A small Okinawa town in Bolivia, Tomo gets a new car, and thoughts on luck in Japan

Hello from Japan. We've been having some off-and-on problems with the J-List server, which we've gotten under control again, we think. As before, if you ever experience slowness with the site, please try again shortly and it should work for you. We'll get this permanently fixed soon!

Okinawa is the southernmost prefecture in Japan, a volcanic atoll of small islands that fell under Japanese control in 1609 and became a modern prefecture in 1879. Although Okinawa is part of Japan today, it has a unique language and culture that's very different from the rest of the country. Surprisingly, Okinawa is also the name of a town in Bolivia, which was founded by 278 Okinawans who migrated there in the aftermath of World War II. The Okinawan islands were devastated during the war, and without prospects for work, many locals were forced to leave their homes forever and start new lives in South America. The original immigrants who founded the colony in Bolivia had to cut their way through dense jungle, and many died from local diseases, but they eventually prospered. Tens of thousands of Japanese made their way to countries like Bolivia, Peru and Brazil at different times during the 20th century, and there are sizable minority populations of nikkei (Japanese-descended) people throughout South and Central America. Japanese immigration law grants special visa status to people with Japanese ancestry who want to come work in Japan.

Tomo is a happy man today -- he'll finally get the Mazda RX-8 he ordered a month ago. The way new cars are sold in Japan is quite different from the U.S.: instead of going through third party dealers, most every new car is sold through a showroom operated by each auto manufacturer, such as Toyota's Netz and Nissan's Blue Stage showrooms, located in each city. If you've ever bought a Saturn, all of this might sound familiar to you, since GM based the brand directly on this Japanese model. In Japan, rather than choose a car from the dealer's stock, you order your car new, and they make it in the factory and deliver it to you in a month or so. This insures that you get exactly the car you want, and you also get to enjoy the anticipation of waiting for your car to come, which really is fun. Like most Japanese, Tomo went out of his way to ensure that he received his car on a lucky day. The old lunar calendar used by Japan featured weeks with six days, and the Japanese believe that some days are inherently lucky or unlucky. The six days are Taian (the luckiest day, most weddings and construction groundbreaking ceremonies are held on this day), Butsumetsu ("Day of Buddha's Death," very unlucky), Senpu (the afternoon is lucky), Tomobiki (never have a funeral on this day, or it will cause bad luck for everyone who attends), Sensho (a good day to do something on the spur of the moment), and Shakko (an all-around unlucky day, except for an hour around lunchtime).

Halloween is coming, and J-List always has lots of amazing and unique items to make your cosplay complete this year. In addition to some new costume and masks we're posting today, we've got fresh stock of other great items, like our Hello Kitty kigurumi (full head) mask, our silly Hello Kitty bonnet and more.

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.

	Hello Kitty Mask - Kigurumi Mask. Kigurumi, if you don't know, means a mask that you put over your head, which enables you to totally become the person in the mask. You can become Hello Kitty in our popular rubber full-head mask!
	Dengeki G's Magazine June 2005. Dengeki G's is a great magazine dedicated to one thing -- beautiful anime characters. Each issue focuses on characters in anime, comics and games, with a heavy dose of moe (mo-AY). It's a PG rated magazine so everyone can enjoy it.
	Naruto Ningyo-Shu 6 -- Full Set (Set of 10). Another set of excellent Naruto figures, all the characters from the show are represented in this full set. Display them in your room!
	Akogare no Sailor Uniform -- Cosplay Set. While this is not nearly as nice as the authentic sailor uniforms by Matsukameya that we sell, it is a nice costume that will get you some laughs this Halloween.
	Darth Vader (EP3 Ver) Figure -- Kotobukiya 1/7 Star Wars Figure. A really, really cool Darth Vader figure by ArtFX, it's also really, really big -- the box is gigantic! Snap the pre=painted vinyl model together and you've got a display that is instantly impressive...most impressive.
	Wanroom -- Denwan ~ Telephone. This joke is rather deep, actually. This is the Wanroom series by San-X, the "anti-Sanrio" in Japan. Wan means "woof" in Japanese, so you've got that cute action going there. In addition, this cute plush phone is called Denwan, which is what litttle kids say when they try to say denwa (telephone), adding a layer of cuteness.
	Nyanko Cell-phone Puppet Cleaner -- Apple. Another so-cute-you-might-just-die item from San-X, this is a little plush phone strap that you can use to clean the gunk off your phone. Plus it makes a dandy finger puppet.
	The Debutant! ~ Shinjin ~ Ai Hanzawa. You and I know that a debutant is not someone who is debuting at something, but don't tell the Japanese that. In this magazine + DVD series you can see girls who are performing for the first time on camera. A nice mix of shyness and natural eroticism can be found with the lovely Ai Hanzawa.
	Jizou Mask. In Japan, there are little stone statues by the side of the road which are called jizou, and they're basically little Buddha protector spirits for children, I do believe. This is a cute item -- a rubber mask that lets you be a Buddha statue!
	Japanese Dictionary: Learning Language The Fun Way. Not all dictionaries are good for foreigners to use when learning, because looking up a word only to have the explanation be a kanji you can't read is just no fun. This learner's dictionary solves this by giving you the hiragana readings for all kanji, along with many other fun activities.

More pictures from my trip to Baltimore. My stepmother lives in a fabulous house on the Severn River, which presents you with this fabulous view as you take your morning coffee.

Of course, while I was back there I paid my respects to my father, who passed away in 1997. Peter Payne was an engineer who built very fast and efficient boats, and he wrote several books about how waves exert force on boat hulls. I couldn't begin to understand the concepts ^_^

If you're ever in Severna Park, Gary's Grill is a very nice place to eat.

This was something I saw in a mall we went to. It's a stuffed cat that never needs to be fed, which is nice. But when you pick it up, it's like, dead cat!

Funkadelic walkway in O'Hare.