The Japanese Emperor Goes to England

The Emperor of Japan and his wife are currently in the UK, making an official state visit to take part in the 60th anniversary celebration of Queen Elizabeth. The Emperor gave a speech thanking the British people for the warm assistance they rendered in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunamis last year. Emperor Akihito -- oddly, many Japanese people don't know this name, as he's referred to by various formal labels in Japanese -- is 125th in an unbroken line of emperors dating back 2000 years. Each Emperor's reign is marked by an "era" name, like the Showa Period (1926-1989), when the current Emperor's father Hirohito reigned, and when you live in Japan you become quite adept at converting important dates to the Japanese system (for example, I was born in Showa 43, which translates to 1968). This year is Heisei 24, the 24th year of the reign of the current Emperor, but he recently underwent coronary bypass surgery, and it's becoming apparently that the Heisei Period might not go on for too many more years.

The Emperor, while kind of cool, cannot shoot lightning out of his hands.

Announcing the School Days HQ Collector's Edition

We've got an exciting announcement for you: we're finally ready to take the wraps off of the School Days Deluxe Collector's Edition, an awesome Japanese-style large boxed edition of the game with extra stuff inside, including an original oppai mouse pad by School Days artist Junji Goto, a keychain of Makoto and the game itself. This is really a special event in the history of English visual novels and eroge, and we're really happy to be bringing you such an awesome game in English with no changes from the original. If you already preordered the normal edition and want to change your order to the DX version, use the handy form we've set up here.

The Japanese Love of Ghosts

One surprising aspect of the Japanese is how superstitious they are, and there's a long list of "traditional folk beliefs" many Japanese subscribe to, some of which are quite colorful. Don't cut your fingernails at night, or you won't be able to be with your parents when they die. If you sneeze, it means someone is gossiping about you. Don't sleep with your head pointing north (kita-makura) or you will die, and so on. The world of ghosts is also quite popular, judging from the programs on Japanese TV which present shocking "proof" of the existence of these spirits all around us, or from the recent boom in ghost-related anime series. A person's sensitivity to these invisible apparitions is called reikan, and the Japanese believe that some people have the ability to sense these spirits while others don't. In the new anime Tasogare Otome x Amnesia (Dusk Maiden of Amnesia) there's a girl named Momoe who joins the school's Paranormal Investigation Club, but because she has no reikan (and is generally thick-headed), she can't see that the president of the club is the school's ghost, Yuko-san, despite the apparition sitting right in front of her. In my family my daughter is thought to have this ability to see ghosts -- she says she once saw a man dressed in a nice suit nod to her as she walked past a house one day, and we learned later that a man had died in the house the day before -- while I am blissfully ignorant of all paranormal activity around me.

Some people (like me) have zero sensitivity to ghosts.

Chopsticks and Japan

It's well known that the Japanese eat with chopsticks, and any dish featuring rice, noodles, fish etc. will generally be eaten with them. (Certain foods like curry rice or steak require Western silverware). Chopsticks are very easy to use: you just hold one stick between your middle finger and thumb, then hold the second with your forefinger and thumb so that you can create a "scissor" action that allows you to pick up food. The use of chopsticks is taught to children at around the age of three, and it's common for parents to want to make sure their kids learn to use them properly before they start preschool, making chopstick use one of the first forms of peer pressure children are subjected to in Japanese society. In Japan there's exactly "one" correct way to do things, a concept that extends to the holding of chopsticks as well, and it's common for conversations over beers at an izakaya restaurant to turn to how one of the members at the table is holding their chopsticks in a non-standard way. Incidentally, J-List stocks many kinds of chopsticks from Japan, including bamboo chopsticks with rough patches at the ends to make them easier to eat with and awesome training chopsticks. We also posted the most awesome Kitten Balancing Game, a game where you place cute little cat figures on furniture with chopsticks, being careful to avoid knocking them down.

Chopsticks are a big part of life in Japan.

Cool Products Friday, May 18, 2012

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Gorgeous Anime 'Noren' Door Curtains Restocked When we posted the Japanese anime noren curtains, which provide a great way to add a little privacy between rooms in your home, we had no idea how popular they'd be. It turns out that our customers love these Japanese door curtains, and bought our entire stock out. We've got many items back in stock today, including the stylish "string curtains" too. View products »
	Schick Hydro 5 ~ Five Bladed Shaver Evangelion The Eva girls love a clean-shaven man, so set their hearts ablaze with the an official Evangelion razor from Schick. Comes with a cute Rei or Asuka figure!
	UCC Canned Coffee w/ Figures Restocked Great news: we've gotten our hands on an additional shipment of the awesome UCC canned coffee + Evangelion figure, and at a special price.
	New 'I Have Few Friends' Prize Figures Cute figures of Yozora and Yukimura from I Have Few Friends are now in stock! Check out these gorgeous new figures which are ready to display.
	Kyoko Sakura Nendoroid Figure *Preorder* I am seriously loving the new Kyoko Sakura Nendoroid that just came in. So did our customers, since all but a few of our stock sold out to preorder customers.
	Revoltech Buddhist God Figures Komokuten  I have so much respect for Revoltech for making this awesome line of statues modeled after Buddhist statues. They're fully posable figures!
	Konekodarake Cat Balance Game This is great: like the popular Pandadarake Panda Balancing Game, but with cute kittens. Can you balance these cats with chopsticks?
	Kera June 2012 vol. 166 Get to know all about the world of Japanese Goth/Alternative fashion in this great monthly magazine, Kera. It's the voice of the Harajuku generation.
	Awesome Japanese Fashions Restocked Also in our fashion lineup, see restock of Gothic Lolita fashions, and cute, stylish tops from Y's Enterprise. Great for summer!
	Awesome 'Spats,' Other Cosplay Items A lot of anime characters wear "spats," a Japanese word that means spandex pants or bicycle shorts. See these and other cosplay items restocked.
	The SASS Wear ~ Cyclops A Japanese T-shirt designer in J-List's home prefecture has new design for you to browse, a really bold one. All profits are donated to rebuilding Tohoku.
	Quarterly Pixiv vol. 08 (Hatsune Miku Special) Great news for Hatsune Miku fans: we were able to get additional copies of the popular Pixiv artbook which comes with a limited figure. K- Kawaii!
	My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute PSP Limited On your PSP, play through the continuation of the story of Kirino and her secret otaku lifestyle.
	Cool Tiger & Bunny Products In Stock Amazing preorder products from the Tiger and Bunny franchise, like these figures and toys.
	Rilakkuma Face Mug Cup, Other Products Posted Enjoy your hot mug of coffee or hot chocolate with a bear who knows how to relax, Rilakkuma. Very cute, and in two varieties.
	Transformer Encore 22 Twin Cast Relive the epic Transformers series with this awesome figure of transforming boom box Twin Cast and his two cassette tape friends. Autobots, roll out!
	Star Wars Karuta & More In the "Gosh That's Cool" department we stock many Japanese Star Wars products. The new Star Wars Quote Karuta game rocks!
	Awesome Japanese Study Products Restocked If you really love Japanese culture and anime, then you'll want to improve your Japanese skill and one day live in Japan.
	Great Japan Books Posted Or you can learn about Japan in English with these great books about Japanese culture. Drinking in Japan, Tokyo on Foot and more.
	Today's New Japanese Snacks Every new J-List update is a great chance to meet up with some fun new Japanese treats, and today we've got extra nice items for you, including Fujiya Country Ma'am Green Tea soft cookies, Yubari Melon Caramels, plus many other products to sample. Try sorting the page by "most wishlisted" order to see what other customers are buying. View products »
	Takoyaki Traditional Food Drops & More We restocked Japanese "Food Drops" today, including Takoyaki from Osaka, Shirokuma Ice Cream from Kagoshima and Kobe Cheese Cake.
	Other Restocked J-Snacks Today's restocked snacks include spicy Tyrant Habanero snacks, UHA Puccho and Shigekix goodness, Hi-Chew x Fanta and the amazing "Fresh" Ramune candy.
	Anime Bento Boxes & More Restocked We love it when anime and bento come together, and we love the Pokemon Bento Box (ball...?) a lot. Restocked today!
	Pikachu Silicon Cake Mold, Bento Cup Mold And speaking of fun lunches, these silicon molds will let you shape your favorite snacks into cute Pikachu heads. Restocked today.
	Rilakkuma Bento Reusable Pick We've got more Rilakkuma bento goodness, this time in the form of kawaii bento picks that you can eat your meal with.
	Cute Sponge Overload Then see fresh stock of our Irresistibly Cute Japanese Sponges, and other kawaii items for your kitchen.
	ZEROHARI Paper Stitcher, Secure Stamper We always have fun stationery products from Japan. See the ZeroHari magic stapler, Secure Stamper for hiding personal info, and Japanese pens.
	Katori-Buta, Transforming Towels Restocked Wee great traditional items, incl. the Katori Buta mosquito coil-holding pig plus the "Magic Transforming Towel" that gives you a surprise when it gets wet.
	Haruhi 'No Normal Humans' T-Shirt If you're tired of hanging out with all those "normals," then try this original Haruhi T-shirt. Who knows? Maybe an alien will read it and say hi.
	Menma 1/8 Figure at Secret Base *Preorder* This is one of the most epic Menma figures released yet, showing our favorite moe ghost relaxing at the secret base with her diary.
	Rika & Yukimura Figure Twin Pack *Preorder* We're big fans of the "I Have Few Friends" (aka Haganai) anime, and love these new figures of ecchi science girl Rika and "trap" Yukimura.
	Kyoko Sakura, AnoNatsu Figures *Preorder* See other figures too, including the most gorgeous Kyoko figure I've seen and something special for fans of "Waiting in the Summer" (AnoNatsu).
	Glam ~ Urara Inoue This is a glossy photobook for fans of nude photography, Japan style, which means very high quality. The model is hot, and the photography is on the job.
	Twinkle Crusaders Passion Star Stream visual fanbook A gorgeous official artbook based on the popular eroge, this book is filled with amazing ecchi art for you to browse. Keep a tissue handy.
	Stress Relief for Tired Otakus J-List has restocked our popular parody onahole toys, based on cute moe characters from your favorite shows, like Haganai, Madoka and more.
	School Days HQ ~ Collector's Edition *Preorder* School Days is one of the best eroge titles ever created, an epic story of the complex love relationship between Makoto, the shy Kotonoha and the cheerful Sekai. Fully animated, the game is like no other, offering a complex gaming system with hundreds of choices. The game includes all the new "HQ" content and additional endings, and is fully uncensored. Preorder the standard edition or this DX one now! (Note, if you already preordered the game, you can switch to the Collector's Edition using this handy web form we've set up.) View products »

A Solution to Japan's Cedar Pollen Problem

While I love Japan, there are some challenges to living here, including difficulty finding really good cheese, movie theaters that cost the equivalent of $22 per person and the occasional street that's so narrow a car and a bicycle couldn't pass each other side-by-side. There's also a huge problem with hay fever during allergy season, thanks to erroneous policies by Japan's Ministry of Forestry, which decided to standardize planting sugi (Japanese cedar) trees almost exclusively several decades ago...leading to a massive outpouring of pollen when all the trees start to flower at the same time. Happily, researchers in Toyama Prefecture have developed a special strain of Japanese cedar that produces no pollen, and plans to plant 30,000 saplings in the coming years. Maybe in a generation or so that unfortunate aspect of living in Japan can be improved.

Hay fever in Japan is an issue for many.

Japan Birth Rate Update, and My Proposed Solution

Last time I talked about the international coverage of the impending "extinction" of the Japanese people, which will happen a millennium from now according to current projections. Making predictions about a time that far into the future is silly, of course, but it is interesting to explore the reasons Japan's birth rate went from 2.75 children per female in the 1950s to just 1.38 today. Some of the more obvious reasons include economic ones (it costs a small fortune to raise a child in Japan) plus the trend of people leaving more rural prefectures and moving to cities, where the scarcity of parks and wide-open spaces can turn off many would-be parents. There's an inverse relationship between education of women and a country's birth rate, and it's interesting to compare modern Japan with Afghanistan, where education of girls is seriously lacking and the birth rate is 6.5 babies per female. Stress and other factors lead Japanese couples to engage in the horizontal mattress dance less often than any other nation in the world, driving a trend in "sexless" marriages. Clearly the best way to solve the problem is for more gaijin to marry Japanese women, which will introduce an element of competition and get Japanese males back into the bedroom.

There are many reasons for Japan's falling birth rate.

Okinawa, 40 Years After the Return

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the return of Okinawa to Japan by the U.S., and there was a ceremony marking the event attended by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and U.S. ambassador John Roos. Japan's southernmost prefecture, Okinawa was a separate kingdom with its own culture and language until it was annexed by Japan in 1609, and to this day it's expected that Okinawans will be different from Japanese in subtle ways, usually violating the rules of joshiki or "universal common sense" that mainland Japanese pride themselves on. (For example, they love A&W root beer, which Japanese nearly always dislike.) Okinawans are quite attractive, and most of the major pop groups from the 1990s hailed from talent schools on the island, though South Korea has taken over this role lately. A big issue in Okinawa today are the U.S. military bases, which take up 20% of the prefecture's land mass and bring various hardships to the local population, though much of the economy depends on military-related jobs, too. In addition to hosting the U.S. bases, Okinawa serves as the setting for the obligatory "fan service" swimsuit episodes that virtually every anime series has these days.

Okinawans, like Hibiki from Idolmasters, are subtly different from Japanese.

The Most Popular Products on J-List Right Now

J-List pays a lot of attention to what awesome products from Japan our customers are most interested in. For example, we have a report (J-List version here, JBOX.com here) that tells us what keywords people are searching for, so we know to stock lots of Touhou, Tenga, Evangelion and shimapan products for everyone. I also like browsing all J-List products in "wishlist" order, which shows us what products customers are adding to their J-List wishlists and lets us judge relative popularity of all products. You're almost guaranteed to find something you didn't expect!

Cool Products Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Huge Update of Dual-Sided Touhou Keychains You know those awesome Touhou keychains? Well, we've got the rest of the series here for your collection and enjoyment. Featuring Sakuya, Remilia, Marisa, and other cute Touhou characters. The best thing is, these keychains are dual-sided, showing the back of your favorite characters, and very awesome to hold in your hand. View products »
	COSMODE May 2012 ~ Super Cosplay Magazine 045 New issue of the #1 cosplay magazine in Japan, loaded with pictures, reference images, and even a costume pattern -- for all cosplay lovers.
	Saber, Kuroneko Figmas Restocked Who would win in a cat-fight between Saber and Kuroneko? We've got both figures in stock, allowing you to make them fight together on your desk.
	Teens Ever Micro Mini Spats size M~L Get your very own authentic Japanese pair of spats, used by girls as extra protection under their school uniforms from pervy eyes.
	Teens Ever Pink School Bag ~ Sports Type Match your clothes to your new school bag and become super kawaii, showing off in the pretty pink pastels.
	Retro Gothic Style Otome Youkai Kimono ~ size 5L Enjoy the upcoming season of summer festivals and anime conventions dressed in a beautiful and easy to wear kimono.
	Vocaloid Bikini Swimsuits, Shimapan for Cosplay Our Vocaloid-inspired striped bikinis sold faster than we could believe. Good thing we have more! Stock won't last long, so get 'em while you can.
	Patto Mi!! Code Geass The fan book of all things Code Geass from the animated series -- tons of CLAMP artwork, plus character profiles and behind-the-scenes info!
	Hatsune Miku Concert Blu-rays, Too Get caught up on the world's hottest digital idol, or continue collecting her kawaii goods. We have something for all levels of leekgirl fans.
	Ghibli Blu-ray w/full Subtitles Restocked See fresh stock of gorgeous new Ghibli film The Borrower Arrietty in region free Blu-ray disk with full subtitles & dubbed tracks. Laputa & Howl, too!
	Region Free Anime Games for PSP Restocked Enjoy the best anime games on PSP, including Queen's Blade and Ikki Tousen (yay ecchi fighting games), plus Magical Girl Nanoha, Railgun and more.
	EVA&LOGOS Eco-Friendly Tumblers (350ml)  Perfect for hiking and travel, these great items are the perfect way to show off that you have the best taste in classic 90s anime.
	Monster Hunter, Smile Slime Products Fans of the Dragon Quest series of games will love these fun products featuring your favorite characters and monsters as plushies, accessories and more.
	Totoro Watermelon ~ Mosquito Coil Holder Keep bugs away with this cool summer item that features Totoro as a summer watermelon.
	Paper StitchLock, Sushi Magnets, more Lots of neat office items that are from Japan, like a staple-less paper holder, privacy stamps, money origami and more.
	Mamegoma 3-Tier Aluminum Pen Case We love finding kawaii things to post to the site, and this is a great item: a 3-tier pen case for storing all your writing instruments.
	Nama Ramune Candy, 100% Juice Gummy Make your own nama (raw) ramune candy with this cool and easy to use DIY kit, just add water -- plus many more tasty treats too.
	Restocked 'Food Drops' Even more fun flavors of "Food Drops" from Japan, including Sapporo Beer Drops, Kobe Cheese Cake and Miso Ramen from Hokkaido, yum!
	Japanese Snacks & Ramune Restocked in San Diego Get a 1-up on life with some cool Japanese products delivered quickly to your door -- shipping from San Diego.
	Lots of Restocked Japanese Snacks See a nice restocking of popular snacks including Takoyaki Puff Balls, Grave of the Fireflies candy, Okinawa Puccho and awesome Kyoto Candy!
	Hello Kitty Tight Sealed Bento Box ~ Love Sweets And for all the Hello Kitty lovers out there, we've got this amazing bento box, with a very colorful character top that latches securely for safe travel.
	Traditional Bento Boxes Restocked We love carrying awesome traditional bento boxes from japan, and have restocked several today, incl. "Hiragana Face" and more.
	Cute Rilakkuma Products for Bento Cute bento accessories and more, all featuring the kawaii Rilakkuma bear and his friends, including a sandwich and rice shaper, soy sauce bottles and more.
	Hello Kitty Bento Products Restocked Hello Kitty goes with bento products like miso and soup, and we've restocked some kawaii bento items from Sanrio today.
	Awesome Chopsticks from Japan J-List goes out of our way to bring fascinating chopsticks from Japan to you. See our Alien chopstick line restocked + several other fun items!
	My Japanese Table Learn how to make all the delicious dishes that can be found in Japan, all detailed and beautifully photographed in this wonderful book.
	AnoNatsu Rinon Plush Toys For fans of AnoNatsu, here's a soft and squeezable plush of that adorable mascot Rinon. Comes in two convenient sizes!
	Yozora Mikazuki, Sena Kashiwazaki Figures *Preorder* Check out these amazing figures starring the girls from Haganai. Just the right combination of cute and sexy to make your mouth water.
	Kuro Yuki Hime Nendoroid Figure ~ Accel World *Preorder* And there is always room for the cutely proportioned figures from the Nendoroid style, this time with Kuro Yuki Hime.
	Monster Hunter, Yu-Gi-Oh! Figures & More! Yu-Gi-Oh's Seto Kaiba, Kuroyukihime from Accel World, and Konohanasakuya from Persona 4, and awesome Revoltech dragons from Monster Hunter!
	Maria Veil ~ Maria Yoshikawa Bordering on the edge of cute sexy and too sexy, Maria is back again with a great book filled with her gorgeous body's figure.
	2D Dream Magazine illustrations 3 This 80-page artbook is bursting with erotic art from some of the best artists in the industry. A must-have for the true eros connoisseur.
	Raidy: a Yuri Dungeon Crawling Game? We love the Lightning Warrior Raidy game because it includes so many nice things: sexy girls with swords, fun yuri action, and great gameplay.
	Futari wa My Angel ~ First Limited Edition X-Change meets Precure in this genderbent sex romp from Crowd. When two guys are turned into magical girls, it can only end in erotic fun.
	Pittanko K-On! Parody Onahole Series Enjoy restocked parody cup-o-manko items that feature cute anime characters from K-On!, including Yui, Azunyan and Mio, with kawaii animal ears.
	A10 Cyclone & Starter Set Stress Relief System The most famous stress relief toys ever is the A10 Cyclone series by Rends, which promises to bring more stress relief than you can possibly imagine.
	Hatsune Miku Can Be Your Waifu! Our latest parody stress relief toys are based on everyone's favorite virtual idol, Hatsune Miku. Pick your "Future Loid" and have at it!
	More Love Doll Products Bring your fantasies to life with these additional accessories that will make your dakimakura, dolls or toys feel even more realistic.