Tsukuba Wiki

These are some guidelines for making your entry to Tsukuba Wiki as useful as possible. If you find these policies difficult to understand, please let us know.


Abbreviations can get confusing, and in an abbreviation-mad place like Tsukuba it's difficult to sort out your NIMS from your NIES. So we ask that the main page for a laboratory or other "abbreviated" place name should have the full title in the name. For example, the main page for the Public Works Research Institute should be called "Public Works Research Institute". A second page called "PWRI" can redirect the reader to the page Public Works Research Institute.

To keep those abbreviations under control, there is also a page for abbreviations.

Categories and Templates[]

Please include a link to the template {{Tsukuba}} at the bottom of each page. Categories that are particular to the page should be placed under this.

List categories all together at the bottom of the page, if possible in order from General --> Specific. For example, list "Restaurants" first, and then "Indian Restaurants" and then "Curry Restaurants". List location categories (other than the main "Tsukuba" category) at the end.

A full footer should look something like this:


[[Category: Restaurants]]

[[Category: Indian Restaurants]]

[[Category: Curry Restaurants]]

[[Category: Amakubo]]

How to make categories useful[]

Categories are more useful if there are many pages included in each one. When you work on a particular category, try to spend some time collecting a few pages to include in the category. Check page categories and add any more you can think of, and please check they are formatted properly otherwise they won't work.

When you start off a new page, it might be a good idea to get into the habit of entering the footer and the categories first (at the bottom), and then the text of the article, so you don't forget.

Let's try to get all pages to have all their relevant categories attached. We can do it if we can keep the above in mind as a general policy.

See also: Categories

Order of Entries[]

So that everyone can find things in big lists, when a list has more than three or four entries, please alphabetize the entries like this:


  • The Elm
  • The Larch
  • The Oak
  • The Pine


Please use Mapion to link to maps. Mapion is a Japanese map website, but we haven't found an English map website that gives the same amount of detail as Japanese map sites.


A section called "Reviews" can be added to any page. If you log in and sign your reviews and comments, we'll do our best to not let your words be re-edited, but reviews that are not accompanied by a signature will be open to everyone, including the administrators, for change.

Conflicts of opinion[]

Everyone is free to contribute to the Tsukuba Wiki and edit it. However, if Mr A contributes his opinion that "Kasumi's tofu burgers taste bad" to the Kasumi page, then it might create two problems.

Problems for businesses[]

First of all, those lovely people at Kasumi might be upset, and if Mr A doesn't even enter a user name, but just an IP number like, then they will also be bewildered, and maybe blame the administrators for having this stuff on the web site.

Problems between users[]

Secondly, Miss B, who lives on nothing but Kasumi's tofu burgers, might come and edit the page again and say "Kasumi Tofu Burgers are nutritious and delicious." Then Mr A might come back and see the page again and edit it back to "Kasumi tofu burgers are stinky", and so on ad infinitum.

Then we have a conflict of opinions with no way of resolving it except when either Mr A or Miss B gives up the struggle. We'd rather this didn't happen.

Staying friends[]

So, so that everyone can stay friends, if you want to state your opinions about a product or service, or anything else, please make it clear somehow that it's your opinion, and log in with a user name rather than using the IP number. The way we suggest showing that something is your opinion is to add a "Reviews" entry to the page:

Kasumi Tofu Burger (example)[]


I love 'em and can't eat enough. I have at least three every day. User:Miss B

I hate these horrid things. They look like dead cockroaches. User:Mr A

In reality, Miss B and Mr A stayed friends, and rumour has it that she won't be Miss B but Mrs A soon. All thanks to Tsukuba Wiki's helpful policy.

Your user rights[]

Yes, you are able to add or delete whatever you like to the pages, and you can edit them freely! Please do so. It's a fantastic way to share information. BUT! We also are able to change the pages the same as you, and if you feel free enough to add your opinions, we'll also feel free to edit and change your opinions to a more neutral point of view. For example, if Mr A writes "I hate Kasumi's tofu burgers" we might change this to something as neutral as "Kasumi sells tofu burgers", or, if you should forget to add that something is your opinion, we might also change what you said to

Opinions (example)[]

"I hate Kasumi tofu burgers" User:Mr A

So, in order to avoid problems, please mark when something is your opinion.


When you write a Japanese word, we suggest that you follow the Hepburn pattern of romanization, so use "shi" and "tsu" and "chi", rather than the Kunrei or Nihon Shiki systems, which use "si" and "tu" and "ti".

We suggest that names of places in Tsukuba should follow an "easy to read" romanization that is explained on Tsukuba City's WWW page. In this case, for example, the road described in Higashi Odori is "Higashi Odori" rather than "Higashi Oodoori". The "Higashi Oodoori" form undoubtedly has its merits for representing correct Japanese pronunciation, but we want users who don't speak any Japanese to be able to use the Tsukuba Wiki.


Tsukuba is a transient community with many foreigners coming and going, so the English language part of Tsukuba Wiki should be accessible to newcomers who don't know any Japanese. Therefore, in general, please write in English. For example, "mobile phone" rather than "keitai phone", and "ten thousand yen" not "ichi-man yen" or "one man yen". If no good English equivalent for a word exists, please explain the word enough that someone who doesn't know anything about Japan has a reasonable chance of understanding it.
