Peter Visits Yasukuni Shrine

I took a trip down to Tokyo yesterday to have a meeting with NitroPlus, the innovative company behind Steins;Gate and so many other quality games. After the meeting, I had some free time so I decided to visit a place that's like no other in Japan, Yasukuni Shrine. Established in 1867 by the Meiji Emperor to commemorate the people who died in the Boshin War (a conflict that flared up as power switched from Tokugawa Shogunate to a constitutional monarchy centered around the Emperor), Yasukuni Shrine maintains an official registry of 2.4 million Japanese who died in the service of their country, including all the soldiers who perished in World War II. As the de facto Japanese version of Arlington National Cemetery, it's a very solemn place to reflect on the soldiers who served their country...as well as horses, as there's a statue where people can make offerings to the horses that died in the war. The problem with Yasukuni, of course, is that 14 "A-class" war criminals who were responsible for so much sadness during the war are officially interred in the shrine, which means that any visits by Japanese government officials draw strong protests from the Chinese and Korean governments. (Prime Minister Abe avoided visiting the shrine entirely this year.)

Since I'd chosen to visit on August 15, the day Japan declared its surrender, I was prepared to find a battleground filled with protesters, but it wasn't that bad: there were a few scattered Korean and Chinese groups along with Taiwanese who were angry that Japan had not recognized their independence, plus a group protesting the for-profit harvesting of organs from executed prisoners in China. Inside the grounds of the shrine were some very colorful people, including very old men standing proudly in their old wartime uniforms, garden-variety Japanese nationalists (the kind who drive around in loudspeaker trucks playing war songs or the Space Battleship Yamato theme), plus one guy walking around in a full ninja costume complete with swords. In addition to the main shrine there's a history museum that focuses on World War II, and it was a very interesting place to visit, as long as you understand that the subject material is being presented from a certain point of view. You can also visit a restaurant and enjoy some of the foods from the era, including authentic "navy curry," a re-creation of the curry served on ships during WWII, and ice cold Ramune.

I made my first visit to Yasukuni Shrine yesterday.

Sapporo Beer Saves us from Gout

Although sake might be the alcoholic drink most associated with Japan, when the workday is done most salarymen will reach for a beer. Japan's four beer companies -- Sapporo, Kirin, Asahi and Suntory -- are huge, distributing all manner of beverages including Asian teas and foreign soft drinks (Pepsi's oh-so-interesting Japanese versions are bottled by Suntory, for example). One problem with beer is that it contains something called purines, organic compounds that, among other things, can cause gout. For some reason the Japanese have a big fear of gout, and men to go to the doctor will often be warned of the dangers of consuming purine-rich products like red meat, anchovies and beer. Now Sapporo has come to the rescue of beer drinkers with a new beer product called Goku Zero which contains no purines, enabling men to drink it without endangering their health. Other recent innovations in Japan's fast-moving beer industry have included a limited Asahi Extra Cold beer for summer, beer marketed exclusively to women and this year's Aki-Aji ("Taste of Autumn"), a dark beer sold only in the fall.

Sapporo makes a beer to save men from gout.

J-List Loves Totoro

J-List genuinely loves Totoro and carries hundreds of Ghibli products for fans. We've got everything from excellent Totoro bento boxes to cute rubber stamps with messages in kanji, as well as awesome products for your home like the Totoro noren door curtains and that outstanding Totoro summer blanket. Browse our products now!

Japanese University, Dai-Pinch!

I saw a report in the news that said that 40% of private universities in Japan had failed to fill their student rosters to capacity this year, and several schools failed to fill even 50% of their classrooms. For years people have been talking about the problems Japan's higher education world would likely experience as the population of students falls, and the effects have finally begun to be felt. Having very little in the way of natural resources to fall back on, Japan has always invested heavily in its people, and the country has had enormous success with its competition-based test system which encourages students to spend years studying for university entrance exams so they can get into a famous school. This system is dependent on there being more students than positions to fill at top-notch universities, however, and as the number of students in Japanese universities falls, schools will presumably have to lower their academic standards in order to fill their classrooms. In theory this means that eventually, any student wishing to attend Tokyo or Waseda University will be able to do so easily, without spending years studying. (If Japanese no longer need to study hard to get into college, how will they make anime stories about students who can't study because of being distracted by cute girls?) To combat the problem Japan's Ministry of Education should be finding any excuse to close existing universities that fall below a certain threshold of educational quality, and yet they're doing the opposite, allowing more to be accreddited every year.

I'd have trouble studying if these girls were always bugging me, too.

One Of My Favorite Japanese Words: 気 (ki)

Sometimes part of the fun of studying a language like Japanese is "surfing" the linguistic elements that are different from English. One of the first kanji characters you encounter is 気 ki, a rather all-purpose character for expressing abstract ideas, read chi in Chinese. Translatable as spirit, soul, nature, heart, mood, feeling, or atmosphere, it generally deals with concepts related to the air, invisible forms of energy, or a person's awareness, and it's found in common words like 元気 genki (happy, energetic), 天気 tenki (weather) and 空気 kuuki (air). The word can express motivation (やる気 yaruki = lit. the intention to do things) as well as a person's emotions (気持ち kimochi = one's feelings, especially one's romantic intentions towards another). The concept is used in martial arts and yoga, which seek to focus the body's ki energy in beneficial ways, and it's the core of feng shui (fuusui in Japanese), which tries to improve your life by organizing your environment so this invisible energy can flow more freely around you. (Fun fact: China's Boxer Rebellion of 1899 came about because Westerners were building railroads without concern for the proper directional rules of feng shui.) It's common in many anime series with fighting scenes to feature strange energy that flows visibly from the body of a character, and this is known as 闘気 tohki, or "fighting energy."

Powerful ki fighting energy shows up in anime a lot.

A Visit to Mt. Akagi in Gunma

One of the good things about living in Gunma Prefecture, located in the exact center of Japan's main island of Honshu, is being near beautiful mountains which provide recreation in the form of skiing, hiking and...driving really fast. The other night I mentioned to my son that the Perseid Meteor Shower was going on, and he suggested we could go up into the mountains and try to see some meteors, so the next thing we knew we were zooming up Mt. Akagi. We didn't have much luck in the end -- it was drizzling and we could barely see any stars through the clouds -- but it was fun to go for a night drive while playing the soundtrack from Initial D, the anime about street racing set in Gunma. At the top of the mountain there's a parking area where other drivers show off their decked-out cars, and it was fun standing with them trying to catch sight of a shooting star, even though they were a little freaked out to have an American there. If you're a fan of Initial D, you might be interested in our Moero Downhill Night racing-themed eroge trilogy, which is a lot of fun.

One of the best things about Gunma is the mountains.

More Details on Yumina's RPG Game System

Remember that our awesome new H-game Yumina the Ethereal ships August 30th. It's a huge RPG with tons of gameplay and content for players to enjoy, including "debate battles" in which Yumina must fight her way to being voted student body president. You'll also explore dungeons, fight monsters, and learn dozens of skills to strengthen your party. We recently updated the Official Yumina the Ethereal game site with new character art and additional info, and also posted a playable game demo for you too. Preorder your copy now to get free shipping when the game ships, or preorder the download version or package + download set! (Must be 18 to play the demo.)

All About Netsuke, Japan's Phone Straps

If you've browsed our website, you've probably seen the "phone straps" we sell, which are popular in Japan as stylish attachments for your cell phone, although you can attach them to a camera, Sony PSP or PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS or even your keys. Well, did you know these phone straps were actually an updated form of Japanese art going back to the 17th century? Since kimonos have no pockets, men in the Edo Period needed a way to carry their money and other belongings, and they started using small cloth pouches with drawstrings and intricately carved figures called 根付 netsuke (pronounced nets-keh) on the ends of the strings. The original netsuke were fine works of hand-carved art, portraying turtles and Daruma and other talismans of good luck, and the concept was updated when cell phones came along. In addition to the netsuke straps we carry from Japan, we stock the full line of Poddities straps and strap adapters for iPhone 5, which allows you to securely attach an adapter for phone straps so you can use any Japan phone strap you want. All tools are included, and you can return the phone to its original state at any time.

We love "netsuke," the cute phone straps you see in Japan.

Exact Change in Japan

The money used in Japan is the yen, written with the kanji 円 en which means "circle." Yen comes as paper currency in denomoninations of 1000, 5000 and 10,000 yen, as well as coins from 1 yen all the way to 100 and 500 yen. Because the equivalent of a $1 and $5 bill exist as coins rather than paper money, you end up using coins for purchases in Japan a lot, and if you have a pocketful of coins you probably have $30 or $40 in there. Of course no one wants to be holding so many coins, so whenever I make a purchase I do what most Japanese do and try to pay with exact change, or else give over extra money so I end up with fewer coins in the end. The other day I went to an import food shop and made a purchase which cost 4260 yen, so I gave the lady 5310 yen, getting back a 1000 yen note and a 50 yen coin -- a nice reduction in my wallet's weight. However, often when I'd catch myself doing fancy stuff like this back home in San Diego, I'd receive blank stares from the cashiers who wondered why I was handing them more money than was required for the purchase.

I try to make exact change at shops, but sometimes it doesn't work out in the U.S.

Obon, Japan's Holy Week

Japan is about to begin Obon, a three-day Buddhist holiday to remember the souls of one's ancestors, often referred to as Festival of the Dead. It's essentially a blending of Halloween and American Thanksgiving in which millions of Japanese travel home to visit with family and pay respects at the family grave while the souls of the dead roam through Japan. Much of the country shuts down on August 13, 14 and 15th, and Tokyo becomes a ghost town, at least compared to its usual bustling energy. Living in Japan for the past 22 years has taught me a lot about what the Japanese are all about spiritually. While anywhere from 45 to 75% of Japanese will insist they have no formal religion, when all is said and done Japan is a very Buddhist country, and nothing in Japanese Buddhism is more important than properly remembering one's ancestors -- your parents, grandparents and other family members without whom you wouldn't exist. My wife regularly looks to her dead grandmother for guidance and protection, and every morning she or our daughter burns a stick of incense at the Buddhist altar to let the dead know they haven't been forgotten. While many of the cultural images of Obon are pleasing to our outsiders' eyes -- a whole community performing the bon-odori dance while lanterns guide the souls of the dead home -- others might be confusing. For example, the dead are thought to ride home from heaven on horses and cows, which are represented by cucumbers and eggplants with chopsticks inserted as feet, and families will make little cucumber and eggplant animals and set them on their Buddhist altar to get ready for their ancestor's homecoming.

Images of Obon, the most important religious time in Japan.

Yumina the Ethereal is Coming

We've got great news for fans of Yumina the Ethereal , our upcoming large-scale ero RPG: the game is being duplicated right now and will ship out August 30th. To help promote this outstanding game, which is loaded with great characters, dungeon crawling and a fun battle system, we've updated the Official Yumina the Ethereal game site with new character art and additional into. We've also prepared a cool demo to give you a taste of the awesome gameplay and story, which you can download from the official site. Preorder your copy now to get free shipping when the game ships, or preorder the download version or package + download set! (Must be 18 to play the demo.)