Cool Products Wednesday, September 14, 2011

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.

	egg Oct 2011 volume 180 Keep up on all the hottest fashion news with the newest issue of egg Magazine, a girl's #1 stop for Shibuya fashion advice. Egg is the #1 selling Japanese fashion magazine at J-List, and our customers love the awesome pictures and fashion ideas found inside. View products »
	Comic Rex Oct 2011 We couldn't think of a cooler name for a monthly manga magazine, that always has great series to follow, all with furigana written with the Kanji.
	More 2012 Anime Calendars Posted All the hottest animes of 2011 are getting calendars for 2012, like Ano Hana, Blue Exorcist, Kokuriko-saka Kara and more.
	Gorgeous Japanese Idol & Actress Calendars And 2012 just won't be as wonderful without your favorite cutie on the wall greeting you everyday. Check out our newest preorders.
	Miku Hatsune Pitamin Stress Toy You can squish her, you can poke her, you can even hug her. This squeezable office stress toy of Miku is something we know you want.
	Ningen Gakki Restocked An interactive toy that generates sounds when your body completes the circuit. Great for parties or for, um, couples.
	Black Rock Shooter Strength 1/8 Figure That gorgeous 1/8 scale figure of Strength from the Black Rock Shooter anime has finally come in, and she's a beautiful creation indeed.
	iPhone 4 Accessories We're happy to report we've gotten in the new Bleach iPhone 4 case, and it's lovely. Browse our iPhone 4 cases as they'll be disappearing soon.
	One Piece Character Bento Book Spice up your lunch with the pirate characters from One Piece. Comes with awesome bento ideas plus silicon molds!
	Japanese Eye Patch for Cosplay Enjoy our wacky eye patch for Evangelion or Ikki Tousen cosplay, with the restocking of one of our favorite cosplay products.
	Great 'Tatami' Sandals Restocked Your feet will feel like they are walking though Kyoto with these relaxing and comfortable traditional sandals. Large size for gaijin too!
	Suddenly...Horse Head! This crazy cosplay item is just so wacky, so scary that we couldn't pass it up. Make a big impression at your next party with it.
	New Shimapan Discount Great news for fans of shimapan striped panties: you can now get a discount if you buy several sets together!
	More Awesome Japanese Striped Socks These knee-high socks are really popular this year, undoubtedly due to the smash hit "Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt."
	Exride GANTZ BIKE, Mega Man We have a slick motorcycle from GANTZ that any Figma can ride, plus a new Mega Man figure you will love.
	'Oreimo' Green Tea Cups Enjoy your Japanese tea with the characters from the awesome show. Quantities limited, sorry if this sells out.
	Cooling Pad for Fever ~ Netsu Sama Sheet Beat colds this winter with netsu-sama sheet fever reducing sheets. Any girl you attach them to will become 100% more moe.
	Awesome T-Shirts for Girls, Too In addition to our standard shirts, we have a line of popular girl's fitted tees, like, "I Like What I Like So Get Off My Back" (which we got from a BL game).
	Fun New Japanese Snacks Enjoy super tart QUN Gummy, new "Coffee Jelly In" Country Ma'am cookies, plus amazing cooked macaroni snacks you can munch out of the can. It's always fun to discover new Japanese snacks at J-List! View products »
	Restocked Snacks from Japan Enjoy the Furidama gummy ball from the makers of Popin' Cookin,' Hi-Chew in Melon flavor, Meiji Chocolate Mint Gum, Sours Ramune Gummy, and more.
	Let's Make Eraser with Microwave Restocked The Japanese are very creative, and we've restocked the Let's Make Eraser with Microwave series, which lets you melt and create erasers!
	We Love Traditional Bento See two gorgeous bento boxes restocked today, incl. Mt Fuji & Rabbits Lacquered bento and Carved Wooden Bento. Fully microwave safe!
	Rabbit Slim Thermos Bottle 250ml ~ Black Speaking of rabbits, this slim thermos will keep your drink hot or cold and look cute doing it! A simple, elegant design for fans of Japanese art.
	Nori Punches Restocked. Too The nori punches that let you make cute faces on your rice balls, decorate bento and more -- restocked! Extremely popular with J-List customers.
	KATAMETE-PON ~ ECO Powder to Dispose Oil "Eco powder" that you sprinkle over oil you've used, and it becomes hard instantly, so you can throw it away without harming the environment.
	Gorgeous New Photobook Explore the ero of the school uniform in this photo book emphasizing the beauty of the female form in an artistic cosplay setting.
	Big Restocking of Japanese Study  Whether you want to learn just a little Japanese or go for level 1 of the JLPT, J-List is here for you. The Genki textbooks are all restocked today.
	J-List's 'Yandere' T-Shirt One of my favorite shirts, a "Yandere" shirt for fans of anime girls who love you so much, they'd kill you. A fun shirt with lots of kanji.
	Yuzen TATAMI Mouse Pad Make your workspace into a wafu (Japanese-style) center of peace and tranquility with this bamboo mouse pad.
	Red Mari Gauze Towel Wrap it around your neck, or use it in the shower, this elegantly styled towel has a great flare of the traditional Japanese artistic senses.
	Fun Traditional Products Restocked Then enjoy some of our best bento accessories and kitchen items, including newly restocked miso soup bowls, a traditional flat marbles game and more.
	Astraea 1/7 Figure ~ Swimsuits ver. *Preorder* This beautiful figure from the series Sora no Otoshimono, has such fine detail, it looks just fantastic. Beautifully pre-painted.
	More Awesome Beach Queen Figures Add a few more awesome babes to your Beach Queen series collection. Enjoy Kurisu from Steins;Gate or Houki from Infinite Stratos.
	Sexy Ero Calendars Posted, Too Make 2012 the sexiest year yet, with one (or more) of these hot calendars features beautiful nude gravure photos on large format printing.
	Adult Toys and Dolls Restocked The Japanese love finding new ways of making the time-old act of loving more fun. See our Love Body Ren, Pururun Angel Bust and more!
	Anime Stress Toys Also, some fun products for fans of "parody" anime onahole toys. K-On, Kagami from Toradora, plus more for you to discover.
	Rance Quest "I would play this for its gameplay alone, even without its ecchi scenes," says our in-house game guy. An amazing series to enjoy.
	More H-Games from Japan Also, Gyakushu, Sengoku Tenshi Djibril, Houkago Custom Time, Do Love Me Seriously and other great import eroge.

My Weekend Onsen Trip

Since I had the weekend to myself, I decided to pick the farthest onsen I could get to conveniently and headed out. It was a nice hot spring in the mountains around Gunma, complete with authentic rotten egg sulfur smell, a rarity when so many commercially-operated "hot springs" use boilers to heat their water and only offer a single volcanically heated bath to avoid problems with truth-in-advertising laws. As is often the case in our rural part of Japan, I was the only foreigner in the place -- this has more to do with me doing "Japanese" things than it does with there being no foreigners in our prefecture -- and there were several children who couldn't help but stare a bit at the big gaijin. There was one cute boy who was explaining to me which baths were hot and which were cold, and then he'd tell me his name in English repeatedly, which he'd learned in school. As usual, I'm extremely careful when interacting with kids here to never do anything "scary" that might harm their opinion of foreigners, since I'm often the first encounter with a "southern barbarian" for them.

I just can't say no to a good onsen bath.

The Second Korean Popularity Wave

My wife is currently in South Korea with a friend, shopping and eating various delicious Korean foods. Like many Japanese, she's been caught in the Second Korean Pop Culture Wave that's currently taking Japan by storm (the first was the "Winter Sonata" boom of 2002), and she loves to watch the hanryu ("Korean wave") doramas that take up an increasing share of Japanese television. In the same way that idols of the 1990s all seemed to come from Okinawa, where the "otherness" of Amuro Namie or SPEED offered something lacking in mainland Japanese stars, now the world of K-POP is winning a lot of fans. The iTunes Japan store is well stocked with songs by Korean female groups like Girl's Generation or Kara, or popular male groups like Beast or Shinee. (iTunes Japan cards are the #1 products Koreans buy at J-List.) When asked about the attraction of Korean boy bands, J-List's resident K-POP expert and bento buyer Ai-chan said, "For years all the popular bands have been affiliated with Johnny's Entertainment, like Arashi. They're chosen for their young boyish faces, but Korean singers look older, more 'manly' and fresh. Also Korean bands dance much better." I certainly like the style and polish of the new female Korean groups, especially their sing-song Korean-Japanese accents, which are so darned cute.

Korean Generation: the Second Korean Wave is taking Japan by storm.

Study Japanese with J-List

J-List is more than a place to find great anime, manga and other pop culture products. It's a place to learn about Japan itself, including the beautiful Japanese language. We've got great Japanese study products for you, from the newest JLPT preparatory books to the Genki textbook series, the awesome kanji and kana flashcards from White Rabbit, plus other fun ways to study. Why not browse our Japanese study products now?

The 9/11 Attacks and Japan

Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of the terrible attacks on the World Trade Center, the sad event that, for me, was the official start of the decade of the 2000s. (Isn't it odd how decades don't really end and begin on time, perceptually?) As indicated by its name, the World Trade Center hosted many people from around the world, and 24 Japanese were included in the 372 foreign nationals who died in the attacks. As I wrote in my J-List update back then, it is the highest point of pride for a Japanese person to be chosen to work in New York City, and it would have made the career of any Japanese to represent their company in such a famous building -- only working at NASA might possibly be more illustrious. It was an indescribably terrible time -- I remember calling my kids into the room so they could see what was happening, as they were American too, even though they were only 5 and 4 at the time. Yesterday a ceremony was held in Tokyo marking the event, with the families of the Japanese bankers, stockbrokers, translators and others lost in the tragedy present.

Marking a very sad day for the U.S. and the whole world.

Cool Products Monday, September 12, 2011

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.

	Tons of 2012 Anime Calendars Posted 2012 calendar season is here, and J-List is posting tons of awesome large-format poster calendars to the site. We've just posted another volley of awesome offerings including the new Naruto calendars, Price of Tennis, Gintama, Pokemon and more. View products »
	K-POP Calendars Posted to J-List Stars like KARA, After School, T-ara and Girl's Generation are releasing cool calendars for the new year. You can order through J-List!
	K-POP at the iTunes Japan Store There are tons of K-POP songs on the Japan iTunes store, too, so you can find your favorite Hanryu stars and get songs. iOS apps, too.
	Akihabara Mousou ~ AKIBA Mousou FREE CELL Experience the crazy and fun world of Mousou (lit. "Delusion"), which lets you see under the clothes of kawaii Akihabara girls.
	Awesome Evangelion Plugsuits Figures Don't look now, but that really kawaii Asuka figure is in stock and shipping now. 90% sold to preorder customers, so sorry if she sells out.
	Awesome Swimsuit Figures In Stock We've also gotten the cute Infinite Stratos (IS), including Charlotte and Laura. Very awesome in their swimsuits, they are ready for tun in the summer.
	The World God Only Knows Mascot Straps Get Elsie, Takahara Ayumi, Nakagawa Kanon and Shiori Shiomiya in this set of cool straps, in stock and shipping now.
	Rewrite Lucky Charms In Stock We've finally got these super cool Rewrite omamori (lucky charms) in stock. Carry one with you and have them spread the good luck with you.
	One Piece HOOK full set Hang your clothes up in awesome pirate style with this One Piece Hook Set, featuring Nami, Nico Robin and Boa Hancock.
	'Socks Glue,' Maiden Lace Over Knee Socks Keep those awesome Japanese socks from sliding down your left with water-based "socks glue" from Japan, which we've restocked today. Also gothic socks!
	Neko Mimi Cat Ear and Tails Cosplay Make your costume complete, or just play around the house, as a kawaii cat girl with this awesome cosplay accessory set.
	Shimapan ~ Striped Panties Restocked The holy grail of anime cosplay are shimapan, worn by the cutest anime girls. See pink (Kagami, Kirino) and blue (Mio, Lucchini) in today.
	We love Rilakkuma @ J-List The cutest way to study Japanese is using these Rilakkuma flashcards, which are cute and bear-shaped. Other items restocked too.
	Kissing Moe Mask ~ Akihabara Style This looks like a mild-mannered Japanese health mask, but on the inside it's really...an incredibly cute anime girl that you get to kiss.
	BUB & Kyoto Fizzing Bath Tablets Some of our favorite bath items, incl. the awesome BUB fizzing tablets which I use every day, plus Kyoto style bath tablets too.
	Totoro China Tea Cups, Fox Squirrel Pencil Case The whimsical Totoro makes his way to your home in this high quality set of china teacups, made in Japan by the famous Noritake.
	Japanese T-shirt 'Square Totoro' Guys & Girls There's no doubt about it: everyone loves Totoro, the cute protector of the forest, and we have some awesome T-shirts for you in stock.
	Fun Stationery Items Restocked Need a fun, wacky case for your handheld camera? Or a tape dispenser that looks like it's made of chocolate? A thin calculator you can take anywhere?
	A4+A5 File Pouch (set of 2) ~ Many Colors When preparing for school its best to be prepared for the unexpected. These file pouches will protect your things and let you compartmentalize your life.
	Happy Kitchen Soft Cookie From the same company that brought us Popin' Cookin' comes this soft cookie backing kit that requires nothing more than a microwave. It's great fun to make these tiny detailed cookies from Japan -- make them with your kids! View products »
	Other New Snacks Then enjoy the popular Jagarico potato snacks in "German Potato" flavor, plus a soy sauce rice snack, yum!
	Awesome Traditional Kyoto Candy Traditional Japanese candies from Kyoto are also restocked -- what a great way to enjoy a new side of Japan, its candy culture!
	Restocked Japanese Snacks, Too Enjoy classic Toppo, Honda Sauce Rice Crackers, Salmon Furikake Doritos (!), Meiji 100% Juice Gummy, Fanta Hi-Chew and more.
	Tentacle Grape In Stock Boost your studying energy, gaming reaction time or hentai reading speed with the amazing taste of Tentacle Grape, made just for otaku.
	Great Bento From Japan, Restocked We've restocked that awesome hiragana bento box, one of my favorites, plus more traditional bento boxes from Hakoya.
	Airou x Hello Chopsticks & Case  Mash up Hello Kitty and Monster hunter, and you have a super cute mascot combo ready for your bento. These chopsticks are great.
	Random Restocked Bento Items Then see random cute items we restocked today, including cute Boiled Egg Shapers, since eating normal eggs is so mainstream.
	NORI (Seaweed) Punch for Bento With just a few simple punches, create a character bento with these nori punchers. Also see Japanese sandwich shapers.
	Japanese Devil Mask  Bring home this traditional part of Japanese culture. The oni (OWN-ee) mask is a central part to many Japanese festivals and customs.
	Elegant Sakura Genuine Lacquered Business Card Box Add a flare of sophistication to your business with this authentic Japanese business card holder, with fantastic artwork on the cover.
	K-On! LED Candle Box Set of 8 *Preorder* Light up this holiday season with these K-On! LED candles. Safer than regular candles, these will keep your home lit all through the winter.
	Choco-Oki Super Sonico Collection *Preorder* The super cute Super Sonico has some new figures that are being released together as a set. Awesome.
	2012 Calendar ~ Tsubasa Amami *Preorder* The doe-eyed vixen Tsubasa Amami is one of our favorite JAV stars. Pin her calendar up in your study, office or dorm room and be greeted everyday with a pair of perky breasts and a silky sexy body. Other awesome ero calendars posted too! View products »
	Love Para ~ Rina Kato The always cute Rina Kato has just released a deliciously sexy photobook that shows off all the curves of her fabulous nude body.
	Big Restocking of TENGA Products We know that TENGA products are an amazing way to reduce stress, so we've brought back some of the best-sellers like the TENGA EGG, the TENGA Flip Lite, the TENDA Deep Throat Cup, and the TENGA 3D series. They're like amazing devices that were transported here from the future, to make all guys happy. Click to see them all! View products »
	Love Body Mini This mini sized adult toy is perfect for traveling or those who want to have one handy, but in a secret location. Love Body Mini.
	Restocked Ecchi Artbooks We've hand-picked some great artbooks and restocked them just for you, like L'autocensure, Oppai, and Kyonyu Artworks.
	Import Eroge, Too Visual novels are an awesome art form, and we've restocked some great titles, incl. Fate/stay night, Utawarerumono, Devil on a G-String and more.