This week’s snap is provided by Plastic Bamboo reader Tim Arai. Tim sent me a selection of great photos from his site, but it was this one from Akihabara that particularly stood out. I knew there was something missing from the Vista launch. Catch up on what Tim’s got to say for himself on his blog.

More please! Keep your snapshots coming to stuart [at] plasticbamboo.com

Ajpscs added this picture to his Flickr photoset “Harajuku Girls are the New Geisha’s” just today. I urge you to check out the rest of his photos here.

Keep them coming! Email your photos or links to photos you like to stuart [at] plasticbamboo.com. Thanks!

ZenzenOK was lucky enough to take this snap while waiting on a train platform one morning. I don’t think the guy in the photo has much chance of reading his newspaper! Please keep sending your links and photos to stuart [at] plasticbamboo.com. Every email is greatly appreciated!

Oops, forgot it was Sunday! Today’s snapshot is a few hours late, but hopefully it’s been worth the wait. Matt Watts took this on his Panasonic p900i cell phone. It’s from a couple of years ago when the Nintendo DS was first released in Japan. Thanks Matt!

Please keep sending in your photos of Japan! Even if you see a good one on Flickr or something that’s not yours, just send the link to stuart [at] plasticbamboo.com. Thanks!

New PB reader, Alex Watson, is today’s featured ’snapshotter’:

“I snatched this picture in a fantastic shop in Kamakura. The only picture I managed to take before I was told to put my camera away. But it shows the rolls of traditional Japanese “washi” paper well.”

Washi is a type of paper usually used in traditional Japanese arts. You can read more about washi paper on Wikipedia. As for Alex, see more great pics on his flickr page, or read what he’s up to on his blog. Thanks Alex!

Please keep sending in your pics of Japan for the Sunday Snapshot, along with any links you want mentioned, to stuart [at] plasticbamboo.com.

This week’s Sunday Snapshot comes from Flickr user Toshio:

“I took this photo near the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Temple in Kamakura, Japan.”

You can find more about this temple here. Thanks Toshio! Remember to email your photos of Japan to stuart [at] plasticbamboo.com, we’ll stick up the best ones every week.

I know we’ve already had a photo today, but I couldn’t think of a better way to end the year than with this photo of the last Tokyo sunset of 2006, shot by flickr user altus. Happy New Year everyone!

Flickr user suchy-no-shashin provided the first of what’s to be a weekly feature at Plastic Bamboo, the Sunday Snapshot. Suchy says:

“Shirakawago is a small village in Gifu prefecture in Japan. The houses are called “gassho-zukuri” as they look like two hands in prayer. When we visited they had over 3 meters of snow. The village also looks amazing in the summer.

This shot was taken from a viewpoint overlooking the village.”

We’re going to feature a photo from Japan every single week, so if you live there, been there on holiday, met someone who had a brother who watched Spirited Away on TV once, then please stick your photo or link in an email and send it to stuart [at] plasticbamboo.com. Remember to include a link to your site, blog, flickr/myspace page, whatever, so we can credit you in some way. Thanks!