about black bears and to foster an appreciation for all kinds of bears. Bear.org has an extensive bear resource section with a lengthy bibliography for those with, well, an unbearable desire to read more about these animals.

Written in the 11th century by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady of Japan's Heian court, The Tale of Genji was inspired by Ishiyama Temple, whose ruins near Lake Biwa still exist. Scholars consider this work the world's first novel and the greatest masterpiece of Japanese prose narrative.

This wonderful book covers the agriculture and culture of the people living in Ifugao, the Philippines, which boasts some of the finest rice terracing in the world. It includes many colorful maps displaying the location of thousands of terraced rice paddies on the island of Luzon as well as details about the construction of terraced hillsides as described in Build a Rice Paddy.

This volume offers an enormous amount of information about all aspects of rice and rice growing in its 500 pages. Called a "rich and rare effort" (The New York Times), it is worth a look for its beautiful color photographs alone.