It's a dark, quiet night in Japan as we finish up tonight's update. If you are in the States, you may not like setting your clock ahead and behind one hour when Daylight Savings Time rolls around, but it's better than having it get dark at 4:30 every day. I'm off to Tokyo tonight, to stay in my favorite capsule hotel in Shibuya, but first -- an update.
Last night's broadcast brought Chuuyan and Hitomi to Salt Lake City, where a kind Japanese American woman gave them a place to stay and made them onigiri (rice balls) for them to eat while they were hitchhiking -- kindness which brought tears to the eyes to the eyes of Chuyan. Then they were off again. Currently, they're in the New York area (the broadcast is about a week behind their actual position), looking for a way to get across the Atlantic for free. See their progress at http://www.ntv.co.jp/denpa/sekai/index.html (all in Japanese, click on the date links on the left of the screen to call up that day's broadcast). Email them at DENPA80@iridium.co.jp .
Yesterday was Sunday, so of course my family and I watched the longest running anime show (perhaps the longest running show in history?), Sazae-san. Sazae-san is a classic anime show about a normal Japanese family that has various educational adventures each week -- somehow reminiscent of a simpler Japan of the 1960's and 1970's. Running for more than 35 years, it's older than my wife and I. It's been on channel 8 at 6:30 since time out of mind, and Japanese children know that the weekend has come to an end when the theme song starts.
Tonight's update is a nice one. We've got lots of cool and rare magazines and photobooks and magazines that were out of print before -- including 20+ older issues of magazines that had sold out. There are several super-rare items, such as several copies of Fubuki Akira's photobooks, as well as several other cool items. Look for new magazines on magazine pages 2 and 3, and new photobooks on photobook page 1. Kaori's added another 6+ in-stock adult videos, including cool titles from Ozawa Madoka and the "Slave Secretary." There are 15+ JPOP CD singles and albums, including some cool ones by Amuro Namie, My Little Lover, Ribbon and more (remember that our buy-4-get-1-free sale is still on). And there are more Japan-CD ROM items on the CD ROM page.
Some people still had email problems with our list server. If you get multiple copies of this, or have funny line feeds, please let me know and we'll get it figured out... Thanks.
Well, I'm off to happy, bustling Tokyo -- until next time, see you on the web.
Monday, November 08, 1999
Sunday, November 07, 1999
Greetings from J-List November 7, 1999
It's a cool, silent Saturday night here in Japan, as I finish up the weekend update and prepare to send off the update emails before I steal home for some a quiet evening taped Ally McBiel and X-Files reruns from America. I usually go down to the liquor store for a beer and some kakipea (spicy rice crackers and peanuts that are shaped like persimmon seeds, since the name kakipea), although recently I've rediscovered the joy of dried, shredded ika (squid) with my beer. The longer you're in Japan, the stranger you become...
My wife has a new portible phone. Made by Kyocera, it's so light it feels like one of those samples they have in stores, with the electronics removed (so you won't steal the phones). Whereas the previous generation of phones let you program your own song for the ringer, this model lets you harmonize, allowing her to enter Pachelbel's Canon, which was impossible before. It receives and sends email, has a daily horoscope feature, and you can even speak the name of the person you want to call into the phone, and it will dial for you. Other phones on the cutting edge of technology feature color LCD displays, and even have tiny cameras
We've got a bunch of great items for you in tonight's update. Firstly, we've got a super volley of new adult manga on manga page 2, including some of the coolest new titles hot off the Japanese manga presses. There are new dojinshi, including Final Fantasy VIII and Street Fighter adult dojinshi from the "Kaiten" series that are excellent. Our new cards & puzzles homepage is off to a great start, so we added even more cool collectible cards -- cute Japanese idol cards, anime game cards, excellent Ah My Goddess metallic cards, and more. We've also heard the many requests to increase the number of Pokemon-related Japanese snacks, so there are some great new items on the Japanese snacks page, including collectible Pokemon key holders and "mascot pins." There are new Japanese adult videos posted to the Video Catalog pages
J-List takes pride in the products we sell, and in the high rate of return customers we have. So to make sure we're serving everyone as best we can, we've decided to start a price-matching policy. If you ever happen to find any of the in-Japan items (manga, photobooks, magazines) that J-List sells at another other Japan-based site for a lower price, please let us know, and we'll match or beat their price.
We hope you're having a great weekend. See you on the web!
P.S. We're still getting the kinks out of the new list-server software. If there are any problems with this message (funny characters, getting two copies), please let us know.
My wife has a new portible phone. Made by Kyocera, it's so light it feels like one of those samples they have in stores, with the electronics removed (so you won't steal the phones). Whereas the previous generation of phones let you program your own song for the ringer, this model lets you harmonize, allowing her to enter Pachelbel's Canon, which was impossible before. It receives and sends email, has a daily horoscope feature, and you can even speak the name of the person you want to call into the phone, and it will dial for you. Other phones on the cutting edge of technology feature color LCD displays, and even have tiny cameras
We've got a bunch of great items for you in tonight's update. Firstly, we've got a super volley of new adult manga on manga page 2, including some of the coolest new titles hot off the Japanese manga presses. There are new dojinshi, including Final Fantasy VIII and Street Fighter adult dojinshi from the "Kaiten" series that are excellent. Our new cards & puzzles homepage is off to a great start, so we added even more cool collectible cards -- cute Japanese idol cards, anime game cards, excellent Ah My Goddess metallic cards, and more. We've also heard the many requests to increase the number of Pokemon-related Japanese snacks, so there are some great new items on the Japanese snacks page, including collectible Pokemon key holders and "mascot pins." There are new Japanese adult videos posted to the Video Catalog pages
J-List takes pride in the products we sell, and in the high rate of return customers we have. So to make sure we're serving everyone as best we can, we've decided to start a price-matching policy. If you ever happen to find any of the in-Japan items (manga, photobooks, magazines) that J-List sells at another other Japan-based site for a lower price, please let us know, and we'll match or beat their price.
We hope you're having a great weekend. See you on the web!
P.S. We're still getting the kinks out of the new list-server software. If there are any problems with this message (funny characters, getting two copies), please let us know.
Wednesday, November 03, 1999
Greetings from J-List November 3, 1999
Hello again, from that wacky place where they make cotton candy into gum, Japan.
Our big news around here is -- we were robbed! In the early hours of the morning on Monday night, a robber entered our house (the liquor store) through our unlocked front door, looking for cash to steal. In the end, he only got the cash register itself (which had no money in it), some coupons for free beer, and some sausages. You can see a picture I snapped of one of the policemen at http://www.myjapan.net/personalstuff/policeman2.jpg (they dusted all the doors for prints). The thief was nice enough to discard our cash register outside when he realized it was empty (they got some prints from it).
We've had two other instances of theft at the liquor store over the past three years -- the other two times by a thief who knew that my father in law had a habit of keeping most of the cash in a yellow bag under the register. Both times my parents lost about $3000, but fortunately, this time the thief got almost nothing. Still, it's very upsetting.
Thanks for all the comments on Chuyan and Hitomi, who are hitchhiking across the world in 80 days. You can see their progress at http://www.ntv.co.jp/denpa/sekai/index.html (in Japanese only, unfortunately). It would be really cool if a J-List reader could assist them in their quest (and get on Japanese TV, to boot). If you can give them a ride, a place to stay, or know some way they can get across the Atlantic for free (since they have no money with them; that's part of the challenge), email them at denpa80@iridium.co.jp (160 chrs max).
The first delivery of calendar has arrived, so people who ordered their Y2K calendars early will be hearing from us in 1-2 days as we get them processed and out the door. We really do have to close down orders on the calendars, so if you haven't chosen your Y2K calendars, please do so within the next two days. (We'll keep the calendar pages up through the 10th of November or so, but as November rolls along, the chances that we'll be able to get the calendars you want drops sharply.)
We've got some really nice new stuff for the J-List site. First, we've made a new page, Cards & Puzzles, where we'll showcase collectible cards from Japan, and our unique puzzles featuring classical views of Japan, beautiful artwork, and anime themes. To commemorate the new page, we've posted two beautiful sets of collectible nude AV cards -- the Bejean Generation series, and the new Crystal Card series (1999 vol. 2). Both sets are really wonderful, with great thick stock and excellent quality printing -- but demand for these cards has been high in the past
We've got lots of other items for you, though. For fans of Japanese magazines and photobooks, there are several nice new items posted to those pages -- . There are 30+ new JPOP CDs and albums posted to the JPOP page -- and yes, our Y2K "buy four, get one free" sale does apply to the new items. So check them out.
Finally -- we're using a new listserver to send these updates out. If anything goes wrong (you get two copies of this, etc.) please let me know right away.
Our big news around here is -- we were robbed! In the early hours of the morning on Monday night, a robber entered our house (the liquor store) through our unlocked front door, looking for cash to steal. In the end, he only got the cash register itself (which had no money in it), some coupons for free beer, and some sausages. You can see a picture I snapped of one of the policemen at http://www.myjapan.net/personalstuff/policeman2.jpg (they dusted all the doors for prints). The thief was nice enough to discard our cash register outside when he realized it was empty (they got some prints from it).
We've had two other instances of theft at the liquor store over the past three years -- the other two times by a thief who knew that my father in law had a habit of keeping most of the cash in a yellow bag under the register. Both times my parents lost about $3000, but fortunately, this time the thief got almost nothing. Still, it's very upsetting.
Thanks for all the comments on Chuyan and Hitomi, who are hitchhiking across the world in 80 days. You can see their progress at http://www.ntv.co.jp/denpa/sekai/index.html (in Japanese only, unfortunately). It would be really cool if a J-List reader could assist them in their quest (and get on Japanese TV, to boot). If you can give them a ride, a place to stay, or know some way they can get across the Atlantic for free (since they have no money with them; that's part of the challenge), email them at denpa80@iridium.co.jp (160 chrs max).
The first delivery of calendar has arrived, so people who ordered their Y2K calendars early will be hearing from us in 1-2 days as we get them processed and out the door. We really do have to close down orders on the calendars, so if you haven't chosen your Y2K calendars, please do so within the next two days. (We'll keep the calendar pages up through the 10th of November or so, but as November rolls along, the chances that we'll be able to get the calendars you want drops sharply.)
We've got some really nice new stuff for the J-List site. First, we've made a new page, Cards & Puzzles, where we'll showcase collectible cards from Japan, and our unique puzzles featuring classical views of Japan, beautiful artwork, and anime themes. To commemorate the new page, we've posted two beautiful sets of collectible nude AV cards -- the Bejean Generation series, and the new Crystal Card series (1999 vol. 2). Both sets are really wonderful, with great thick stock and excellent quality printing -- but demand for these cards has been high in the past
We've got lots of other items for you, though. For fans of Japanese magazines and photobooks, there are several nice new items posted to those pages -- . There are 30+ new JPOP CDs and albums posted to the JPOP page -- and yes, our Y2K "buy four, get one free" sale does apply to the new items. So check them out.
Finally -- we're using a new listserver to send these updates out. If anything goes wrong (you get two copies of this, etc.) please let me know right away.
Tuesday, September 29, 1998
Greetings from J-List September 29, 1998
Well, it's calendar season again, and that means a great chance to get some unique Christmas gifts for someone you care about (maybe even yourself). This year's Japanese calendars are excellent, with a lot of really nice choices, be they beautiful Japanese women, great anime calendars, Japanese musicians and "talents, rare looks at Japanese culture, and more. Part of the fun in entering the calendars into the computer is seeing who's slipped from No. 1 down the list (or off it completely) -- it's an interesting mirror into current Japanese pop culture. I'll be getting five or six of them myself, for my own collection. Please take a moment to scroll through the calendars and see if any of the excellent large-size calendars appeal to you. (In addition to the Calendars page link on the J-List main pages, you can find anime calendars on the anime page, JPOP calendars on the JPOP page, and adult calendars on page 3 of the magazines pages.)
For the benefit of anyone who wasn't here last year, Japanese calendars are very unique and special. They are very large, generally, being more like posters than normal calendars that are available in the US. The sizes are either A2 or B2, unless noted in the descriptions -- this is about 2 feet by 3 feet, shipped rolled. Unless noted, there are 7 sheets to each calendar (the cover, plus six calendar pages, two months to a page). The paper is very nice, with a very glossy finish, and bound with a metal rib (not the spirally thingies) that lets you easily fasten it to the wall with a pushpin without putting a hold in your calendar.
Prices for the calendars are as marked. Shipping will be $5 for SAL shipping, plus $3 for a handmade cardboard tube (there being no way to get real mailing tubes in Japan, we have to make our own). We experimented with mailing boxes last year, but enough of the boxes got crushed that we decided to not bother this time. If you order three or more calendars, the tubes will be free.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that the window for ordering these calendars is quite small. We'll start accepting orders immediately, and we expect the first calendars to show up from the distributor around mid-October. We'll have to stop taking orders around the first week of November, though -- any taken after that will be hard for our distributor to fill. As always, when ordering just in time" items like this, it's best if you can use a credit card, so that we can hold the order until the item comes in. For some calendars that are very popular
In addition to the calendars, there is an update on the dojinshi page -- some books that had been in stock before are back on the list, with more copies added. Enjoy all the new items!
For the benefit of anyone who wasn't here last year, Japanese calendars are very unique and special. They are very large, generally, being more like posters than normal calendars that are available in the US. The sizes are either A2 or B2, unless noted in the descriptions -- this is about 2 feet by 3 feet, shipped rolled. Unless noted, there are 7 sheets to each calendar (the cover, plus six calendar pages, two months to a page). The paper is very nice, with a very glossy finish, and bound with a metal rib (not the spirally thingies) that lets you easily fasten it to the wall with a pushpin without putting a hold in your calendar.
Prices for the calendars are as marked. Shipping will be $5 for SAL shipping, plus $3 for a handmade cardboard tube (there being no way to get real mailing tubes in Japan, we have to make our own). We experimented with mailing boxes last year, but enough of the boxes got crushed that we decided to not bother this time. If you order three or more calendars, the tubes will be free.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that the window for ordering these calendars is quite small. We'll start accepting orders immediately, and we expect the first calendars to show up from the distributor around mid-October. We'll have to stop taking orders around the first week of November, though -- any taken after that will be hard for our distributor to fill. As always, when ordering just in time" items like this, it's best if you can use a credit card, so that we can hold the order until the item comes in. For some calendars that are very popular
In addition to the calendars, there is an update on the dojinshi page -- some books that had been in stock before are back on the list, with more copies added. Enjoy all the new items!
Sunday, September 27, 1998
Greetings from J-List September 27, 1998
Just a quick update today. It was drizzling all day yesterday, so I did what everyone should do on such days -- sit around and play Civilization II on my Powerbook. What a way to kill a rainy day. As a result I have a big pile of email to go through on this lovely (but still drizzling) Sunday in Japan.
Today's update is a nice little one one. We have several new Race Queen-oriented items for fans of that worthy genre, new copies of the popular Memories and Karin photobooks, as well as more of the popular Nippon Mini-Skirt and Panst Dream items. Also, it's Dojinshi time again -- we finally got the last batch scanned and entered into the database. There are about 30 new items on the dojinshi page now, so please check them out.
Remember that J-List has a bunch of stuff at closeout prices. For example, we still have several different issues of the excellent CD ROM Choice, Windows 100%, the MPEG Soft Catalog, and more, all at great prices.
We're in the final days of September, and that means that the JAST USA sale is going to be coming to an end soon -- if you are interested in JAST USA's adult anime simulation game genre, this is your chance to save up to $35.
Thanks, and have a nice rest-of-the-weekend.
Today's update is a nice little one one. We have several new Race Queen-oriented items for fans of that worthy genre, new copies of the popular Memories and Karin photobooks, as well as more of the popular Nippon Mini-Skirt and Panst Dream items. Also, it's Dojinshi time again -- we finally got the last batch scanned and entered into the database. There are about 30 new items on the dojinshi page now, so please check them out.
Remember that J-List has a bunch of stuff at closeout prices. For example, we still have several different issues of the excellent CD ROM Choice, Windows 100%, the MPEG Soft Catalog, and more, all at great prices.
We're in the final days of September, and that means that the JAST USA sale is going to be coming to an end soon -- if you are interested in JAST USA's adult anime simulation game genre, this is your chance to save up to $35.
Thanks, and have a nice rest-of-the-weekend.
Saturday, September 26, 1998
Greetings from J-List September 26, 1998
Hello from Japan. It's 1:30 Saturday morning as I write these words -- I had to leave work early to assist with a project my wife had started, the assembling of some very difficult bunk beds for the kids. I've finally got the update ready to go out now, though...
I took another trip to Tokyo today, my second in three days -- whew! It was hot, but the chance to hit Starbucks was worth it. In addition to running around the city looking for great stuff for J-List, I managed to almost complete my Star Wars figure collection (still need to find some Ewok figures though). I have a bookcase with three shelves, so I'm displaying the best of my figures inside. Does anyone know a good way to keep Star Wars figures fastened to a flat surface so that they don't fall down?
We have a fistfull of new items for you today. First, weve finally gotten a bunch of new "available by order" videos from our distributor, with lots of great new releases by Chiasa Aonuma, Yuki Maiko, Kanazawa Bunko, Fujisaki Minami, and the now legendary Kano Mizuho (aka Kusanagi Jun). We'll stock many of these video as soon as we can, but ths is your chance to check out the newest releases and pre-order your copy so that you can be among the first to get it. There are also new videos, on the in-stock page (including some that were "lost" by being put on the wrong page). We've added a bunch of new hardcover photobooks (including the hard-to-find Chiasa Aonuma photobook), and some new magazines (D-Cup Japan). Finally
Have a great weekend, everyone.
I took another trip to Tokyo today, my second in three days -- whew! It was hot, but the chance to hit Starbucks was worth it. In addition to running around the city looking for great stuff for J-List, I managed to almost complete my Star Wars figure collection (still need to find some Ewok figures though). I have a bookcase with three shelves, so I'm displaying the best of my figures inside. Does anyone know a good way to keep Star Wars figures fastened to a flat surface so that they don't fall down?
We have a fistfull of new items for you today. First, weve finally gotten a bunch of new "available by order" videos from our distributor, with lots of great new releases by Chiasa Aonuma, Yuki Maiko, Kanazawa Bunko, Fujisaki Minami, and the now legendary Kano Mizuho (aka Kusanagi Jun). We'll stock many of these video as soon as we can, but ths is your chance to check out the newest releases and pre-order your copy so that you can be among the first to get it. There are also new videos, on the in-stock page (including some that were "lost" by being put on the wrong page). We've added a bunch of new hardcover photobooks (including the hard-to-find Chiasa Aonuma photobook), and some new magazines (D-Cup Japan). Finally
Have a great weekend, everyone.
Thursday, September 24, 1998
Greetings from J-List September 24, 1998
Yesterday was pretty hectic. Chiharu, Kazuki and I took a day off to go down to Tokyo to buy our Saturn. We got a cool one, a SW2 short wagon with beige leather interior. (Click here for a picture of what Saturn's wagon is like.) We pick it up in two weeks.
It took us a long time to decide if we wanted to get a Saturn or not, mainly because the price of many domestic cars here in Japan has fallen along with the economy. However, because we are rather a unique group of people (or think of ourselves as such), we knew we wanted to be one of the few people in Gunma Prefecture with a Saturn. It'll be fun to drive it around.
We have a nice pre-weekend update for you tonight. First, there are new videos, including more copies of the popular High School Lesbian Diary title. Then, we have a nice new selection of new Video CDs, and one DVD. Saegusa Miyu fans should note the excellent Best Collection Then, we have some new toys -- there are some excellent figures from the classic anime show Devilman, and a nifty "real figure" of Tetsujin 28. Finally, there are a bunch of new hardcover photobooks on the shashinshu page.
We have other pages updated, too. First, the About J-List page has been updated, with new pictures of all of us (in our nice new office
It took us a long time to decide if we wanted to get a Saturn or not, mainly because the price of many domestic cars here in Japan has fallen along with the economy. However, because we are rather a unique group of people (or think of ourselves as such), we knew we wanted to be one of the few people in Gunma Prefecture with a Saturn. It'll be fun to drive it around.
We have a nice pre-weekend update for you tonight. First, there are new videos, including more copies of the popular High School Lesbian Diary title. Then, we have a nice new selection of new Video CDs, and one DVD. Saegusa Miyu fans should note the excellent Best Collection Then, we have some new toys -- there are some excellent figures from the classic anime show Devilman, and a nifty "real figure" of Tetsujin 28. Finally, there are a bunch of new hardcover photobooks on the shashinshu page.
We have other pages updated, too. First, the About J-List page has been updated, with new pictures of all of us (in our nice new office
Monday, September 21, 1998
Greetings from J-List September 21, 1998
Hello, all. We've had a busy Monday today, mostly with cleaning and arranging the J-List office. Monday is our designated day to clean anything, anyway, but we had a lot of extra work because the rest of our furniture (a small sofa that Chiharu insisted we get for the downstairs, since all Japanese companies have a small sofa near the front door for guests to sit down at) arrived today.
In sports news, Yomiuri Giants coast Nagashima has said he will not retire this year, but will continue to coast the most popular Japanese baseball team. Why? Word is, his retirement would cause many baseball fans to lose interest in the sport, which could exacerbate Japan's recession. Nagashima, a nice old man by now, is by far the most popular Japanese sports figure in the country.
Today's update is a nice little one. On the magazines/photobooks pages, we have added four different Photoshot issues to the page. Photoshot is one of the most popular of all Japanese magazines. With its square back, its large, glossy pages and his high photographic quality, it's more like a high-class hardcover shashinshu than a magazine. Very nice...
Then, we have more anime toys, including some that I am personally very in love with. For Ultraman fans, we have several Ultraman toys, including a deluxe giant-size replica of the original Ultraman. We have Kamen Rider soft vinyl toys, a super-cool detailed replica/figure of the flying turtle-monster Gamera, soft rubber key chains from To Heart, and more. The really cool one is the cast-iron figure from Ashita no Joe -- perfectly detailed and heavy in the hand, this is one dynamite item for fans of campy Japanese pop culture.
Please stop by and see all the cool new items.
In sports news, Yomiuri Giants coast Nagashima has said he will not retire this year, but will continue to coast the most popular Japanese baseball team. Why? Word is, his retirement would cause many baseball fans to lose interest in the sport, which could exacerbate Japan's recession. Nagashima, a nice old man by now, is by far the most popular Japanese sports figure in the country.
Today's update is a nice little one. On the magazines/photobooks pages, we have added four different Photoshot issues to the page. Photoshot is one of the most popular of all Japanese magazines. With its square back, its large, glossy pages and his high photographic quality, it's more like a high-class hardcover shashinshu than a magazine. Very nice...
Then, we have more anime toys, including some that I am personally very in love with. For Ultraman fans, we have several Ultraman toys, including a deluxe giant-size replica of the original Ultraman. We have Kamen Rider soft vinyl toys, a super-cool detailed replica/figure of the flying turtle-monster Gamera, soft rubber key chains from To Heart, and more. The really cool one is the cast-iron figure from Ashita no Joe -- perfectly detailed and heavy in the hand, this is one dynamite item for fans of campy Japanese pop culture.
Please stop by and see all the cool new items.
Friday, September 18, 1998
Greetings from J-List September 18, 1998
Hi-ho, from the land with cars with names like Super Saloon, Today, and Sunny." It's been a busy week for us here at J-List, and we're happy to see it come to an end. As soon as today's update is posted
Life is moving right along for us. With the office pretty much squared away (we still await delivery of one set of chairs for our big conference table, but everything else is hooked up and running smoothly), we are putting energy into fixing up the kids room. Pictures will undoubtedly be posted at some point in the future, when we get further along.
Tonight's update is a nice one. First, there are new magazines -- a new Best Video, among them. These are added to the rather formidable bunch of magazines that were posted earlier in the week. Then, we have -- a bunch of hardcover photobooks! The softcover Wet Dreams item (see right) is one of my favorites. To that, we are happy to add a cache of in-stock videos, ready to go out to you right away. Among the items added are more copies of Miura Aika's very popular PIA video, and more copies of the #1 all-time Japanese video in J-List's history, Fubuki Akira's "Baby Oil."
(And don't forget the sale on JAST USA games... Thanks.)
Life is moving right along for us. With the office pretty much squared away (we still await delivery of one set of chairs for our big conference table, but everything else is hooked up and running smoothly), we are putting energy into fixing up the kids room. Pictures will undoubtedly be posted at some point in the future, when we get further along.
Tonight's update is a nice one. First, there are new magazines -- a new Best Video, among them. These are added to the rather formidable bunch of magazines that were posted earlier in the week. Then, we have -- a bunch of hardcover photobooks! The softcover Wet Dreams item (see right) is one of my favorites. To that, we are happy to add a cache of in-stock videos, ready to go out to you right away. Among the items added are more copies of Miura Aika's very popular PIA video, and more copies of the #1 all-time Japanese video in J-List's history, Fubuki Akira's "Baby Oil."
(And don't forget the sale on JAST USA games... Thanks.)
Tuesday, September 15, 1998
Greetings from J-List September 15, 1998
Hello from Japan. Today is Respect for the Aged Day, a national holiday. Considering that there are a many older people here in Japan, especially in smaller communities like Isesaki, where we are, it should be an important day. Judging from the crowds in the Toys R Us in Maebashi, everyone was spending time doing things for their kids instead of older people in their lives. We were shopping for a toy chest and some shelves for Rina and Kazuki's room (the old J-List office is going to the kids' room).
The weather forecast for the week is rain, thanks to the latest seasonal typhoon. (See a sattellite photo here if you like.) It sounds like a good week to shut all the windows and get caught up on my email. Summer has finally broken its hold on Japan, but it's still just muggy enough to require the air conditioning.
Today's update is a nice one. We have a whole bunch of great new magazines going into the list tonight, including Bejean (Kusanagi Jun alert!), great new issues of Dela Beppin, Gokuh, and Video Boy, and some specialty items like Nippon Mini-Suka Club. There are over 150 new items added, so please check them out. We've got more of the wonderfully cute Pikachu stuffed animals (Kaori recommends these to everyone), too. Thanks.
Also, don't forget that we're having a big sale on JAST USA games right now. You can save $5, $10 or $20 on 1, 2 or 3 JAST USA games. And we still offer free shipping on any J00x game if you buy another item from J-List at the same time (so if you order all three games, you have to buy, say, three other magazines, in order to get thr free shipping on the J00x games).
Well, gotta go eat dinner. Enjoy the new items!
The weather forecast for the week is rain, thanks to the latest seasonal typhoon. (See a sattellite photo here if you like.) It sounds like a good week to shut all the windows and get caught up on my email. Summer has finally broken its hold on Japan, but it's still just muggy enough to require the air conditioning.
Today's update is a nice one. We have a whole bunch of great new magazines going into the list tonight, including Bejean (Kusanagi Jun alert!), great new issues of Dela Beppin, Gokuh, and Video Boy, and some specialty items like Nippon Mini-Suka Club. There are over 150 new items added, so please check them out. We've got more of the wonderfully cute Pikachu stuffed animals (Kaori recommends these to everyone), too. Thanks.
Also, don't forget that we're having a big sale on JAST USA games right now. You can save $5, $10 or $20 on 1, 2 or 3 JAST USA games. And we still offer free shipping on any J00x game if you buy another item from J-List at the same time (so if you order all three games, you have to buy, say, three other magazines, in order to get thr free shipping on the J00x games).
Well, gotta go eat dinner. Enjoy the new items!
Saturday, September 12, 1998
Greetings from J-List September 12, 1998
I'm enjoying a nice quiet Saturday morning in the office, drinking coffee and finishing up the latest update to the J-List homepage. I got the sudden urge to re-arrange the furniture in my office, so I am about an hour behind schedule. It looks much better now, though.
I noted with sadness after returning to Japan on Monday that Japanese film director Kurosawa Akira died -- on my father's birthday. Kurosawa is one of the Japanese responsible for putting this country on the map internationally, and it's sad to see him go.
Japan is currently under a wave of poisonings. It started with sodium cyanide in some curry rice at a summer festival a month ago (this turns out to have been done to defraud an insurance company), and since then someone has died drinking Oolong tea that had been poisoned, and there have been several incidences of poisonings in schools. What a zany country.
In J-List news, we've got -- a nice update! In addition to five or so new magazines (including the June Urecco, the "lost" March issue of Gal's Dee, and more), we have new in-stock videos (about 10 new videos in all), new soft vinyl toys (including the bizarre "Santa Girl, above), new issues of Windows 100% and MPEG CD Soft Catalog, and -- even more dojinshi! Please enjoy the new items.
I noted with sadness after returning to Japan on Monday that Japanese film director Kurosawa Akira died -- on my father's birthday. Kurosawa is one of the Japanese responsible for putting this country on the map internationally, and it's sad to see him go.
Japan is currently under a wave of poisonings. It started with sodium cyanide in some curry rice at a summer festival a month ago (this turns out to have been done to defraud an insurance company), and since then someone has died drinking Oolong tea that had been poisoned, and there have been several incidences of poisonings in schools. What a zany country.
In J-List news, we've got -- a nice update! In addition to five or so new magazines (including the June Urecco, the "lost" March issue of Gal's Dee, and more), we have new in-stock videos (about 10 new videos in all), new soft vinyl toys (including the bizarre "Santa Girl, above), new issues of Windows 100% and MPEG CD Soft Catalog, and -- even more dojinshi! Please enjoy the new items.
Wednesday, September 02, 1998
Greetings from J-List September 2, 1998
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Monday, August 31, 1998
Greetings from J-List August 31, 1998
Well, Summer is officially over, more or less. It was a great time for us, and a hot time. Zipping back and forth over the Pacific four times sure made it fly by fast.
Japan is recovering from the latest typhoon, typhoon number 4 (they don't name them here, but assign them numbers instead), a real whopper that claimed 15 lives in Tochigi Prefecture (near where we are), in addition to hundreds of cattle, I saw on the news last night. In other news, Apple's iMac has arrived, to great public attention. I saw my first iMac at the Mac-kan in Takasaki the other day, and they are very svelte.
Tonight's update is a nice one. First, we have about 15 new videos, including , more titles by the lovely Miura Aika, Suzuki Minami, Misaki Mao, and more. We also have more copies of nearly all of Kanou Mizuho's very popular videos, including Super Nyumanji, Huge Bust Dynamite, and more. Finally
Japan is recovering from the latest typhoon, typhoon number 4 (they don't name them here, but assign them numbers instead), a real whopper that claimed 15 lives in Tochigi Prefecture (near where we are), in addition to hundreds of cattle, I saw on the news last night. In other news, Apple's iMac has arrived, to great public attention. I saw my first iMac at the Mac-kan in Takasaki the other day, and they are very svelte.
Tonight's update is a nice one. First, we have about 15 new videos, including , more titles by the lovely Miura Aika, Suzuki Minami, Misaki Mao, and more. We also have more copies of nearly all of Kanou Mizuho's very popular videos, including Super Nyumanji, Huge Bust Dynamite, and more. Finally
Thursday, July 16, 1998
Greetings from J-List July 16, 1998
Hello to all. This week so far has seen an interesting change in the weather here in Japan -- it's actually gotten cold. It's currently around 15 degrees Celsius, quite uncomfortable to be outside in a T-shirt and shorts. It's late Wednesday night in Japan as I type this, and I've just reached the end of my current Allie McBiel tape. Remember, if you're in the U.S. or get American TV and don't watch this great show, give it a shot.
Japan's big news right now is that the prime minister, Hashimoto, has resigned to take responsibility for losses the Liberal Democratic Party (Jiminto in Japanese) suffered in Sunday's election. Losing a head of state in this fashion is nothing for Japan, indeed there have been eight prime minsters in the short eight years I've lived in Japan. I don't claim to understand the process by which the country moves forward at times like this, but apparently it happens all the time. Personally, I'd like to see a prime minister young enough to have ever used a computer come into power.
We've got a nice mid-week update for you. First, there are about 20 "one shot" magazines on the list, great items ranging from "way back when" issues of Dela Beppin and Video Boy to great recent amateur magazines. Also, on the manga page, there are a dozen or so "wide edition" adult mangas that we're offering -- some are quite good. and all are cheap, so check out the new items. Also, the April Urecco is really wonderful -- I have posted new scans showing some of the highlights.
Response to the J-List Summer Video Sale has been excellent so far. Remember, you get $1 off for one in-stock video, $2 each for two (i.e., $4), $3 each for three, and so on, up to five videos. Considering that many of the items are reduced and/or come with free SAL shipping already, you are basically getting some great stuff for almost free while helping us out. We're moving the videos out so that we'll have less stock to move over for our upcoming move. Kaori would appreciate it if you'd check out the great videos we have in stock -- thanks!
Japan's big news right now is that the prime minister, Hashimoto, has resigned to take responsibility for losses the Liberal Democratic Party (Jiminto in Japanese) suffered in Sunday's election. Losing a head of state in this fashion is nothing for Japan, indeed there have been eight prime minsters in the short eight years I've lived in Japan. I don't claim to understand the process by which the country moves forward at times like this, but apparently it happens all the time. Personally, I'd like to see a prime minister young enough to have ever used a computer come into power.
We've got a nice mid-week update for you. First, there are about 20 "one shot" magazines on the list, great items ranging from "way back when" issues of Dela Beppin and Video Boy to great recent amateur magazines. Also, on the manga page, there are a dozen or so "wide edition" adult mangas that we're offering -- some are quite good. and all are cheap, so check out the new items. Also, the April Urecco is really wonderful -- I have posted new scans showing some of the highlights.
Response to the J-List Summer Video Sale has been excellent so far. Remember, you get $1 off for one in-stock video, $2 each for two (i.e., $4), $3 each for three, and so on, up to five videos. Considering that many of the items are reduced and/or come with free SAL shipping already, you are basically getting some great stuff for almost free while helping us out. We're moving the videos out so that we'll have less stock to move over for our upcoming move. Kaori would appreciate it if you'd check out the great videos we have in stock -- thanks!
Tuesday, July 14, 1998
Greetings from J-List July 14, 1998
Hi from Japan. The big news from this side of the ocean is that Godzilla has finally hit here -- to monster-sized yawn, according to most accounts. My wife and I were quite disappointed with the the film, not just because they turned one of the major film genres of the 20th century into Jurassic Park III, but also because of the lack of respect for the original work they showed. Except for Godzilla's piercing screech and the flashing Toho picture before the start of the movie, nothing survived the transition -- not the uplifting and unique original's musical score, not the themes of Godzilla as a protector of Japan, not the slow-moving campiness. All had been sacrificed for flashy CG and a love interest between Ferris Beuler and a blonde Betty Boop that was apparently inspired by the movie "Twister." (Japanese director Shusuke Kaneko pointed out in a Jiji Press article that it was interesting that the Japanese Godzilla "stoically braves missile attacks" which cannot harm him, but the American film-makers "seem unable to accept a creature that cannot be put down by their weapons.")
The film is really one of the best examples of how different Japan and America are. My wife, with all her wisdom, once observed that "if an American has a choice between a small, delicious piece of cake, and a big one that tastes awful, he'll take the big one every time." (Apologies to anyone who's offended by any of this...but my wife and I were up til dawn after watching the American Godzilla, so I wanted to pass on some of her thoughts to the list...) In Japan, a major aesthetic theme is that of wabi and sabi, which can be summed up as "less is more" or "simple is best." This can be explained best by a scene I saw in Hideyoshi, a great samurai drama that was on NHK a couple of years ago about the life of Hideyoshi Toyotomi
Announcing the J-List Summer Video Sale
Because we've got to clear our large stock of videos out in time for our forthcoming move, we're having a Big Sale on all in-stock videos. In addition to current prices and free-shipping offers. J-List will give you
$1 off if you order one video
$2 off per video if you order two videos
$3 off per video if you order three videos
$4 off per video if you order four videos
and $5 off per video if you order five or more videos!
This means you can get $25 off an order of five already-reduced videos, or $500 off if you order just 100 videos (well, that's getting a little carried away, but you know what we mean). You'll be happy, since you'll get some great Japanese AV and save a bunch of money, Kaori will be happy because it will free up the stock room -- everyone wins! Considering that there are some close-outs on the Video Warehouse pages as low as $25, with free SAL shipping included, this offer brings the prices to ridiculously low levels. Now is the time to stock up on all the Ozawa Madoka and Yoshino Sari videos you need to get you through the summer...
The sale only applies to in-stock Japanese AV videos, and only until the end of July.
The film is really one of the best examples of how different Japan and America are. My wife, with all her wisdom, once observed that "if an American has a choice between a small, delicious piece of cake, and a big one that tastes awful, he'll take the big one every time." (Apologies to anyone who's offended by any of this...but my wife and I were up til dawn after watching the American Godzilla, so I wanted to pass on some of her thoughts to the list...) In Japan, a major aesthetic theme is that of wabi and sabi, which can be summed up as "less is more" or "simple is best." This can be explained best by a scene I saw in Hideyoshi, a great samurai drama that was on NHK a couple of years ago about the life of Hideyoshi Toyotomi
Announcing the J-List Summer Video Sale
Because we've got to clear our large stock of videos out in time for our forthcoming move, we're having a Big Sale on all in-stock videos. In addition to current prices and free-shipping offers. J-List will give you
$1 off if you order one video
$2 off per video if you order two videos
$3 off per video if you order three videos
$4 off per video if you order four videos
and $5 off per video if you order five or more videos!
This means you can get $25 off an order of five already-reduced videos, or $500 off if you order just 100 videos (well, that's getting a little carried away, but you know what we mean). You'll be happy, since you'll get some great Japanese AV and save a bunch of money, Kaori will be happy because it will free up the stock room -- everyone wins! Considering that there are some close-outs on the Video Warehouse pages as low as $25, with free SAL shipping included, this offer brings the prices to ridiculously low levels. Now is the time to stock up on all the Ozawa Madoka and Yoshino Sari videos you need to get you through the summer...
The sale only applies to in-stock Japanese AV videos, and only until the end of July.
Saturday, July 11, 1998
Greetings from J-List July 11, 1998
Greetings from still-hot Japan! My first week back in Japan is over, and we're ready for the weekend here at J-List. On Saturday the Tanabata Festival begins in Maebashi, so we'll be taking that in. This is a modern festival based on an old Chinese legend involving a prince (the star Vega) and a princess (some other star in the same constellation) who are doomed to meet each other only once a year. In reality, it's an excuse to walk around in a cotton kimono and eat food from stalls that are run by the local
Big update for you this evening. First, the new Paradise Lost manga is in (vol. 7). This is a great item for any fan of Japanese dojinshi, as it offers 200+ pages of great erotic Evangelion dojinshi art with a great cover and price. Then, we've got the new Urecco, which is really an excellent issue (Akane Ichinose is not to be missed). Finally, fans of Japanese CD ROMs should not miss the MPEG Soft Catalog (which provides nearly 2 hours of Japanese AV action and a magazine, all for just $25) and the All Pasocom CD Soft Catalog (three CD ROMs with tons of Japanese AV stuff, all for less than the price of a video).
I hope you all have a great (and cool) weekend. Stop by the page if you have a moment. Thanks!
Big update for you this evening. First, the new Paradise Lost manga is in (vol. 7). This is a great item for any fan of Japanese dojinshi, as it offers 200+ pages of great erotic Evangelion dojinshi art with a great cover and price. Then, we've got the new Urecco, which is really an excellent issue (Akane Ichinose is not to be missed). Finally, fans of Japanese CD ROMs should not miss the MPEG Soft Catalog (which provides nearly 2 hours of Japanese AV action and a magazine, all for just $25) and the All Pasocom CD Soft Catalog (three CD ROMs with tons of Japanese AV stuff, all for less than the price of a video).
I hope you all have a great (and cool) weekend. Stop by the page if you have a moment. Thanks!
Monday, June 29, 1998
Greetings from J-List June 29, 1998
Well, it's election time again here in Japan, and here, that means candidates driving around in trucks from 8 am with speakers mounted on them, announcing their platform and asking for the support of the neighborhood. The issues in this election center around the economy, as you can imagine, and mostly how to help stimulate the economy here out of the recession. The Japan Communist Party's platform, for example, supports reducing the consumption tax (sales tax) from 5% back to 3%.
The two-man team of commedians (one Japanese, one from Hong Kong) who are hitchhiking from the bottom of Africa to the top of the Scandanavian Peninsula have entered Kenya after five months on the road. Their trek is broadcase every Sunday evening in Japan and in Hong Kong. And Nasubi, the man who is trying to live off of things he wins by sending out thousands entries (he ran out of rice for a while, and had to live off of some dog food he had won), has moved, due to his top-secret location being discovered by some reporters. He has won approximately $4000 worth of prizes so far, and has only $6000 to go.
We've got some excellent items to add to the list today. First, there are a bunch of new Video CD and DVD titles, including some really excellent items. Fubuki Akira's premier on Video CD is here in a great title from Bauhaus. It's a soft porn performance that is just beautiful. As if that weren't good enough news, Kusanagi Jun's excellent soft-porn Video CD "G-Cup Danger" is a wonderful treat. Then there are new Video CD and DVD items by Aida Momo, Kanazawa Bunko, Ozawa Madoka, Shirakawa Marina, a Bust Video Gold Video CD compilation, and more. Momo Aida's compilation DVD (2 hours!) is especially recommended for fans of this great woman.
Then we have more magazines -- including the new issue of the excellent Dela Beppin (Kanazawa Bunko and Suzuki Momoka fans take note -- this issue is good), the new Pixie 17, the excellent Panstopia, and more.
Well, have to dash out the door. Hope you all had a good weekend.
The two-man team of commedians (one Japanese, one from Hong Kong) who are hitchhiking from the bottom of Africa to the top of the Scandanavian Peninsula have entered Kenya after five months on the road. Their trek is broadcase every Sunday evening in Japan and in Hong Kong. And Nasubi, the man who is trying to live off of things he wins by sending out thousands entries (he ran out of rice for a while, and had to live off of some dog food he had won), has moved, due to his top-secret location being discovered by some reporters. He has won approximately $4000 worth of prizes so far, and has only $6000 to go.
We've got some excellent items to add to the list today. First, there are a bunch of new Video CD and DVD titles, including some really excellent items. Fubuki Akira's premier on Video CD is here in a great title from Bauhaus. It's a soft porn performance that is just beautiful. As if that weren't good enough news, Kusanagi Jun's excellent soft-porn Video CD "G-Cup Danger" is a wonderful treat. Then there are new Video CD and DVD items by Aida Momo, Kanazawa Bunko, Ozawa Madoka, Shirakawa Marina, a Bust Video Gold Video CD compilation, and more. Momo Aida's compilation DVD (2 hours!) is especially recommended for fans of this great woman.
Then we have more magazines -- including the new issue of the excellent Dela Beppin (Kanazawa Bunko and Suzuki Momoka fans take note -- this issue is good), the new Pixie 17, the excellent Panstopia, and more.
Well, have to dash out the door. Hope you all had a good weekend.
Saturday, June 27, 1998
Greetings from J-List June 27, 1998
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Thursday, June 25, 1998
Greetings from J-List June 25, 1998
Hello, all. Another update from the land of cars with names like Super Saloon, Soarer, Mitsubishi Thanks Chariot, and Bongo Friendy.
We had a nice surprise today: 40 copies of Kusanagi Jun's excellent photobook, Kubire (the word describes the inward curve of a woman's hip, which Jun-chan has in spades, with her tiny waist). We had been told by our distributor that the book was in limbo, waiting to see if it would be re-printed by its publisher, so we had removed it from the photobooks page. We're happy to report that it's back on the list now.
There are many other newly added items, including a cache of photobooks, including two excellent ones by photographer Goro. New magazines include Nippon Mini-suka, Panst Dream, the deluxe Mini-suka Collection, Be Back, and more. There are about 75 new items added in all.
JPOP fans should also stop by the JPOP page, to see the 5+ new albums and 30+ new CD singles that have been added. Speed's "My Graduation, new items by Amuro Namie, dos, TM Revolution, and more.
Be sure to see the video pages, if you haven't since yesterday, and see the new items that have been added. Remember, there are lots of bargain items to be had, like Ureccos and other magazines for $5, Iijima Ai's videos series for $25, and more.
P.S. Wow! As I write these words, watching the Japanese news, we just had a big earthquake here on the Kanto plain. I'm not sure of the magnitude, but it was a 3" rating according to the Japanese scale.
We had a nice surprise today: 40 copies of Kusanagi Jun's excellent photobook, Kubire (the word describes the inward curve of a woman's hip, which Jun-chan has in spades, with her tiny waist). We had been told by our distributor that the book was in limbo, waiting to see if it would be re-printed by its publisher, so we had removed it from the photobooks page. We're happy to report that it's back on the list now.
There are many other newly added items, including a cache of photobooks, including two excellent ones by photographer Goro. New magazines include Nippon Mini-suka, Panst Dream, the deluxe Mini-suka Collection, Be Back, and more. There are about 75 new items added in all.
JPOP fans should also stop by the JPOP page, to see the 5+ new albums and 30+ new CD singles that have been added. Speed's "My Graduation, new items by Amuro Namie, dos, TM Revolution, and more.
Be sure to see the video pages, if you haven't since yesterday, and see the new items that have been added. Remember, there are lots of bargain items to be had, like Ureccos and other magazines for $5, Iijima Ai's videos series for $25, and more.
P.S. Wow! As I write these words, watching the Japanese news, we just had a big earthquake here on the Kanto plain. I'm not sure of the magnitude, but it was a 3" rating according to the Japanese scale.
Tuesday, June 23, 1998
Greetings from J-List June 23, 1998
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