Big sale on 2014 Japanese calendars!

J-List is happy to announce our big 2014 Japanese Calendar Sale! We still got an excellent lineup of popular anime, Japanese idol, art and photo and ecchi calendars from Japan, which are printed on huge glossy poster-sized pages that are great to hang on your wall. We lowered the prices of all calendars today, and as an extra bonus, you get an additional 25% off your total for grabbing two or more calendars. Kantoku, Tony Taka, Shirow Masamune, and Totoro are still in stock, but only a few copies are left, so hurry!

Japanese Don't Expect Gaijin to Speak English

One theme I write about a lot is that Japanese don't always expect Westerners to speak Japanese, and will occasionally reply in barely intelligible English despite the fact that you're speaking normal Japanese to them. Over New Year's we visited my "J-Family," and my wife's uncle wanted to tell me about some renovations he'd made to his house the previous year. The only word of English he knew was "house," so he spent an hour talking to me in Japanese, but using that word in English whenever he needed to refer to his house. When I came to Japan I was so fired-up about learning Japanese, I'd refuse to speak English with Japanese people under any circumstances. Once a Japanese businessman kindly gave me the coin locker he'd been using, saying "please use this" to me in English, and I thanked him with fluent, polite Japanese. Later I felt bad: he'd probably only had this one chance to talk with a foreigner that entire year, and I should have graciously thanked him in English.  

A nice picture of a house. You are looking at the house, right?

 

Murder in Japan

One good thing about living in Japan is that it's a very safe country where you're unlikely to meet with violence and death. Yesterday I was reading through my RSS feed and saw the good news that murders in Japan had fallen to just 936 for 2013, the lowest number since World War II. It isn't all sweetness and light in Japan however, since when murders do happen, there's a tendency for the crimes to seem especially shocking and brutal, like the woman who killed her sleeping husband then sawed his body up, distributing the parts in various parks in Tokyo, or the tragic slaying of a 12 year old girl by her classmate in Sasebo, Kyushu, which gave rise to the "Nevada-tan" Internet meme. Ironically, right below the article about the low number of murders in Japan was a report about a 73 year old woman who was killed by a neighbor using a sickle of the kind Rena likes to wield in When the Higurashi Cry, which is a very sad thing to happen. Of course, remember that news reports about Japan from the Internet are always warped, since bizarre news stories are over-reported, the same way you're more likely to find articles about how the Japanese love squid ink flavored ice cream when in fact the most popular flavor here is vanilla.

Japan's murder rate is the lowest since WWII.

Long vs Short Anime Series

There are generally two kinds of anime series these days: those that run for 12 weeks -- a single anime "season" -- and series that are double this length, running for 24-26 episodes or so. One observation I've made, both as a fan and as an anime retailer, is that shorter series tend to have much less impact on fandom than longer shows, and it's all too common that an excellent 12-episode series which got lots of attention from fans while it was airing will be forgotten the minute the last episode arrives. When's the last time you thought about Ben-To (an anime about finding half-priced bento at supermarkets), Kannagi (Shinto spirits become real girls who do moe things), Mayo-chiki! (a "reverse trap butler" anime with great character design), NakaImo (a mystery anime in which one of the girls in a harem is secretly the main character's younger sister), or Chu-Bra! (a show about, er, cute girls and their bras). Individual fans might carry the torch for these shows for years, but as a group fandom seems to forget about them all too quickly, which means fewer figures and other products that allow the animation studios to recover their costs. The series that stay in our hearts for years tend to be longer, like Attack on Titan, Sword Art Online, Clannad and Toradora. Of course there are exceptions to the 12-episode-series-are-forgotten-quickly rule, including AnoHana, Angel Beats and Madoka Magica...so maybe the key to making a memorable shorter anime series is to make fans cry? I had found the Kyoto Animation series Chuunibyo Demo Koi ga Shitai to be one of the best-executed shorter anime series ever, with a tight story that entertained on every level, so I was certainly happy to see another season show up!

A new season of Chuunibyo Demo Koi ga Shitai.

Anime Chocolates for Valentine's Day

Just a reminder that Valentine's Day is about a month away, and as usual we've got great anime-themed chocolates for you to order. This year we've got awesome Evangelion chocolate + gift sets, which come with cool metal keychain/phone straps, plus Rilakkuma Valentine's Day chocolates. Browse the new Japanese chocolate items now!

The Japanese are Good at Humility

I write often about the concept of 国民性 kokumin-sei, a word which can be translated as "national character," and one thing I like about the Japanese is their tendency towards 謙遜 ken-son (pronounced with a long second syllable, rhyming with "bone"), meaning "humility." I've been rushing to get through the previous anime season because a new one is starting already, and one show I wanted to finish was Outbreak Company, about the discovery of a doorway that leads from Japan to a fantasy kingdom in another dimension, and the government of Japan's attempts at winning over the hearts of the people there by introducing them to otaku culture. In one scene, the half-elf maid Myucel, also known as "the main reason to watch Outbreak Company," says to the main character, "I'm really stupid and have no education or culture...but I know that you are a kind person, Master." I don't know about your country, but I haven't met many in the U.S. who were capable of describing themselves as being stupid or lacking intelligence, despite occasionally strong evidence to the contrary. I have, however, encountered quite a few Japanese (students, friends, etc.) who went out of their way to describe themselves as baka (stupid) and apologize ahead of time for any inconvenience their stupidity and slow-wittedness might cause me. This tendency for the Japanese to be self-effacing and humble is one of the most unique things about living in Japan, though it takes a little getting used to.

The Japanese are very good at humility.

Back from the Philippines

My family and I are back from our trip to the island of Cebu in the Philippines. We had a great time, snorkeling in warm waters and recharging our batteries sitting by the pool doing what's known in Japanese as ゆっくりする yukkuri suru, meaning "take it easy and do as little as possible," which is always a good thing to do if you can get away with it. We learned many things about the Philippines, including that they enjoy playing Christmas music until February, and we discovered many unique foods such as chicken inasal, spam, egg and grilled cheese sandwiches plus something called "banana ketchup." Last year we visited the island of Penang in Malaysia, which is a Muslim country, so naturally we were prepared to see things like women wearing headscarves. We didn't particularly expect to see religious imagery in the Philippines, which is why I was surprised when the store we were in (the department store inside the SM City mall) played the Lord's Prayer and Hail Mary over the store speakers at noon, which would be quite surprising in the U.S. Anyway, Cebu was great fun, and we recommend it if you're looking for a wonderful vacation destination in Asia.

As usual with visiting another country, there's more to see than just the country itself, and I found myself having fun people-watching the other tourists, which included visitors from Australia, Northern Europe and Russia along with Japan and South Korea. I was surprised to see quite a few people swimming in the pool while wearing long-sleeved hoodies and hats, something I'd never noticed before. "They are Koreans," my wife explained. "Maintaining perfectly white skin is really important in Korea now, and they're making sure they don't get any sun at all, even while at the pool or beach." Because there were visitors from so many different countries, the hotel offered a wide range of cuisine, including local Filipino dishes, kimchee (spicy Korean pickled vegetables), Indian curry and flatbread and Vietnamese noodles. It was hard finding room for it all.

We had lots of fun relaxing in Cebu, the Philippines.

Mountain Dew Cheetos and More from Japan

At J-List we use the phrase "a wonderful toybox of things from Japan" to describe out little company, and we think it sums up what J-List is pretty well: a magical portal where random things from Japan will pop out without warning. Some of these things are delicious, like the rare flavors of Japanese Kit Kat, Japanese Oreo cookies or Japanese Doritos we stock. The biggest hit product to come along in a while is Mountain Dew Cheetos from FritoLay Japan, which manage to taste exactly like that. We've been selling about 500 per day, so if you want to try some hurry and get your order in, lest they disappear like good old Morning Rescue did. Click to browse the top Japan snacks, as ranked by our intelligent, attractive customers.

Happy New Year from J-List

Hello and ake-ome to all of us from Japan. This is a fairly recent slang way to say 明けましておめでとう akemashite omedetou, or Happy New Year, since even Japanese find their own syllable-based language unwieldy at times.

As usual, we had a nice quiet holiday here in Japan, eating the traditional New Year's bento called osechi ryouri as we looked through the nengajo New Year's Greeting cards we received. Sending New Year's Cards is a fun tradition that helps keep open certain connections that might disappear otherwise. Nengajo are sent in late December and delivered by the post office on the morning of January 1, and it's always fun to see how many you get. Not everyone can receive a nengajo card however: families that have had a death that year are officially in a state of mourning and can't receive them, so you have to be careful who you send the cards to lest you make a social faux pas. (The worst time to have a family member die is in the last days of December when friends have already sent their New Year's Cards to you.) I've been posting examples of moe-kei New Year's Cards from Pixiv on the J-List Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook feeds -- most featuring art from Kantai Collection, since that game is the most popular thing in Japan these days -- if you want to "like" or follow.

Now my family is off on a vacation to Cebu in the Philippines. It's part of a region that was badly damaged by Typhoon Haiyan in November, and we'll be happy to spend lots of tourist dollars and help them recover. While we're gone the J-List staff will diligently fill all orders and keep the site updated. See you all in a week!

Osechi-ryouri is a traditional bento for eating on New Years Day. Moe girls sold separately.

The Source of Engrish

One of the more well-known linguistic issues related to Japanese is its lack of L/R sound differentiation, which is where a lot of that cute and amusing "Engrish" comes from. In Japanese the sounds らりるれろ ra ri ru re ro exist, but the actual pronunciation is somewhere in between the L, R and D sounds in English. This issue is the reason my daughter snickers while reading user-submitted fan fiction websites that ask you to click the "clap" button (to show that she liked the story), though they write it "crap" most of the time, or why a Japanese friend of mine refuses to discuss politics because she knows she'll eventually need to use the word "election" and she's terrified of getting the L/R sounds mixed up. Of course, all languages have features that are challenging for learners from other countries, whether it's gender for nouns in French and Spanish or tonal pronunciation in languages like Chinese. Some of the challenges English speakers face when learning Japanese include internalizing the difference between long and short vowels (少女 shoujo, with a long first vowel, means "girl," while 処女 shojo with a short vowel, is "virgin"), or getting used to the mechanics of how information like formal/informal, past tense, conditional and passive voice can all be encoded into the form a verb takes. Remember, if you want to learn a little Japanese or a lot in 2014, J-List can help!   

I feel sorry for the Japanese. English is frigging hard.

A Girls and Panzer New Years...

One of the joys of being an anime fan in Japan is visiting the real places seen in your favorite anime series, which is known as 聖地巡りseichi meguri in Japanese, lit. "making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land." My first visit to a real place in anime was in Shinjuku, standing in front of the hallowed Studio Alta TV from Megazone 23 then exploring the station to find the City Hunter "xyz" blackboard. (Yes, I rock my anime old school.) These days most every anime are set in real locations for added realism, and if you should want to eat taiyaki in front of the train station from Kanon, walk up the sakura tree-lined road from Clannad or enjoy a pleasant afternoon of boating on the lake from Please Teacher/Please Twins and the final scenes from Ano Natsu de Matteru, it's possible to do so. One of the most popular places for otakus to ring in the new year this year was Oarai, Ibaragi Prefecture, the setting for the popular moe tank anime Gals und Panzer, and many fans traveled there to see the first sunrise of the new year.

Many Gal-Pan wishboards were hung at the temple in Oarai.

Thanks for making our Christmas great!

Thanks again for making Christmas 2013 the best-ever in the history of J-List. We promise to work hard to bring you tons of awesome products in 2014, from awesome anime figures to 2D artbooks and calendars to the English release of Steins;Gate, while remaining a bridge between Japan and the rest of the world.

Some Good Economic News from Japan

Japan has been getting some good news on the economic front lately, with a key price index that showed strong growth indicating that the "three arrows" of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" -- increasing the money supply, creating new stimulus through public works projects and embracing de-regulation in order to encourage growth -- might actually be working a little. It might seem odd for a government to try to induce inflation, which makes it harder for people to buy what they need, but Japan's been trapped in a deflationary spiral since 1998 and drastic action was called for. On the other hand, Japan just posted its largest-ever budget for 2014, 96 trillion yen ($921 billion), chock full of money for useful things like construction money for Japan's aging freeway system, dubious things like shinkansen lines to Hokkaido, plus increased defense spending so Japan can continue its silly posing war with China. Japan's conservative government also raised taxes to 45% (55% including prefectural and city taxes) for the highest earners.

Shinzo Abe, the man who makes our anime cheaper.

Looking Back on 2013 From Japan

New Year's Eve is a good time to look back and remember the events of the past year. For Japan, 2013 included many happy events, including Mt. Fuji's official registry as a World Heritage Site, Tokyo's winning of the 2020 Olympics, and some hopeful signs that Japan might actually be starting to emerge from 15 years of deflation. There was sadness, too, including the ten Japanese engineers who were killed in the Algeria hostage crisis, the death of Anpanman creator Takashi Yanase, and the suicide of Fuji Keiko, mother to singer Utada Hikaru. According to Yahoo Japan's annual search term ranking, the most talked-about subjects throughout the year included Abenomics, the hit game Puzzles and Dragons and the ongoing boom of yuru-chara, the creepy-cute giant plush characters that promote the various regions around Japan. The most talked-about people in 2013 included half-Japanese, half-French news anchorwoman Takizawa Crystal, who won the Olympics for Japan with her charm and beauty, and also by being the only Japanese person fluent in French, Miyazaki Hayao, who "retired" from filmmaking for the 37th time, and super sexy model Mitsu Dan, who was everywhere this year.

Some of the people who did stuff in Japan in 2013.

Year End Post 2013

Well another year has come to an end. We at J-List would like to thank our wonderful customers all over the world for making this our best year yet, and for helping advance our plot to cover the Earth in Sailor Moon figures, Japanese Kit Kat and shimapan!

One big cultural difference between Japan and the U.S. is that the roles of Christmas and New Year's Eve are reversed: in the U.S. Christmas is usually a quiet, solemn event event spent with family, but it's a fun excuse for a loud party complete with firecrackers here in Japan. Similarly, while the countdown to a new year is a loud and exciting time in the U.S., here it's common to stay home and watch the Kouhaku year-end JPOP concert while eating 年越しそば toshi-koshi soba or "crossing into the new year noodles," which are said to make you live longer. While my family is usually together as we cross into the new year, this year my son will be out with friends at a "countdown live" concert held by fripSide, the anime band that sings the A Certain Scientific Railgun songs, the lucky guy. The way to wish someone a Happy New Year in Japanese while it's still December is よいお年を yoi o-toshi o which means "[please have a] good crossing into the New Year." Once January 1st arrives, you greet people formally using 開けましておめでとう akemashite omedetou, which translates as "congratulations for opening a New Year," or just "Happy New Year" if you want to be less literal.

We're ready to cross into a new year, Japan-style. Thanks for an awesome 2013!

Don't Forget to Get a Fuku-bukuro Grab Bag

Every year we spend several months accumulating extra stock for our popular fuku-bukuro grab bags, thinking that surly this year we'll have enough. And every year we're amazed at the massive number of anime/toy, bento/kitchen and "ultimate hentai" grab bags we sell. You'll probably be able to grab a grab bag through the middle of January or so, but note that they'll be removed early as stock of the bags sells out. We'll be removing the Japanese snack grab bags on Friday, too, so grab one if you want one...and while our EMS sale is still on.

Our EMS Sale is Almost Over

Remember, you can get $25 or $50 in store credit when ordering $125 or $250 worth of cool stuff via EMS, but the offer finallly ends January 3rd. EMS is ridiculously fast, comes with insurance included and is also fully trackable. The sale ends soon, so why not get in one more order? Get shopping now!

The Japanese Government Decides to Support the Anime Industry

I saw a report on Bloomberg that talked about anime as "Japan's most influential export" in the 21st century, as well as new efforts by the Japanese government to subsidize the industry with $700 million in public funds to help create growth. It's a laudable goal, but there are some issues I don't think they're thinking through completely. Back in the 90s the export market for anime was huge -- it cost $70,000 to license Sailor Moon for the U.S. per episode, and that's just one country out of many -- but all this came to an end with the bursting of the anime licensing bubble, the bankruptcy of most anime retail shops (anyone remember Suncoast Video?) and the general rise of the Internet. Spending public money to try to recapture those days seems ill-advised, at best. Promoting popular culture from the top down can be ineffective, as South Korea learned when it spent millions trying to create brand awareness for manhwa, Korea's version of manga, which basically went nowhere. Finally, if the Outbreak Company anime has taught us nothing, it's that Japanese politicians and civil service workers have no business meddling with something as complex as our collective perceptions of what is "cool" about Japan and its anime culture.

A shot in the arm for anime as a business? We hope so.

The Japanese Concept of "Aisatsu" (Greetings)

All around our city there are these metal plates put up by our local PTA on which are written interesting no-nonsense slogans for raising happy children, like 弱気な子は過保護から yowaki na ko wa kahogo kara meaning "weak-minded children are caused by over-protective parents" or 親孝行見せぬ人の子供が真似る oya koukou misenu hito no kodomo ga maneru, or "those who don't show filial piety and respect to their parents won't receive it from their children." Another of these slogans is 挨拶できる子は非行なし aisatsu dekiru ko wa hikou nashi or "a child who can greet others properly will not encounter difficulties in life." The Japanese concept of 挨拶 aisatsu, simply meaning "greetings," is quite an involved one, going well beyond the salutation you give to an acquaintance when you see them in the morning. Japan is a very "vertical" society, with people organized in senpai/kohai (senior/junior) relationships in school, club or work environments, and one of the rules of this system is that junior members should go out of their way to greet senior members as soon as they see them, which makes social relationships work more smoothly. The word aisatsu is also used to describe formal greetings like meeting your finance's parents for the first time or greeting someone in the new year, as well as the long, drawling speeches given at formal events.

The concept of "greetings" can be quite complex.

Attack on Dust: Big Cleaning in Japan

Now that Christmas is over, Japan is getting ready for New Year's Day, the most important day of the year to the Japanese. Stores here are well stocked with traditional products like kadomatsu, traditional New Year's decorations made from freshly cut bamboo and pine branches which symbolize the renewal of crossing into a new year, and mochi, the super sticky rice cakes that are delicious to eat with soy sauce poured on top. Shops are also selling cleaning supplies, some of them surprisingly cute, since the end of December is when Japanese do their 大掃除 oh-souji or "big cleaning" in their homes, a tradition that grew out of the custom of ritually cleaning Buddhist temples in preparation for the new year. J-List finished our big cleaning yesterday, with all staff members scrubbing and wiping and vacuuming every inch of our company, throwing away a year's worth of trash and junk and getting everything fresh and new for 2014. It's a great feeling.

Attack on Dust: J-List finished our "big cleaning" for the year.

Anime Calendar Season is Here, But They're Selling Out Fast

We started 2014 Japanese calendar season with nearly 250 different calendars, including anime, manga, popular Japanese idols, JAV and more. Thanks to our best Christmas ever, we've sold more than 70% of these calendars completely, and several dozen of our existing calendars are about to sell out. Browse the top calendars now, before the ones you want disappear forever!

J-List's Sale Runs Through January 3

Here's some good news: we've decided to extend our EMS sale through January 3rd! You can get a $25 in store credit if you buy $125 or more on the site and choose EMS shipping, or a $50 back if you buy $250 or more. EMS is ridiculously fast, comes with insurance included and is also fully trackable. J-List store credits can be used on either the JLIST.com or JBOX.com websites, and they never expire. Get shopping now!

Merry Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from J-List. We hope you are having a warm and special day surrounded by loved ones.

Christmas is, of course, the most important cultural and/or religious holiday to many throughout the world, especially in the West. In Japan it occupies a slightly lower peg on the cultural awareness scale, a fact I was reminded of when my Japanese wife asked me, "What day is Christmas this year?" as if it moved around from year to year like American Thanksgiving. One challenge to enjoying a nice, quiet Christmas in Japan is being so busy, since December is a very busy time. In addition to the seemingly endless stream of 忘年会 bounen-kai or year-end parties you have with co-workers and friends, you have to find time to do 大掃除 oh-souji, the "big cleaning" that must be done before December 31st, so that you can enter the new year with a clean slate. (Companies do this cleaning, too -- J-List does ours tomorrow.) One of the biggest bits of culture shock foreigners will experience when coming to Japan for the first time is that Christmas isn't a holiday here, and I remember getting stuck in a traffic jam while commuting home from work my first Japanese Christmas back in 1991. It was really odd.

Christmas in Japan can be a busy time.

Chopsticks and Japan

One thing everyone knows about the Japanese people is that they use chopsticks to eat with. It's true: except for certain Western foods like spaghetti or curry rice, the Japanese eat most every meal with chopsticks, and they're so ubiquitous here no one gives them a second thought. Children learn to use chopsticks around the age of three, often using training chopsticks to get started, and the first real peer pressure a child will experience is having to eat in front of the other children at preschool, with the fear of embarrassment if they're behind the other kids at chopstick skill. Although I've lived in Japan for more than 20 years, I still get an occasional お箸が上手 ohashi ga jozu ("you use chopsticks very well") compliment. We have tons of fun chopsticks from Japan in stock, with everything from Star Wars light saber chopsticks to Totoro and Ghibli, Pokemon and lacquered bamboo (the best kinds of chopsticks for foreigners to use since they're easy to grap food with). Why not browse now?

Using chopsticks are a big part of life in Japan.

Live Action Anime Series Have Few Friends

There are certain things I will never understand about Japan, like their fascination with the number of creases a person has in their eyelids. Eyes that are 二重 futae, with two eyelid creases resulting in a larger "gaijin-style" look, are said to be preferable to 一重 hitoe, eyes with only one eyelid crease creating narrower "Asian" eyes. I'm also at a loss as to why the Japanese love making live-action versions of popular anime series so often. Whether it's a stage musical version of Steins;Gate, the drama adaption of Ouran High School or the upcoming Kiki's Delivery Service film, live-action versions of already-beloved anime series seem guaranteed to receive negativity from many fans. This is an interesting question to ponder: why are the Sailor Moon musicals considered classics by most fans while production stills from the upcoming I Have Few Friends movie resulted in much groaning and facepalming online. One reason might be the strength of our existing attachment to the characters in anime form. I hadn't seen the anime version of Nodame Cantabile so I had no problem enjoying the live-action series, and the 20th Century Boys film trilogy (based on the manga, with no anime series made) is among my favorite Japanese films. Spending money to create live-action versions of anime series despite low interest by fans is one sign studios are ネタ切り neta-giri, a phrase that can be translated as "out of fish pieces for making sushi," or in this case, out of fresh ideas.

I'm not a fan of most live-action anime adaptions.

2014 Anime & Japan Calendars Are Selling Fast

We started 2014 Japanese calendar season with nearly 250 different calendars, including anime, manga, popular Japanese idols, JAV and more. Thanks to our best Christmas ever, we've sold more than 70% of these calendars completely, and several dozen of our existing calendars

J-List EMS Shipping Sale Extended Through Jan 3!

Here's some good news: we've decided to extend our EMS sale through January 3rd! You can get a $25 in store credit if you buy $125 or more on the site and choose EMS shipping, or a $50 back if you buy $250 or more. EMS is ridiculously fast, comes with insurance included and is also fully trackable. J-List store credits can be used on either the JLIST.com or JBOX.com websites, and they never expire. Get shopping now!

Death Planning in Japan

Today (December 23rd) is the birthday of the current Japanese emperor, Akihito, who happens to be the 125th ruler in an unbroken line that stretches back for 2000 years. The reign of each emperor has an "era name," with the current one being Heisei ("peace everywhere"), and since 2013 is the 25th year of Akihito's reign the year is nearly always referred to as Heisei 25 inside Japan. It's unknown how many more years the Heisei Era has left, since the Emperor is getting up in years, having reached the age of 79 with health problems ranging from prostate cancer to a heart condition requiring bypass surgery. Last month the Emperor did something quite remarkable: he released a document outlining his wishes for a funeral and burial for himself and his wife, Empress Michiko. This was unique because, for all the "death culture" that foreigners observe when they arrive in Japan, there's very little forward thinking about preparing for death. In America, it's quite common to write a will outlining your wishes or create a living trust to protect your family's assets from undue taxes upon your death, but these kinds of preparations aren't done in Japan at all, and even bringing up the subject is a big taboo, as I've learned by accidentally raising the issue with my Japanese in-laws. Hopefully with the Emperor's embracing of the subject, more Japanese will think positively about making preparations for the future.

The Emperor and his wife are thinking about the future.

Japan, Christmas and Christmas Cake

Well, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, and we're all getting ready for a nice American-style Christmas in Japan. Being a relatively recent import from the West, Japan's idea of Christmas is likely to be a little different from your country. While around 1.5% of Japanese are Christians who attend mass at local churches (there a dozen or so Catholic, Baptist and Mormon churches located in the cities around J-List, and even one affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church), for most Japanese Christmas is a fun excuse to have a party with loud firecrackers, spoil children with presents from Toys "R" Us and maybe perhaps go on a date with that special someone. It's common in the U.S. for people to lament how "commercial" Christmas has become, though this is not a new problem -- it's a theme found in the Charlie Brown Christmas Special which has been around since 1965. Sadly Japan is no exception to this trend, and shops are filled with so many plastic Christmas-themed products it can sometimes be hard for gaijin living here to get into the proper mood. One idea I'm fascinated with is whether it's possible to quantify the cultural importance of a thing by how many related fanart images are posted to websites like Pixiv. If this measure is at all accurate, Christmas is very important to Japan, based on the thousands of cute images of anime characters dressed up as "Santa-san" that exist. If you want to see some of these pictures, follow the J-List Facebook, Tumblr or Twitter feeds!

One of the most famous images of Christmas in Japan is "Christmas cake," a delicious cake that's either handmade from scratch or ordered from a bakery to be picked up on December 24th. The custom got started in 1910 when confectionery company Fujiya -- the ones who make those delicious Milky caramels -- introduced the British tradition of Christmas cake to Japan, though the local version is usually a standard sponge cake with strawberries and a whipped cream-based icing. One big trend over the past few years has been the rise of convenience stores selling Christmas cakes featuring licensed characters like Madoka Magica, Pokemon and even Attack on Titan. Convenience stores have become a popular way for animation studios to reach new fans, and by creating limited products like Lawson's Eva-themed Christmas cake that comes with a metal Spear of Longinus knife to cut your cake with, convenience store chains can bring a lot of customers into their stores.

The Japanese love creating Santa-themed art; you can't have Christmas without a Christmas Cake.

Consider J-List Gift Certificates for Gifts

If you missed anyone on your list this year, there's still time to get them the perfect gift: a J-List Gift Certificate, the gift that says, "I think your nerdiness level is over 9000." J-List gift certificates can be used on either the J-List or JBOX.com sites, and they never expire. They can be sent directly to your recipient via email, or sent to you, so you can print it out and present it to them in person. Order a J-List gift certificate now!

Our EMS Sale Goes Through January 1st

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Japan's "Geinou-kai" Talent World

It's fun to look at Japan's 芸能界 geinou-kai or entertainment world, which encompasses all actors, singers, bikini idols, comedians and anime voice actors. Japan's show business industry is highly structured, with virtually every aspect of a given star's career carefully controlled by professional talent agencies with names like Yellow Cab, Keep Smiling, Queen's Factory and Hello! Project, who manage what stars will appear on which TV shows, what "guarantee" (lump sum payment) will be paid by the TV studios, and even what kind of bento the stars will be served while working. There are similar talent management companies in the U.S., of course, but one big difference is that here, everyone is quite aware that the irresistibly cute Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is affiliated with the Asobi System talent agency, while the enigmatic half-Japanese, half-Russian fashion model Rola works through the Libera Production management company. It's common for stars associated with the same company to sometimes appear together. For example, director/comedian Takeshi Kitano runs a successful talent agency called Office Kitano which discovers and manages young comedians and other "talents," and any show he produces will often feature members of his "Takeshi family" of performers. Japan's talent management companies often become so influential they can leave a lasting impression on popular culture, like Johnny's Entertainment, which virtually created the category of ikemen (ee-keh-men, extremely cute male idols) in Japan over the past three decades.

The Japanese know which companies manage their favorite stars.

Famous Memes from Japan: Domo-kun and Ichigo Pantsu

It's fun to mark the Japan-related memes that come along over the years, like the rise -- forgive the pun -- of ichigo pantsu, underwear with strawberries printed on them, iconicized by the popular manga and anime Ichigo 100%, or the recent popularity of the cartooonish "boned meat" meme in Japanese pop culture. This Sunday marks the 15th anniversary of an old friend of ours at J-List, Domo-kun, a popular brown monster created on December 22, 1998 to celebrate ten years of satellite broadcasting by NHK, Japan's national broadcasting network. Domo is a "strange creature that hatched from an egg" whose name is a very polite word (seen in phrases like どうもありがとうございます domo arigatou gozaimasu, the most formal way to express thanks), and he exists in part to encourage Japanese children to speak to others more politely. Domo-kun exploded onto the Internet in 2002 when someone posted the now-famous "Every time you...God kills a kitten" Photoshop image to FARK.com, and suddenly anime conventions were filled with Domo-kun cosplayers chasing catgirls all over the place.

Some of my favorite memes from Japan.

Famous Memes from Japan: Domo-kun and Ichigo Pantsu

It's fun to mark the Japan-related memes that come along over the years, like the rise -- forgive the pun -- of ichigo pantsu, underwear with strawberries printed on them, iconicized by the popular manga and anime Ichigo 100%, or the recent popularity of the cartooonish "boned meat" meme in Japanese pop culture. This Sunday marks the 15th anniversary of an old friend of ours at J-List, Domo-kun, a popular brown monster created on December 22, 1998 to celebrate ten years of satellite broadcasting by NHK, Japan's national broadcasting network. Domo is a "strange creature that hatched from an egg" whose name is a very polite word (seen in phrases like どうもありがとうございます domo arigatou gozaimasu, the most formal way to express thanks), and he exists in part to encourage Japanese children to speak to others more politely. Domo-kun exploded onto the Internet in 2002 when someone posted the now-famous "Every time you...God kills a kitten" Photoshop image to FARK.com, and suddenly anime conventions were filled with Domo-kun cosplayers chasing catgirls all over the place.

Some of my favorite memes from Japan.

The Japanese Love Traveling to Famous Resorts, Including San Diego

The Japanese are big fans of traveling abroad, and there are hundreds of travel agencies that provide cheap package tours to various destinations, along with dozens of TV programs that showcase the best vacation spots around the world. The other day I was flipping channels and stopped at a familiar site: my home town of San Diego, California. It was a show called "Let's Enjoy the Seven Seas" in which beach-loving comedians Mimura Masakazu and Otake Kazuki -- who form a manzai duo called "Summers" -- travel to resort destinations like Tahiti, the Bahamas and Australia's Gold Coast, reporting on things that are important to Japanese travelers like the cost of rooms, the quality of the food and even the strength of the water pressure in the showers. The duo traveled all around San Diego, eating at my favorite Hawaiian Shave Ice shop in Pacific Beach and exploring exotic resort hotels in La Jolla. The show awarded San Diego its coveted five star rating, saying it matched the top-ranked Hawaii in terms of fun activities for tourists while providing the perfect climate free from unpleasant humidity.    

The Japanese love traveling to exotic locations.

Fun Memes from Japan via J-List

Whether it's Japan's famous shimapan or ichigo pantsu or cushions based on the "boned meat" meme in Monster Hunter and elsewhere, you can find fun products on J-List. We love to follow anime memes as they get popular and get the items on the site, since anime is more fun if you can buy the real products. Why not browse and make an order during our shipping sale?

Did You Order Anything Using our EMS Cash Back Sale?

Remember that J-List has begun an awesome EMS cash back sale! From now through Christmas, we'll give you $25 in store credit if you buy $125 or more on the site and choose EMS shipping, or a whopping $50 back if you buy $250 or more. EMS is ridiculously fast, comes with insurance included and is also fully trackable. J-List store credits can be used on either the JLIST.com or JBOX.com websites, and they never expire. . Get shopping now!

Good News for Kuroko no Basketball fans

The word 同人誌 doujinshi literally means "same person publication" and refers to an amateur-published work (these days nearly always a comic book, though literary magazines used to be common) made by a group of like-minded fans who share the same passion for embracing and extending Japan's pop culture. Unfortunately this view isn't 100% universal, as witnessed by one individual who sent more than 400 letters -- some containing lethal substances like hydrogen sulphide -- threatening violence against shops and doujinshi events that carried works related to the anime and manga 黒子のバスケ Kuroko no Basuke (Kuroko's Basketball). As a result of the letters, circles producing comics related to the anime and manga were banned from selling their works at Comiket, and several other events were canceled entirely over public safety concerns. When the police announced that 36 year old failed manga-ka Hirofumi Watanabe, the individual responsible for the letters, had been safely arrested, there was much rejoicing throughout Japan's otaku community.

The reign of terrorism against sweaty anime boys has come to an end.

The Japanese Take their Glasses Seriously

I write often about how one of the joys of living in Japan is experiencing exceptional service, which is all the more amazing because there's no custom of tipping here, which can be a frustration when you want to reward someone who went out of their way to provide exceptional service but can't. The other day my wife wanted to buy some new glasses, so I went with her to her regular glasses store to see what new designs they'd gotten in. The Japanese take their megane seriously, and there were many styles in the shop, including frames by famous designers like Christian Dior and Bvlgari along with functional designs with more down-to-earth prices. The process of choosing the frames was impressive: we sat down at a counter and drank green tea while the employee, who knew my wife by name and was already familiar with her tastes, suggested different styles to try on. While she did this, another employee completely dis-assembled her existing glasses, replacing several parts that were worn out and tightening everything nicely for her. The coup de grâce came as we left the store, and the first employee rushed out into the street to bodily stop traffic for us, bowing deeply as we drove off. It was certainly an experience to remember.

The Japanese take their glasses very seriously.

The History of Kissing in Japan

One topic that's interesting to explore is the Western custom of kissing and its history with Japan. While the English word "kiss" was imported during the Meiji Period, when Japan was modernizing as fast as it could, the concept of kissing goes back at least to the Heian Period (794-1185), where it's described in literature from that era. As often happens in Japanese, English speakers are happy to find a convenient loan word available to use, the English word キス kisu, but eventually you have to learn the archaic but often aesthetically beautiful Japanese word, which is 接吻 seppun. While private kissing between lovers is fine, the Japanese are very conservative when it comes to this act, and would never do it in a public place. They're extremely suspicious of the European custom of cheek kissing as a greeting between friends, and this is often used as the basis for comedic misunderstandings in anime. Drawing their favorite anime and game characters kissing is a favorite pasttime of Japanese fan-artists, whether it's as a reward for a job well-done or exploring the various possibilities of yuri tonsil hockey. If you're on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr, follow J-List to see some of the random images I post each day.

Some info on the history of kissing in Japan.

2014 Anime Calendars are Selling Out Fast

Every year J-List carries hundreds of great 2014 calendars from Japan, including anime and manga, popular Japanese idols, gorgeous views of Japan including Mt. Fuji, and some "naughty" calendars for JAV fans. Every year the calendars sell out quickly around Christmas, but this year they're disappearing at an even faster rate than normal. Already several major calendars have sold out for the year, so if you want to avoid the agony of missing out on that gorgeous Kantoku or Oreimo or Steins;Gate calendar, grab the ones you want now. All calendars are covered by our ongoing EMS sale, too! Click here to browse all 2014 calendars, ranked by our awesome customers.

Our EMS Sale is Still Going Strong

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My Bilingual Kids

My kids are haafu, half Japanese and half American, and my wife and I have done our best to ensure they could grow up bilingual in both languages without having to go through years of hard study as we did. I imported all my DVDs from the U.S. so that if my kids wanted to watch Harry Potter or A Series of Unfortunate Events they'd have to do it all in English. I'd even sit through anime that was badly dubbed in English with them, pretending there was no Japanese track on the disc in order to force them to learn English, which I think shows real dedication as a father. Most movies that children would be interested in seeing are shown in two versions in Japanese theaters, a dubbed one for younger viewers and a subtitled one for adults who can read the difficult kanji characters. My kids had no problem with English, so they were always the only kids in the subtitled theatre. Because they know English, they're able to observe Japan in ways normal Japanese can't. My daughter is a fan of reading novels submitted by users of Japanese websites, and there's a button asking users to "clap" their hands if they liked what they read. Sadly, most of these sites write the word as "crap," which causes my daughter to giggle every time she comes across one.

Sorry, I don't want to read any "novels of crap" today.

Gunma Prefecture, the Least Interesting Prefecture in Japan

If you visit Tokyo's prestigious Ginza district right now you might come across a shop selling products featuring the official mascot of J-List's home prefecture of Gunma, named Gunma-chan. The purpose of the shop is to promote awareness of our prefecture's many wonderful products and teach Tokyo-ites about Gunma, which is located in the exact center of Japan's main island of Honshu, about 100 km northwest of Tokyo. Gunma's "brand" has been suffering over the last few years, coming in last place in a popularity ranking of Japan's 47 prefectures, and when most people in Tokyo are asked what comes to mind when they think of Gunma, they can't think of anything beyond onsen hot springs and maybe a few ski resorts. Over the years I've met several business partners in Tokyo who were amazed that J-List was located in such a quaint and out-of-the-way place, as if we were based in Kalamazoo, Michigan instead of a brief shinkansen hop from Japan's capital. Although Gunma's mascot Gunma-chan has a lot of fans, we're definitely losing out to Kutamoto, whose popular prefectural mascot Kumamon brings in an incredible $300 million in tourism and trade to Kumamoto Prefecture annually.

Our home prefecture tries to improve its image.

Dating and Marriage Sites for Otkaus?

Yesterday, December 15, was designated as World Otaku Day by the Internet, a day to celebrate our 2D-loving lifestyle. It was a good excuse to hold オタクのための婚活 otaku no tame no konkatsu, or activities to help otaku-minded single people meet potential partners for dating and marriage. In today's stressed-out world it can be hard to find time for dating, a phenomenon which contributes to Japan's low birthrate and high number of people who are just plain lonely. To help combat the problem, both private companies as well as various municipalities around Japan have embraced 婚活 konkatsu, lit. "marriage activities," which are structured programs to help singles interact with each other in the hopes that some will hit it off. Since otakus get lonely too, companies like the cutely-named dating site "I'm Single" have been pioneering a similar concept for them, for example 合コン goh-kon or drink parties with a pre-set menu of activities that make it easier for guys and girls to break the ice with each other. Otakus lucky enough to find someone like-minded to date can form an オタカップル ota-couple in which 2D-related hobbies like anime and games can be shared and enjoyed together, or east understood by the other party without bias. While these dating/marriage services are intended for Japanese people living inside Japan, you might want to check the J-List Friends site, since there are many interesting Japanese people to meet there.

There are dating & marriage services for otakus in Japan.

Steins;Gate's Package is Printing Now

As you know, we've licensed the excellent science fiction adventure game Steins;Gate for release in English, and here's an update on our progress. The metal Future Gadget Laboratory pins have been manufactured and are in San Diego now, and we've started printing the packages at a large facility in Japan. (The limited edition packaging and artbook are being printed in Japan so we can get the maximum quality, matching the Japanese version of the game.). The game master is also being worked on at a feverish pace, and we're on target for an early 2014 release as planned. Make sure you've got your preorder for the limited edition of the English version of the game! It comes with two "lab member" pins in a case, a glossy artbook with original content, the game on DVD-ROM plus a download code for the game so you can play it the day it's released!

J-List's EMS Sale is Continuing

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