Video games in Japan, and information on tuxedos for Chihuahuas

Every few weeks my kids bug me to take them to the "ge-sen," or game center, and I give in and take them. Japanese video game arcades are fun, with lots of different things to do as long as you don't mind blowing $20 in a half an hour or so. In addition to the standard fighting, scrolling and sports-related games (which are always $1, and often $2, per play), there are usually some large-scale games that let you bang on Japanese taiko drums, play air guitar and even take a virtual dog for a walk. Lots of games are based on anime, like a Lupin the 3rd game in which you have to shoot fast to keep Inspector Zenigata from catching you, and a great driving game based on races from Initial D. My son and I have been hooked on a Gundam game in which you fight battles from the first two series, choosing any mobile suit you want. Gambling is a popular pasttime with adults, and many games give customers the thrill of betting on little mechanical horses that run around a track or let them put valueless tokens into slot machines. Japanese arcades are also well stocked with "UFO Catcher" machines, a.k.a. crane games with prizes you can grab, as well as Puri-kura, the "print club" machines that take your picture and print it on a sheet of stickers for you. It's common to find off-color games in arcades, too, like 1-on-1 video mahjong against a pretty anime girl.

As the number of children in Japan decreases, more and more people are turning to pets for companionship, especially dogs. Japan has been in the middle of a boom in "brand dogs" for the past few years, with famous breeds like Welsh Corgi, Shiba Inu and Miniature Dachshund commanding $1000 and up in pet stores. When high-interest finance company Aiful made a TV commercial about a man who needed to borrow money so we could buy a little dog tuxedo for his Chihuahua to attend his daughter's wedding, there was a huge explosion in Chihuahuas in Japan, and now you see them everywhere. The Groomy plush pets that J-List sells are a direct result of the popularity of dogs in Japan.

J-List brings you a little piece of Japan every month in the form of our revolving magazine subscriptions for popular anime, fashion, toy beautiful idol and other magazines from Japan. We're adding to our already excellent selection of subscription items, including SHOXX, a beautiful magazine devoted to Japan's "visual rock" bands with lots of great photography in every issue; Tokyo Journal, an avante-garde English magazine of life and culture in Tokyo; and Kateigaho ("Home Art Report"), a fabulous English monthly that captures the world of traditional art and culture for non-Japanese readers. When you subscribe to these magazines, we'll send you the current issue as it comes in, until you tell us to stop sending them to you.

Here are today's "really cool products" that I thought were especially noteworthy. Note: the J-List links below may be for adult products and should probably be considered "not safe for work." To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Sola Aoi in Doll House. Sola Aoi (aka Aoi Sola, aka Aoi Sora -- we hate the fact that there are so many ways to write her name) is just about the most popular adult film star in Japan. This is a rather interesting photobook which postulates, what if you had a little Aoi Sora in a doll house that you can watch all the time. Those Japanese are so darned wacky ^_^
	Milfeulle Sakuraba Figure. In the old days, 1999 or so, the only figures that looked this good were really expensive, $200 and up, made of the real dealicate cold cast polystone stuff. Now they have improved the manufacturing methods so that soft vinyl looks as good. This is a great figure that comes with a stand.
	Sabra 005 Mar. 2005. Another issue of Sabra, and once again we're amazed at how unique the photograph is. Sabra has its own style that's as different from, say, what Eichi Publishing does as Urecco Gal is from the other magazines by Million. (Sometimes I think I know too much about Japanese skin mags.) Anyway, the photos are always slick as heck, and this magazine also has other information (like, a feature on the new Miata by Mazda, heh).
	Super Mario Magnets *2nd* . One of my favorite products of the past year has been the Mario Bros. dioramas (which are recreations of actual levels from the original Nintendo game), and these, "dot graphic" magnets of the elements from the game. They're cool, and you can put them on your fridge, on your clothes (with the metallic backs).
	Love Dreamer -- Mihiro. This is Mihiro's third release since she became a full adult star. I have been impressed with all of her works so far -- she's actually got an idea of who her fans are and how to keep her fans satisfied. If anyone remembers Chiasa Aonuma's awful move from nude model to actual adult actress, well, it was awful. She's really done well so far.
	SHOXX Reserve Subscription. We sell lots of differernt magazines at J-List, but this is the first all-JROCK magazine we've found. It's really good -- as always, we look for magazines with lots of big color art, since most of our customers can't read Japanese. If you like the colorful Japanese rock, which is known as "visual rock," this is somethiing you should consider getting.
	Kateigaho International Edition. This -- this! -- is a fantastic magazine we're carrying now as part of our regular reserve subscription model. It's big, perfect bound, has beautiful color pages featuring all manner of contemporary and traditional Japanese culture, and best of all, all the articles are in English. Put this on your coffee table and watch your reputation grow.