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.

	Fuku-bukuro Lucky Bag Goodness Restocked Great news: we've restocked the popular fuku-bukuro traditional New Year's grab bags, filled with awesome anime, bento, traditional and other random things from Japan, or (if you're interested in steamier items) our "H" grab bags from Japan and San Diego. Stock is limited though, so don't wait! View products »
	Mami Tomoe Nendoroid Figure Now In Stock! The adorable Nendoroid of Mami from Madoka Magica is now in stock. Comes with tea set, Charlotte head, and plenty of guns! The head is removable, too.
	Ultra Jump Jan 2012, for Serious Manga Fans Grab a new issue of Ultra Jump, the number one magazine for all your Jojo needs. Also features NEEDLESS, Hayate x Blade, Grandeek, and more!
	Akihabara Festival 2011 Visual Book Enjoy exclusive art, interviews, and info from some of the biggest studios in the Japanese game industry, including Nitroplus, 5pb, and Nippon Ichi.
	Great PC Games from Japan Enjoy the awesome new Sonicomi game for Super Sonico fans, plus Steins;Gate, Remember 11 and other epic titles for you to play.
	K-ON! After School Live!! (PSP the Best) The ultimate game for K-On! fans is now available at a new low price. Join the ultra-moe girls of K-On! for hours of rhythm game fun.
	Gorgeous Anime Artbooks Restocked Evangelion Chronicle Illustrations is back in stock, along with dozens of other artbooks official guides full of beautiful art and exclusive info.
	Awesome 2012 Anime Calendars on Sale! Remember: we're having a big 2012 anime calendar sale -- buy one, get the second for half off, or 25% off the total. Awesome!
	Other Awesome Calendars from Japan We have a lot more than anime calendars too: browse our traditional photo, art and other calendars, all included in the sale.
	Kana ~ Kana Hanazawa This wonderful photobook lets you go on vacation with Kana Hanazawa. Don't miss this chance to spend time with a cute Japanese girl.
	Wonderful Japanese Fashion Items Some of the world's greatest fashions are born in Japan, in places like Harajuku and Shibuya. Got the Black White and One Piece restocked today.
	Great Cosplay Books & Magazines Get inspired and be amazed when you open the pages of COSnap magazine, made for the serious cosplayer and casual admirer alike.
	Restocked 'H' Cosplay Items For the more risque cosplayers out there, J-List has a wide variety of panties, swimsuits, shimapan and bloomers, now fully restocked.
	Kawaii Madoka Magica Products Check out our huge selection of Madoka Magica products, including wonderful music boxes that play your favorite tunes like Connect and Magia.
	Lucky Cat Coin Bank ~ White or Black Give your lucky coins an extra boost with these lucky cat coin banks, available in white or black. Yes we Nyan! Enjoy fresh stock of these fun items.
	Japanese Shine Donation Box w/ Chocolate Create a personal shrine to your favorite anime character of JPOP idol with these great Japanese shine items that also include a sweet surprise -- the chocolate stick omikuji or the chocolate money saisenbako. Both made of real wood and can be used long after you've eaten the included yumminess, and are great representations of Japan. View products »
	Awesome Totoro Products Restocked We love finding new Totoro products for the site. Today we've got the Totoro backpack, stamp, tree house, and those awesome china tea cups restocked.
	Rilakkuma Plush Toys Restocked Rilakkuma is one of the most popular characters in Japan, and we love him because he's so soothing to be around. See today's restocked items.
	Make Your Own Stickers Create amazing sticker decorations that are only limited by your imagination with this quick drying, colorful set of craft pens.
	Mousse-chan Paper Clay Items Restocked Also, the awesome kami nendo or "paper clay" molds featuring the cute character Mousse-chan are restocked today. Molds are reusable for other crafts!
	Awesome New Japanese Snacks In Stock As long as Japan keeps out with innovative and delicious snacks, we'll keep bringing them to you on J-List! Today we've got ikemen chocolate ramen, a play oh a word meaning 'handsome face' and ramen noodles, plus Green Tea Stick Chocolate, wow! View products »
	Premium Chocolate, Other Snacks Restocked Got Baked Chocolate Toppo, Fran Meltykiss stick snacks, Cream Collon (love that name), UHA Puccho and DIY Takoyaki Gummy candy.
	Delicious Turmeric Ukon Orange Sticks Combined with a delicious orange flavor, enjoy the great health benefits of Ukon, the friend of party goers everywhere.
	More Totoro Bento Boxes from Japan We love carrying Totoro bento, and take our jobs very seriously. Click here to see today's new and restocked Ghibli bento box items.
	Kawaii Animal Silicon Molds Create amazing snacks ranging from tasty chocolate sticks to refreshing juice popsicles, for both winter and summer smiling faces.
	Deco 3D House Cookie Cutter & Face Stamp We've built these and... we burnt our cookies but the houses looked fantastic! With your superior cooking skills we're sure they'll be a hit.
	Kawaii Nori Punch, Sandwich Shapers See fun bento accessory and kitchen items restocked, including kawaii "nori punches" for making seaweed shapes, plus sandwich shapers and more.
	Fun 'Nori Punch' for Deco Bento Cut your pressed dried seaweed sheets (nori) into the perfect Hello Kitty shapes, for making deco (decorated) bento lunches. Kawaii!
	We Love Japanese Erasers See the most amazing erasers in the history of the human race, plus the Pentel Tradio Fountain Pen, Kanji Entry Pen for Elementary School and more.
	Unleash Your Inner NINJA From classic rubber shuriken throwing stars to ninja socks blacker than the night, J-List has everything you need to fulfill your ninja fantasies.
	Geta Style Tabi, aka 'Ninja Socks' Tabi are the famous split-toe footwear worn by ninjas, or with traditional Japanese kimonos. Enjoy these awesome restocked socks!
	Hot New Beach Queen Figures *Preorder* Cute girls in swimsuits. What could be better? Our newest Beach Queens are Ruri Aiba from Sacred Seven and Anaru from AnoHana. Preorders open!
	Holy Angel Kamineko ~ Ore Imo *Preorder* You'll also want to take a look at this delightfully moe figure of OreImo's Kuroneko in her Holy Angel Kamineko costume. Kuroneko fans rejoice!
	Nude Poses for Anime ~ Nude Zukan Made for the artist in mind (of course! What did you think?), this book is a treasure for manga creators in search of nude models to inspire them.
	Huge Volley of New Doujinshi from Comiket 81 J-List is back from Comiket with tons of erotic doujinshi for you. Each volume is full of high-quality artwork depicting your favorite game and anime girls having hot sex for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy doujinshi based on Madoka Magica, Haganai, Working!, Infinite Stratos, Dragon Quest, and more! View products »
	Super Awesome Ero Artbooks See some great artbooks for ecchi-minded people, like the amazing new Satoshi Urushihara offering, Shirow Masamune and more.
	Air Doll ~ Airi Himekawa  Stop playing by yourself and add a companion, Airi Himekawa -- the fun air doll you can inflate anytime you want. Add an onahole for even more fun.
	My First Hole The easy kit with everything you need to enjoy your first experience with a onahole. Ready right out of the box with simple picture instructions.
	Restocked Onaholes for Otakus Wow, popular stress toys featuring Azunyan, Anaru from Anohana and Mari from Evangelion. These are all awesome products.
	Awesome Japanese Lotions Too Personal lotion from Japan is the best in the world, and we've restocked several kinds, including the official (?) lotion of Kuroneko from Oreimo.
	My Girlfriend is the President is In Stock! Ever since that hilarious trailer w/English voiceover hit YouTube, our customers have been asking us to localize this great game. It's in stock now!
	Gorgeous Import Eroge Restocked Today's restocked eroge is a story about cute and sexy female knights who excel at jousting. The art in this game is absolutely stunning!

My Trip to Taiwan

I've just returned from a four-day trip to Taiwan with my family, our first visit to the mountainous nation that's approximately the size of Japan's southernmost island of Kyushu. It was a blast, and we had lots of fun as we surfed the chaos you can only experience being in a Chinese-speaking country. We took a tour of the major sightseeing spots in Taipei, which naturally included visiting the national monument to Chiang Kai-Shek, whose smiling statue stares across the sea at the lost Chinese mainland. (The name of the monument changes regularly depending on which political party is in power.) We made a point of visiting Jiufen, a pleasant mountain village an hour or so away from the capital which provided much of the setting for Hayao Miyazaki's film Spirited Away.

It was fun being in a country I had no previous cultural connection to -- I've lived in Japan too long to be surprised by the little wrinkles other foreigners encounter when visiting, and it was definitely good for me to leave my "comfort zone" for a while. In Taiwan it was impossible to make myself understood to anyone unless they happened to speak Japanese (quite common with older people, and anyone in the tourism industry) or more rarely, English. We had a surprising amount of trouble with restaurants: when we tried to order rice in one place they kept bringing us little bowls, until we realized we could communicate by writing kanji on a chopstick wrapper, since Chinese characters are more or less universal. Things got much easier after that.

Taiwan is unique as the Asian country with the most positive relationship with Japan, and there's very little negative feeling left over from Japan's Colonial Era. This comes from the general impression that Japan did good things for the island during its 50 year rule (from 1895 to 1945), introducing modern industry and compulsory education for all children, eradicating diseases like malaria and curbing archaic customs like foot-binding of girl children and the use of opium. One taxi driver I talked to had nothing but kind words for Japan, going out of his way especially to praise Yoichi Hatta, a civil engineer from Japan who built many great engineering works in Taiwan, including the largest dam and an extensive irrigation system, which enabled the island to avoid the starvation other countries experienced in the aftermath of World War II. When an American submarine sank the ship Mr. Hatta was on in 1942, his Japanese wife sent her eight children back to the home islands then climbed to the top of the dam her husband had built and jumped off, leaving a note that read, "I am following my beloved." It's quite a romantic story of wartime love, and a famous story in Taiwan. There is a temple and a memorial park dedicated to Hatta-san and his wife today.

Japan and Taiwan have a very positive relationship; we visited the Spirited Away village, Jiufen.

Cute Bento for 2012!

Whether you're interested in using the built-in portion control of bento lunches to lose weight, using bento to eat more inexpensively or just like kawaii things, J-List has hundreds of awesome bento boxes, bento accessories and other random items for your kitchen. View the top 100 bento boxes on the site, or browse bento accessories here. Want to make onigiri rice balls as seen in Spirited Away? We can help, as usual.

Cool Products Monday, January 9, 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.

	nano A (Ace) vol. 8 Jan 2012 We love cute and quirky girls, which is why we're bringing you this crazy cool magazine dedicated to 4-panel comedy strips like Nichijou and Lucky Star. Comes with an adorable Nichijou pen case & poster. Note, this is a limited item that will sell out fast, so grab a copy if you want one. View products »
	Afternoon Feb 2012 Then grab a copy of this elegant and super thick monthly magazine, full of top quality manga like Oh My Goddess, Vinland Saga, and Genshiken.
	BLOOD C ~ Official Complete Book Fans of the action-packed series BLOOD-C can now own the complete artbook and guide to the anime. Over 125 beautifully illustrated color pages.
	Cutie Jan 2012 Keep up on the fashion trends that are sweeping through Japan with the newest issue of Cutie, this month with a free vanity bag.
	Kawaii Japanese Fashions Restocked Japan leads the world in cool fashion, and we've got some wonderful pieces in stock, like the Rabbit Moko Moko Parka, Skull Long Sleeve Top and more.
	Spangle & Cute Parts of 4 types For Decorating Stickers Here are some fun craft accessories for the "Let's Make Original Stickers" craft series, which you can also do other fun things with too.
	Hello Kitty Omatsuri Straps are Kawaii! This box comes with a total of 10 different keychain/cell phone straps of traditional omatsuri (festival) items transformed into Hello Kitty.
	Super Mario Mushroom Salt and Pepper Shakers Nintendo fans who are also food lovers, you will want to have a set of these neat Super Mushrooms in your kitchen, either power-up or extra-life.
	Ningen Gakki Restocked An interactive toy that generates sounds when your body completes the circuit. Great for parties or for, um, couples.
	Big Restocking of Touhou Project Games You'll be amazed at some of the great items we've got from the Touhou universe, like Ten Desires, Immaterial and Missing Power, and Shoot the Bullet.
	Fun Spirited Away & Totoro Products Enjoy the Spirited Away playing cards and awesome handkerchief restocked today, plus wonderful Totoro cushions and other Ghibli items.
	Great Anime Songs on iTunes Japan If you love moe squid girls you can find all the Ika Musume songs on iTunes Japan, along with the new K-On! release.
	Charlotte Strawberry Chocolate, Mister Donut Snacks? Have a sweet tooth like we do? It's hard to resist trying all the new flavored treats that come out of Japan, and today we've got some good ones. Check out the Mister Donut sticks, that taste like real glazed donuts topped with chocolate. While you're here, taste the new flavor of Charlotte, in a Strawberry & Chocolate flavor, perfect for that bite-sized midnight treat. View products »
	Sakuma Drops, the World War II Candy Also: restocked snacky goodness, Meiji Wata, Sakuma Drops, UHA Shigekix, Black Black Caffeine Gum, UHA Puccho candy and more.
	Restocked Traditional Food Drops Speaking of "Food Drops," we've also restocked several flavors of popular traditional candy, including Matcha Green Tea, "Going to Hell" Spicy Candy and more.
	More Cup Noodle & Gundam Model Kits These sold out faster than a battle between Quatro Bajeena and Makoto from School Days, but we love Gundam and ramen and got some more for you.
	Many Restocked Snacks Today Enjoy new stock of Peko-chan Milky Candy, Zerosh Shigekix, Pure Mist Candy, Match Milk Caramels, plus awesome Mammoth Meat Snacks.
	OPIFEX Deluxe 2 tier Bento Box Complete Set Large enough for the hungriest of appetites yet with a great modern design that's perfect for business users, this massive 800ml+ two tier bento box is the perfect companion for the food lover in your life. Features many interesting compartments to store delicious food for their lunch. View products »
	Restocked Traditional Bento Boxes We love to carry the traditional bento boxes by Hakoya, too, and always have many to choose from. See the restocked lunchboxes today.
	Kapibarasan Bento Kids love this cute and adorable mascot, and now they can bring him along for lunch with these great bento boxes. Comes in two sizes.
	Cute 'Onigiri Case' Small Bento Boxes Not just for onigiri, these adorable cases can hold snacks too. We've also restocked other useful kitchen items like shapers and cutters.
	Red Hana-Yuzen Chopsticks & Case Set We've got some really awesome looking chopsticks that are ready for travel, coming with their own decorative protective cases.
	Mini Pretty Bento Deco BARAN ~ Bento Accesories Add some kawaii faces to your lunch with these easy to use bento accessories, featuring fun animal and vegetable characters.
	Amazing Boiled Egg Shapers from Japan J-List always has something more to offer bento enthusiasts. Here is fresh stock of boiled egg shapers, so you can have kawaii eggs for breakfast.
	More Japanese Pens & More Because life is too short for boring writing utensils, J-List carries great pens & mechanical pencils like the Pentel "SHAKE" and kawaii pen cases.
	Hiragana Practice Notebooks, More In Stock Get ready for a new year of Japanese study with a notebook for Hiragana, a painless analog-to-digital companion notepad, and more.
	Hats from J-List In addition to a great line of professionally embroidered hats, J-List stocks awesome felt beanies of Domo-kun and Totoro. Browse our selection now!
	Japanese Omamori Charms, Other Traditional Items Get some extra special luck this year with a Japanese omamori charm, celebrate the new year with new chopsticks, and other cool items.
	Awesome Revoltech Figures Posted *Preorder* Amazing new action figures coming from Revoltech! Check out the Buddhist warrior god Komokuten and the Mark III version of Iron Man.
	Nanoha Takamachi 1/6 Figure *Preorder* A spectacular new figure of Nanoha Takamachi (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha) from Craze, all decked out for some serious friend-making.
	Terenuma Fareeza's Wonder Land  Fixated on the off-wall gritty art scene in Tokyo, Terenuma Fareeza shows us her strangely erotic side as she objectifies herself in amazing ways.
	The Most Advanced Stress Toys from Japan Japan has invented some of the best ways to relax and work off stress. See the legendary R-1 stress toy series restocked today. These are frankly the most advanced decides which enable humans to give pleasure to other humans (or to themselves), and we're big fans of the R-1 series by Rends. View products »
	Japanese Personal Lotion Restocked Whether you want to experience the official juices of Azunyan, Sena "Meat" Kashiwazaki, or another of your favorite girls, we've got them in stock.
	Big Restocking of Shirow Masamune Artbooks Back in stock for you today, some of the most popular and sexy artbooks from creator of Ghost in the Shell, Masamune Shirow.
	Kana ~ Little Sister One of the most famous PC dating-sim games ever brought out in English, this dramatic and beautiful game has touched many gamers. CD and Download!

Politics and Elections in Japan vs. the U.S.

There are many benefits to being an American expat in Japan. When I go to concerts I'm usually tall enough to see over the heads of the people in front of me, and fun foods like taiyaki are not hard to find (uguu). The Japanese are pretty flexible about alcohol, and no one gives you a hard time if you drink with co-workers the night before and have a bit of a hangover the next morning. It's also quite nice to not live in the U.S. when a Presidential election rolls around, and I'm looking forward to a peaceful year without being bombarded by a lot of negative political messages 24 hours a day. That's not to say Japanese elections are a walk in the park -- the primary method of getting people to vote for you involves driving around in a car shouting "I am Yamada! I will work hard for you! Please support me in the upcoming election!" through a loudspeaker from dawn til dusk -- but at least that part is over within a week or so.

Politics in Japan are fundamentally different from in the U.S., as they are probably are in every country. While the U.S. has a two-party political system with Republicans and Democrats, Japan has a number of active parties, including the current ruling Democratic Party of Japan, which rode to power on a "manifesto" of promises like making expressways toll-free and paying every family $130 per child per month, most of which have been repealed quietly; the pro-business Liberal Democratic Party, which held power for nearly 50 years in postwar Japan; the New Komeito Party, once the official political arm of the Sokka Gakkai evangelical Buddhist religion; the Japan Communist Party, and so on. To be right-wing in Japanese politics means to be pro-Emperor as well as pro-Yasukuni (the controversial shrine where Japan's wartime leaders are interred, as well as the souls of all the normal souldiers who faught and died). Right-wingers famously drive around in loudspeaker trucks blasting songs from World War II, and sometimes (awesomely) the theme to Space Battleship Yamato; they also lament Japan's weakened position in international politics and get very upset over territorial disputes with China, South Korea and Russia. Right-wingers are often anti-Korean, which is amusing since a disproportionately large number of them are "Zainichi" Koreans of North or South descent themselves (Asian politics can be awfully confusing). Left-leaning Japanese dislike the Emperor and the Japanese national anthem Kimigayo, seen as a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression, and some educators have been fired for refusing to sing the song at official events. Left-wing Japanese are apt to be pro-China and critical of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty that has bound Japan and the U.S. militarily for the past half-century.

Politics in Japan are very different from in the U.S.

Japanese Ita-Ema, Anime Wishing Boards at Shinto Shrines

There are many Japanese customs associated with starting the new year off right, from praying for good fortune at the local Shinto shrine to enjoying traditional Japanese archery tournaments, which symbolize your wishes for the new year flying straight and true. Another custom I like is writing your wish for the new year on a wooden "wishing board" called an ema and displaying it at a shrine. One fun variation that's been catching on lately is ita-ema, or wish boards with anime-style images on them, and at certain places such as the Washinomiya Shrine (seen in Lucky Star) or Akiba Jinja (featured heavily in Steins;Gate), you can go see dozens of them on display. If you're interested in writing your own ema wishing board, we've got some cute ones on the site today.

New Year's wishing boards created by otaku are fun.