Halloween in Japan, some funny Japanese English words, and all about Daylight Savings Time

Happy Halloween from all of us at J-List. Yesterday was the big Halloween Party at my son's experimental elementary school, where 70% of the classes are taught in English although the school itself follows the standard Japanese curriculum. Despite the fact that all the students are Japanese and Halloween is a very foreign idea here (the Japanese love of cosplay notwithstanding), it was a big success, and all the kids had fun dressing up in various costumes. When my kids were younger, we made a special trip to the U.S. in October so they could experience an American-style Halloween, and they just loved it. Somehow the school managed to rustle up some orange pumpkins (which are usually hard to find in Japan, as the Japanese idea of a pumpkin is green and squash-shaped) and the kids got to carve them. My son smelled that oddly sweet smell of candle-burning- pumpkin-flesh and declared that this smelled like America to him (kind of like the smell of Mr. Bubble bubble bath). I'm happy to report that my son, who was dressed as Obi Wan Kenobi, won the award for best hand-made costume.

Language is a fluid thing, and every country makes use of words that suit its particular needs and sensibilities. Often I've encountered "English" words in Japan which didn't make any sense to me for one reason or another, and it took me a while to remap the words in my mind. A person's fanny will often be referred to as the hip in Japan, while a woman who is well-endowed is called glamor (guramaa), which always sounded like the word grammar to my ear (quite unrelated). Like the British, the Japanese use the word "muffler" to describe what you wear around your neck to keep warn in the winter, what I'd always called a scarf. If it's hot out, you turn on the cooler (also known as aircon), and if you need to dial a # key on your phone, be sure and hit the "sharp" button (as in musical notation). When reaching for a screwdriver, you can choose between minus (regular) or plus (Phillips), which is quite logical, really. If you park your car so that it blocks your neighbor's driveway, he might come over and claim (kureemu) -- somehow the English word claim shifted slightly in meaning, so that it now refers to verbally complain about something. A mansion is Japanese-English for an apartment or condominium that is owned, not rented. And if you practice dema you are spreading lies about someone (from the English word "demagogery").

If you're in North America you probably set your clock an hour back on Sunday. Most people grumble about having to remember to set their clocks forward and back in the spring and autumn, this isn't a problem in Japan, the only industrialized country that has not adopted the Daylight Savings Time system in one form or another. Instead, we have to deal with the other extreme -- if I stay up past 3 a.m. watching Japan's bizarre late-night TV, I often have to fall asleep while ignoring the sun lightening the sky outside, which isn't much fun.

Calendar season is in full swing at J-List, and we've currently got over 200 great 2006 Japanese anime, JPOP, bikini idol, sports, and other calendars on the site. As usual, this year the anime calendars lead the pack, with the always popular Studio Ghibli 2006 Calendar (which includes twelve fabulous *all original* illustrations from Hayao Miyazaki's films) again our top seller. Other hit anime calendars this year are Mahou Teacher Negima, Howl's Moving Castle, and all the Naruto calendars. On the JPOP scene, Gackt is in the top spot, followed by Aya Ueto, and the always-cute Morning Musume. For our "beautiful women of Japan" category, Idols in Kimono is the surprise hit, followed closely by Yuko Ogura, Reon Kadena and Misaki Itoh. Finally, our "impressions of Japan" calendar category are very popular this year -- top sellers are Japanese Heritage (traditional scenes of Japanese culture), Haruyo Morita's amazing contemporary kimono girls, and Garden of Four Seasons and Castles of Japan.

Remember, you can easily check the top J-List products using any RSS reader via our XML/RSS feed, which is a very handy way to watch your favorite websites to see when they've been updated. The links to the J-List/JBOX feeds are along the left side of the screen.

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.

	Domo-kun Stuffed Toy -- Large. This is the "really big" Domo-kun, as in, the one that's so big, most kids can't even pick it up. It's a great large sized plush that will forever change whatever room you put it in. Back in stock!
	Dengeki Layers vol. 7. The new issue of Dengeki Layers, the popular magazine for all fans of cosplay in all its many forms. Filled with example pictures of really good Japanese anime costumes, for all fans.
	P:Chara -- The King of Fighters ~ Pinky Street. A new set of Pinky:St., aka Pinky Street, characters from King of Fighters. I am really fllored by how good these look, and hope we see more similar items in the future!
	Miniature Shuki Set -- Tokkuri & Ochoko. This is a miniature sake set that you can enjoy making atsukan -- that is, heated sake drank hot -- with. Looks very nice, too.
	Pop Palvo Mouse -- Astro Black *Medium* ~ Elecom. A really nice mouse series from Elecom, one of Japan's top computer peripheral makers. These mice are very nicely detailed, are just the right size, come in many colors, and don't need drivers with Mac OS X or Windows.
	Shall We Do Cos & Fetish Play? ~ Cosfechi Play wo Meshiagare. A nice new manga from Hiroshi Kodaira, this is sort of Halloween themed because of the costume aspect (well, I admit that I'm probably stretching this point a bit). This is a darned nice H manga.
	Charm -- Sayuri Anzu. Sayuri Anzu is a startlingly beautiful model from Japan, one of those women who looks better in a cowboy hat than Roy Orbison. Enjoy her new photobook.
	Muse ~ Megami -- Yume Kotoku. Another nice photobook from Japan, this is the great hardcover offering of 19 year old Yume Kotoku. Her glossy photobook is really beautiful to look at.
	More and More -- Sola Aoi (Sora Aoi) with DVD 90 min. Aoi Sora is one of the top adult video idols in Japan becasuse she's so beautiful, yet is pure and simple in a girl-next-door type of way. I wish I had her in my ESL class back when I was teaching English. I'd really work on her oral skills.
	Air Crunky Chocolate -- Green Tea. If the term "Crunky" doesn't drive you a little bit insane, congratulations. This is Air Crunky, that is, Lotte's chocolate that's"puffed" with rice inside, so it's sort of like Nestle Crunch. Only it's green, since this is green tea chocolate instead of regular chocolate.
	Dokodemo Issho Rubick's Cube Mascot *Green*. Dokodemo Issyo, which means Always With You, is a popular Sony character from some of their Playstation games. Now it's a phone strap, which comes with a really spiffy Rubik's Cube too.
	Z Gundam 1 ~ A New Translation - Zeta Gundam First Movie. Ah, a great item for old school Gundam fans -- the first Zeta Gundam movie, which tells the first third of the best story of the famous Sunrise series. You will love breathing in the new character designs!

Son hanging out with his friends

Pretty pathetic haul by American standards. I told the kids there how I used to take a pillow cover and fill it with candy, since it was the only thing sturdy enough to avoid ripping.

Kazuki won the contest for best hand-made costume!

Wow, what a great costume, I thought, seeing this mother with a Thing 1 shirt on. I am a bit Seuss fan. Sadly, it was just a shirt she bought somewhere.

Sometimes a single TV commercial can make long-term waves in Japan's culture. These horses are a reference to a TV commercial for some product (I can't remember what it was) that showed back in 2001 or so. They look really good...