Japan, Chocolate and Obligation

Today is Valentine's Day, a day when males in Japan look forward to receiving chocolate from girlfriends, wives, daughters, etc. There are two kinds of chocolate, of course, honmei choco or chocolate received from someone who really cares for you, and giri choco or "obligation" chocolate, from someone who feels obligated to give you chocolate, such as a female co-workers, students etc. For the past two years, Valentine's Day has fallen in a weekend, which is the Kiss of Death to a chocolate industry that depends on Japan's millions of OLs ("office ladies," e.g. female office workers) to buy chocolate for their bosses and other male co-workers. Since this year February 14th falls on a Monday, the TV news was reporting that sales of chocolates were strong this year, which makes us happy on behalf of Japan's men. Remember that J-List still has a ton of outstanding Japanese chocolate in stock, although it will be removed from the site as summer nears. So order some now!

We hope you have a warm and delicious Valentine's Day!

All Your Internet Memes Are Belong To Us

Tuesday is an auspicious day for the Web: the 10th anniversary of the "All Your Base are Belong To Us" video that spread like wildfire across the Interwebs a decade ago. (The meme existed before this point, but Feb. 15, 2001 is the day the infamous Flash video was released, marking its emergence as a global explosion of weirdness culminating in a call from your Mom asking what "All Your Base" meant.) A line of especially bad English from the 1989 game Zero Wing released for the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis console, the phrase was sampled and put to music, and was turned into an Internet phenomenon by various sites including the Something Awful forums. It was most people's first introduction to the now-familiar concept of the "Internet meme," which describes an image, video, joke or other concept that spreads quickly through the frictionless tubes of the Internet. Now these memes are a daily occurrence, from Giga Pudding to Popin' Cooking DIY Sushi Candy to spinning leeks and jokes about numbers being "over 9000," and it's hard to remember that there was once a simpler time when pictures of cats did not rule our world.

Feb. 15 is the 10th anniversary of "All Your Base."

Japan [hearts] England

Being an American in Japan has been a good opportunity to learn more about...England. Yes, Japan has always had a special affinity for the British Isles, no doubt perceiving themselves as a mirror version of the U.K. in Asia, and some aspects of Japan that seem strange to us Yanks actually come from Great Britain. Japan chose to import much in the way of technology and institutions from the home of Shakespeare, including creating a British-style Parliament and cloning Britain's postal system and the BBC (a.k.a. NHK). Japan has a "3 o'clock tea time" tradition borrowed from the U.K., they drive on the left side of the road, and they use terms like "saloon" for a sedan, "dust box" for a trash can and pantsu for underwear. But Japan's greatest homage to England can be heard in any school classroom, or any anime series set in a school. When the school bell rings indicating the start of class in Japan, it's a replica of the chimes of Big Ben.

Japan has long had a special connection with Great Britain.

J-List T-Shirt Update

Ever since we brought out our first "Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend" T-shirt more than a decade ago, J-List has carried a fun line of original anime and kanji T-shirts for otakus and Japanophiles to wear. Some of our favorites include the K-On! "Moe Warring" shirt that lets you know that too much moe can lead to social awkwardness, our tribute to the most faithful dog in Japan, and our new Twitter "Fail Whale" Space Battleship Yamato parody. Click here to see the most popular J-List T-shirts, hoodies and hats.

Cool Products Monday, February 14, 2011

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Dengeki Comic Daioh Mar 2011 The premiere moe manga magazine is back in its latest issue, packed with dozens of popular titles including a feature on A Certain Scientific Railgun and A Certain Magical Index II, Ef: a Fairytale of the Two, Gurren Lagann, Gunslinger Girl, Toradora, Yotsubato, and more. Your one stop for all the best bishoujo manga! View products »
	Hobby Japan Mar 2011 Whether you're into plamo Gundam kits, hot PVC figures, cinema characters or military models, Hobby Japan will fuel your inner collector!
	egg Mar 2011 A brand new issue of the glamorous Tokyo fashion magazine for young women, this issue features "eye makeup for lovers" and much more.
	Axis Powers Hetalia Mascot Key Chain Set of 6 A great chance to show your enthusiasm for the adorable personifications of the 20th century's historical political powers! This set contains six major characters from the "Hetalia" comedy manga, including Japan, England, Switzerland, Italy, Belarus, and Prussia. View products »
	Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls 03 (Blu-ray Disc) Join the heroes of feudal Japan in updated reincarnations as sexy bishoujo fighters! An extras-packed Blu-ray extravaganza.
	New Queen's Blade Rebellion Artbooks In Stock We love Queen's Blade, and have two new artbooks for you to check out. Enjoy Pirate Captain Liliana plus the gorgeous warrior Branwen.
	Valkyria Chronicles 3 The latest and most intricate installment of the fictional European war saga that puts tactics and real time battle together for epic gameplay on your PSP!
	Touhou Games Restocked The doujin shoot'em'up craze that gripped Japan's 2D fans by storm is back! Now you can play the original, authorized versions of Touhou games!
	GATSBY ~ Men's Hair Wax / Spiky Edge If you're an "herbivore man," see fresh stock of the GATSBY hair wax, in "Spiky Edge" "Air Rise" and "Grunge Mat."
	Panasonic Doltz Sonic Tooth Brush High powered electric toothbrush technology, on the go! So awesome, it could only be called "Doltz"!
	Moco Moco Warm Pants to Keep you Warm in Winter A haramaki is a wrap for your abdomen to keep you warm in winter. This toasty warm underwear for women is restocked today.
	Haru Kairo Japanese Warm Pad Regular Size One great way to stay warm in Japan's cold winter are kairo, the amazing heating pads that stay warm for up to 12 hours. Restocked today.
	Cute Dog Chopsticks Rests Waa, kawaii!! is the reaction you're sure to have when you see these adorable porcelain dogs laying out ready to happily serve as a rest for your chopsticks. We don't think there's ever been a cuter chopsticks rest made - yes, in the history of the planet. View products »
	DX Men's Chopsticks ~ Dragon The spirit of the dragon is proclaimed boldly through these deluxe emblazoned chopsticks, beautifully carved, adult-size and reusable.
	Bleach 3D Oppai Mouse Pads In Stock! Rangiku and Yoruichi have never looked as sexy as on these 3D contoured ergonomic mousepads - show your love for these Bleach ladies today!
	Restocked Totoro & Ghibli Products We have a nice restocking of fun Totoro plush toys, incl. the Totoro no Sanpo "walking" toys, Totoro Wall Pockets and Jiji Money Pouch.
	Sushi Kanji Green Tea Cup When you enjoy good sushi, it's fun to drink green tea out of a yunomi (green tea tea cup) that has all the fish kanji on the side. Here is a nice one.
	New Japanese Snacks Enjoy Ume flavored Suppa Mucho potato snacks, Fresh Cream Milky Candy from Hokkaido, plus amazing gum from "Glamatic" Lotte that makes your breath fresh through the magic of Acerola. View products »
	Popin' Cookin' DIY Sushi Candy One Internet meme we've been watching closely is this "do it yourself" sushi candy (click to see the YouTube video embedded). It's fun and delicious!
	Restocked Snacks, Too We have restocked snacks too, including Fortune Telling Gum, traditional Neri Ame candy, Fruit Mentos, Sushi Gummy and British Royal Milk Tea.
	'Honoka' Sakura & Rabbit Bento Box Sets See fresh stock of the popular "Honoka" bento boxes with sakura petals and usagi *rabbits) printed on the tops. I love these.
	Restocked Random Items for your Kitchen Enjoy the Ramen Microwave Bowl which makes cooking noodles super fast, plus Miso Soup Bowl w/Lid, Nori Punch and our Oil Brush for Takoyaki.
	Restocked Bento Accessories Add some "deco" (decoration) to your bento life with the Deco Bento Sets we restocked today, plus those cute soy sauce bottles for bento.
	Restocked Japanese Sandwich Makers, More Tell someone you love them with this awesome heart-shaped sandwich cutter, which "seals" your sandwich for you at the same time.
	Kanji Drill Workbooks, Vocabulary Flashcards Support all your Japanese studying needs with these handy kanji work books. Study cards for vocabulary are also restocked.
	One Piece Pens & More See fresh of the One Piece pens that have interesting fragrances when you write with them. Also, the Zebra Sarasa 0.5 Ball Point Pen & Zebra TECT pencil.
	Japanese Beautiful High School Girls See some great restocked photobooks, like the recent release from Yoichi Watanabe documenting Japan's vibrant female high school girls.
	Miniature Lucky Cat Figures, More See fresh stock of the Lucky Cat ceramic figurines w/kanji messages on them, a "Ninja" ear cleaner, washi traditional dolls and more.
	Manaka Takamine Figure ~ Love Plus *Preorder* Manaka SUKI da yo~! Proclaiming your love for Manaka has never been more tempting than with this new 'beach queens' figure from Wave!
	Houmei, Chris Makise Figures *Preorder* See also new figure preorders for Taka Tony's Houmei from Shining Wind, and Chris Makise from Nitroplus/5pb 'science novel' Steins Gate.
	Panty & Stocking Rubber Strap Collection *Preorder* All the major characters from irreverent Gainax anime sensation Panty & Stocking are here in rubber strap form, durable charms for your keys or phone. We're huge fans of this show, and are glad to see some really cool products coming down the pipe for it. View products »
	FEMALE BODY POSE LAB 1 An 'artbook' worthy of the name, this collection of beautiful photographs is wonderful for any collector, or for an artist to use for figure studies.
	Restocked Stress Toys for Men The "Snow Moon Flower 3 Sisters" set is back in stock today, along with One Piece parody toys "Love Piece" onahole toys. Amazing.
	Love Body Aki Costumes Restocked Inflatable dolls are also a popular category of stress toy at J-List, especially the Love Body Aki series. See fresh stock of the outfits, too!
	Awesome Eroge for Winter, Too There are English-translated eroge for every season, including winter. Like Snow Drop, a great story of romance with girls at a ski resort!
	Osananajimi to Dokyusei ~ MARUTA Vol. 1 The story of Maruta's super-sexy eromanga "the classmate and the childhood friend" comes to limited edition eroanime release! A truly amazing new release that's shipped in a large special box. View products »

How Kanji Works: Birds and Alligators

Japan uses kanji characters to communicate written meaning, a system that has worked for the Chinese for the past 3000 years or so. Although they may look like random chicken scratches at first, there's a lot of logic built into these little characters. For example, all kanji that have to do with expressing reading, speaking or language have the character for "to say" on the left side (it looks like a stack of books on a table), while characters that have to do with the sky (cloud, lightning/thunder, etc.) have the character for "rain" as part of their structure. Happily, the Japanese have been quite good at reforming their written language in the decades after World War II, standardizing how kanji are written and ejecting hundreds of old, archaic characters that no one needs to know. Some examples of these retired characters include kanji names for animals like wani (alligator, which is 鰐, nobody wants to have anything to do with that) and the dozens of unique kanji for all the birds, and now the "official" way to write these names is katakana.

My Son's "Juken" (High School Entrance Exam)

Today is an adventure for my son: his juken, or high school entrance exam, which he's prepared for all year. This morning we got up early, riding the train down to Yokohama where the two high schools he'll be applying for are located, both of us wearing health masks to make sure we didn't catch this year's flu from someone while riding the train. Naturally he had the Kit Kat his mother had given him, since Nestle's popular chocolate-cookie snack has become the official food of test-takers and hardworking students in Japan, as it sounds like kitto katsu ("you will surely win"). Today and tomorrow he'll take his tests, divided into math, kokugo ("national language," e.g. Japanese) and English. It's been a big experience for him, learning to focus himself on something important although he was just 14 when this all began, and I've learned a lot about my son. Of course every parent views his or her own child in a special light, a phenomenon that's called oya-baka or parent-fool in Japanese, but I can't help feeling pride for my son.

The Japanese have created an amazing culture of advancement through studying hard.

More "Wasei Eigo"

Last time I wrote about the concept of "bottle keep," which is when you pre-purchase a bottle of liquor for your own use at a restaurant or bar. It's just one of a large number of "foreign" words used in Japan that might confuse you. Japanese always wonder why we look puzzled when they use some "English" words, like anketto (which is actually French, enquête, meaning "questionnaire") or arubaito (from the German arbeit, which the Japanese use to mean "part time job"), and these wasei eigo ("made-in-Japan English") words which make perfect sense...to the Japanese. How many of these can you guess the meaning of? (Answer below.)

American dog	fancy shop	morning service
shutter chance	baton touch	soft cream
guts pose	handle keeper	link free
coordinate snap	oneman bus	virgin road

Looks like a "goatse" but it's...Handle Keeper

(Answers to the above words: American dog = a corn dog; a fancy shop is a shop that sells Hello Kitty and other character goods; morning service is breakfast served at a coffee shop; a "shutter chance" is an opportunity to take an excellent picture; "baton touch" is a relay racing term, but any time you hand off responsibility to someone you can use it; soft cream is soft-serve ice cream; a "guts pose" is posing with an exaggeratedly strong pose; handle keeper = designated driver; link free means "it's okay to link to this website"; coordinate snap is coordinating fashions and photographing them; a "one man" bus is a bus with only the driver, and no second employee whose job it is to take your ticket; and while we might say "walk the aisle" to discuss a woman getting married, the Japanese would use the phrase "walk the virgin road.")

Random Japanese Snacks and Drinks

You can always rely on J-List to have fun snacks and drinks from Japan. Like the Poppin' Cookin' series of "DIY" sushi and other fun foods that suddenly became popular on the Internet, or Japan-only Pepsi that comes with an awesome Gundam "Bearbrick" toy with each bottle. I'm also a fan of wacky drink flavors from Japan, like the legendary Pocari Sweat energy drink powder mix (note, contains no sweat), and our newest wacky hit product, Morinaga Panckes-in-a-Can, liquid essence of pancakes, which are actually good. Which would you like to try?

Cool Products Friday, February 11, 2011

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Epic Anime & Manga Magazines Naturally we have many outstanding anime and manga magazines in stock, ready for you to browse and buy. Many come with free stuff (called omake, oh-mah-kay).
	Super Magazines by Monthly Subscription It's common for issues to sell out quickly, so why not consider a revolving magazine subscription instead? We'll reserve your magazine automatically.
	Fun One Piece Products Japan loves One Piece these days, and there are hundreds of great products in stock at J-List. I like the Chopper Man plush hat personally...
	New Den Den Mushi Measures In Stock Or check out the Den Den Mushi tape measures, which we've restocked today. Very weird, yet oddly compelling.
	Many Awesome Evangelion Products J-List always has a large stock of Evangelion products, like the new 3D Eva mousepads we got in recently, which provide wrist support for otakus. View products »
	'Oppai' Mouse Pads, Too If if you want mouse pads that offer a unique tactile experience, we recommend the oppai mouse pads, which really make using the mouse fun.
	Roman Letter Mouse Pad ~ Black Or go with this more basic mouse pad, which shows you how to enter hiragana into a computer. It's both nerdy and useful.
	Kawaii Casual Fashions from J-List More and more J-List has been stocking rare and awesome Japanese fashions, and our customer have been buying the products in droves. This makes us happy. Look for items like the Boa Parka with Bear Ears, authentic Japanese school book bags, awesome Japanese socks and more. View products »
	Double Eyelid Makeup Also, we have fun hair and skin health items, like the Double Eyelid Makeup which promises to make Asian eye look "large" like foreigners.
	Hello Kitty @ J-List J-List carries hundreds of Hello Kitty items you can only buy in Japan, including bento related products, fashion items, toys and other items. Click to see.
	Amazing Japanese iPhone & iPod Products Got an iPhone or iPod? J-List has some fun products for you, which we're happy to carry for our customers. Anime cases, headphones and more.
	Amazing Poddities iPhone Carabiner Adapters The Poddities line is cool because it includes a metal strap adapter that screws into your iPhone 4 or 3G/GS. Attach phone straps, carabiner clips, anything!
	We Love Anime Blu-Ray The best anime Blu-ray are at J-List, like Nausicaa released in full 1080p with subtitles + dubbed tracks in English, French etc. Also the new Haruhi movie!
	Epic Totoro & Ghibli Products J-List has carried a great supply of Totoro and Ghibli products ever since we were founded in 1996. Click to see the most "wishlisted" Totoro items today!
	Poppin' Cookin' DIY Sushi Candy, Ice Cream The newest video to go viral on the Internet caused dozens of J-List customers to search for "Poppin' Cookin'" on the J-List website. We've gotten in fresh stock of the popular "DIY Sushi" which you make by adding water to powder and mixing. "Soft Cream" in stock too. View products »
	Anime Snacks from Japan We now carry many fun anime-themed snacks, like Evangelion Wafer Cookies w/trading cards, Eva chocolate and Haruhi and Eva Coffee. Browse now!
	Amazing Chocolate from Japan Also, J-List is loaded to the hilt with awesome chocolate from Japan. Remember that chocolate goes away in May, maybe today is a good day to order?
	Japanese Kit Kat, Too Kit Kat has become the symbol of anyone working hard to study for a test in Japan, and to the rest of the world, wacky flavors of Nestle's famous chocolate-cookie snack have become a symbol of awesome chocolate products from Japan. Click to see J-List's current lineup of Kit Kat flavors. View products »
	Traditional Bento Boxes with Japanese Characters We love traditional bento with hiragana or kanji printed on it, and we've restocked several today for you. Very traditional and awesome.
	Kawaii Anime & Character Bento Too You can always fund fun cute bento boxes, including anime- and character-themed offerings, on our Anime & Character bento page.
	Kawaii Things for your Kitchen Japan redefines kawaii (cute) every time it turns around, and we have some amazing products for your kitchen. Click to see...
	Restocked Bento Accessories Why eat boring, ugly bento when you can make it beautiful with vegetable shapers and other bento accessories from J-List.
	Amazing Rice Scoops (Shamoji) When scooping rice, you need to use a rice scoop, called shamoji in Japanese, an we've posted several popular ones on the site today.
	More Traditional Items in Stock More traditional products, incl. the Sakura Lover's Miso Soup Bowl, the most excellent bowl-and-chopsticks you will ever see.
	Wacky Kanji T-Shirt: Emergency Exit J-List loves to make fun and wacky Japanese T-shirts for our customers. One of my favorites is the Emergency Exit shirt, a long-seller! Which of our wacky anime, kanji or stylish Japanese T-shirts and hoodies do you like? View products »
	Tools to Help you Learn Japanese J-List genuinely wants to promote the study of Japanese, since the more language you know, the more fun things are. Click to see the top study items.
	Kanji Practice Flashcard SALE Whenever I'm asked what the single best product for learning Japanese is, I steer people towards the White Rabbit kana and kanji flashcards.
	Learn Japanese with your Nintendo DS See Beautiful Kanji Training, Kanji Test DS, plus hiragana tools like Dora Gana and AIUEO Study w/Anpanman.
	Restocked Japanese Pens The best pens from Japan are Zebra's Sarasa line. See fresh stock of these, plus the Zebra Check Age Pen Set and Mild Liners.
	Awesome Traditional Products How cool can a comb be? Awfully cool, if it's a beautiful traditional comb from Japan like the ones we restocked today.
	WASHI Yu-zen KIMONO Shaped Coaster Set Also cool: coasters made of washi paper featuring beautiful images of kimonos. Usually only available in gift shops in Kyoto.
	Aselia The Eternal *Preorder* Remember, we posted this outstanding Japanese RPG for preorder last time, so fans of Japanese gaming can enjoy the titles in English. Preorder now!
	Mirai Suenaga figma Action Figure *Preorder* We have tons of quality anime figures and other toys for preorder, like the Mirai figure from Danny Choo's website. Click to see our selection.
	Hetalia Axis Powers Figures Also: the popular Hetalia Axis Powers One Coin figures were too popular for their own good, and they sold out in no time.
	Alfin 1/7 Figure, Snow Miku *Preorder* See other figured posted for preorder too, including Snow Miku (!) and Alfin from Shining Force Feather.
	Super Awesome Japanese Photobooks Also, be sure to browse our most popular photobooks, including the English Dictionary that puts words on all parts of a beautiful model's body.
	Epic Eroge in English We've been working on expanding the market for English translated eroge and visual novels for a long time, and we're overjoyed that the epic Cthulhu mythos game Demonbane will be shipping soon. Preorder it now, or one of our other recently announced titles, and take advantage of our free "Heart de Roommate" sale this month. View products »
	Restocked H-Games from Japan We carry import visual novels, of course, and have dozens in stock. Click to se some of our best.
	Anime Parody Stress Toys Otakus get stressed out, too, and sometimes it's nice to have something to take the edge off. Enjoy anime parody versions of onahole!
	Restocked TENGA Stress Toys, Famous Lotion Then, enjoy the Tenga Flip Lite amazing hole toy, two of our most popular models, plus the legendary "Pepee" lotion you see in all the best JAV productions.
	Epic Vibrators from Japan The venerable Japanese "Rotar" [sic] gets new life in this great series from SOD, restocked for our female customers today.