All about Japanese TV, the fun of variety shows, and respect I've gained for American medicine

One of the fun things about living in Japan is getting to watch Japanese television. There are 5 national television networks in Japan, NTV, Fuji TV, TBS, TV Asahi, and TV Tokyo, and most viewers enjoy a variety of entertainment from these five channels. Our family watches news (Newsstation 23, World Business Satellite), dramas (my wife is watching the current Fuji drama with heart throb Mokomichi Hayami), sports (my wife's father watches baseball every day, and sumo when it's on), and anime (we never miss Sazae-san on Sunday nights). In addition to the traditional TV stations, there are upstart satellite broadcasting networks like SkyPerfectTV, which carries American programming like CNNj and Fox Japan (for fans who can't wait for the latest episodes of 24 to show up at the DVD rental shop).

A big staple of Japanese television is the variety show, which by definition features a wide variety of subjects, from asking non-bilingual Japanese to answer questions in broken English while a translation of what they're really saying appears on the screen, to shows that challenge people to live for a month on just $100, to "truth or dare" contests where they make popular actresses get into a bathtub of very-hot water for 30 seconds. Often these variety shows go for shock value, like the show I caught that made swimsuit idol Otoha climb to the highest point of the the 509-meter tall Tapiei 101 Tower in Taiwan -- on the outside of the building. Another show offered to grant wishes sent in by viewers, as long as they were interesting. One boy said he'd always wanted to take a bath in a giant vat of caramel custard pudding (aka flan), so the producers got a hundred volunteers from his town to prepare it for him; but in the end, the boy decided he didn't want to jump into the custard since everyone had worked so hard to make it, so they all ate it instead. Another man had always wanted to fly while holding helium balloons, but it takes hundreds of balloons to lift a man off the ground. The show constructed a giant net for him to wear on his back then filled it with balloons until he was able to "fly" 10 cm off the ground, finally fulfilling his dream. Variety shows like to capture bizarre moments of kawaii too, like when one show dressed cute-as-a-button Yuko Ogura as a baby seal took her to the polar bear tank at the zoo. The results were pretty hilarious -- see the video here (Windows Media required)

No matter how much I like living in Japan, there's just no replacement for good old American medicine when I'm sick, and whenever I go back the the States I always pick up Nyquil, Advil, Alka-Seltzer and other medicines I think I might need back in Japan. While my wife usually prefers Japanese medicine -- which is usually too weak for my big gaijin body -- she's starting to see the benefits of the stronger American remedies. Last month when she caught a head cold, she didn't waste any time asking me for "the strong stuff," and she was on her feet in no time. In addition to U.S. medicines being stronger than their Japanese counterparts, there's another difference: Japanese medicine bottles aren't required to have child-proof caps on them. As a result, Japanese almost never know how to open a child-proof cap, and I usually have to step in and help my wife when she's trying to get the bottle open.

When my children were small my mother bought us a book we've come to value a lot: Japanese Children's Favorite Stories, which contains English versions of all the famous children's stories that Japanese know, like Momotaro (Peach Boy) and the Old Man who made the Flowers Bloom. Happily, we've got this excellent book in stock in San Diego, and I heartily recommend it to all parents who want to treat their kids to some great stories from Japan. The book even comes with an audio CD, too!

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.

	Tattoo Girls Design Book vol. 2. Tatttoos are cool, and very popular in Japan. Here's a book that shows you great pictures of what kinds of tattoos are being done in Japan, with large color photos in case you want to copy some of the work. Best of all, you get tattoos designed by the likes of Junko Mizuno, dude!
	His-and-Hers Sake Set. Here's a nice item, a sake bottle w/ two cups for couples. A unique wedding gift from Japan, or just somethiing cool to drink with your SO with.
	Jumping Totoro. A cool item, this is a wind-up jumping Totoro kind of like those cool wind-up toys from the 70s.
	Hitomi 1/5 Scale Painted Figure. This is just about the coolest figure we've seen all year, It's a replica of a popular H manga by Hitoshi Kino, from a few years back.
	Deep Diva EX Nude Mix from Diva -- Mihiro, Nana Natsume, Naho Ozawa, Akiho Yoshizawa. A superb item from the Diva people, this is a collection of nude photos of four JAV stars, including Mhiro and Nana Natsume, which put this photobook over the top right there.
	Max Cafe All Stars!!. Just when you thought you'd seen enough of the Max-A waitress fetish girls, here's another DVD featuring the best moments of the series, with one scene from each girl. Zowie.
	"No Shoes" Sign -- Vertical. I don't know about you, but the idea of wearing shoes inside a house, especially on carpeting, was a little odd to me even before I spent 14 years in Japan. Here's a sign that reminds (Japanese bilingual) visitors to remove their shoes.
	Kitty Japanese Doll -- Sakura Bana *Japanese Cherry Blossom* ~ Kimono Style. We finally got the Hello Kitty Kimono Dolls in stock again -- yay! These are so nice we can't do them justice -- very beautifully made, with real ceramic and wood frames, and they come in protective/decorative boxes as well.
	R2-D2 Microroid -- Remote Control ~ Star Wars. Wouldn't it be cool if you could pull out a remote control and make your R2-D2 Star Wars figure move? Well, now you can with this excellent toy from Tomy. It's even compatible with the standard size figures!
	Face Shootings -- Yuria Hidaka (region 2). "In the end, it's all about the face with women," says the cover of this DVD, and it sounds like they're talking about what her face looks like. Turns out, it's something totally different.
	Beautiful Leg OL's Fetish Life. A nice leg fetish DVD from Shinkosha, the people who pretty much own the "mind share" of Japanese leg fetishists and all that. This is not bad at all.
	Japanese Children's Favorite Stories CD Book1 ~ Book 1 With CD. This, this is a great book, which has been one of our favorites for a long time. It's a collection of really excellent Japanese children's stories, but translated into English.
	Yumisuke Kotoyoshi Presents MIDARA. In addition to the excellent Comic AG hentai manga magazine, they're bringing out the best English translated mangas every seen, in large trade paperback format too. Very nice!