Japan as the land of contradictions, the benefits of teaching ESL, and our Mona Neko T-shirts

Japan is nothing if not a land of contradictions, where you can connect to the Internet via a high speed cellular connection while speeding on a fast shinkansen, and yet there are still fish-sellers who ride around on bicycles selling fish to households door-to-door, where technology is embraced while traditions, even stupid ones like the guy coming to each house in our neighborhood to collect our 2000 yen NHK fee every month, are preserved. I always enjoy making trips to Tokyo, where you can see an incredible range of on the train with you: the salaryman, the teenager rapidly thumbing her keitai (portable phone), high school girls talking in their own world...and then a gothic lolita, a cute girl wearing a 19th century maid uniform, staring out the window as she waits for her stop. I thought Japan was supposed to be famous for conformity? I guess I don't have this place figured out yet...

If you ever want to learn a subject well, I recommend you try teaching it. When I came to Japan to teach English as a Second Language, I had no idea how much of my own language I didn't understand, and yet in order to do right by my students I had to learn. For better or worse, the Japanese usually study English with a focus on grammar and vocabulary, since that's what appears on university entrance exams (none of this namby-pamby "communicative" English for them, thanks). When a student asks why an infinitive verb (futeishi) is used in a particular sentence instead of a gerend (domeishi), you want to give him an answer more substantive than "it just sounds better that way." One especially difficult part of English are two-word verbs like "take out" "take off" "take over" and so on. Why does "throw up" mean something different from "throw out"? My time as a teacher gave me a lot of respect for anyone who can tackle something as difficult as English, with its dizzying mix of cris- crossing rules and exceptions.

The Japanese have really embraced online culture, as seen by the grown of mammoth communities like famous 2ch BBS (pronounced "ni channel"). In addition to spawning the true story of Densha Otoko, in which an geeky otaku found love with a beautiful woman by asking for advice from readers of the BBS, 2ch is also a popular place for ASCII-art creation, the most famous being the Mona Neko cats. Mona Neko (whose name comes from the Japanese phrase Omae mo na! or "The same to you!" used in online flame wars on 2ch) and his friends have become such a popular symbol of Internet culture in Japan, we decided to make some wacky T-shirts as a tribute, which are on the site now: an image of the Mona Neko cats drinking their sake (they love sake), and a fun tribute to "panchira" (which all men love, whether they admit it or not) Be sure to check out the wacky Japanese Numa Numa video here, with attempts at matching the words with Japanese meanings, here. (It's really cool, I watch this silly thing a few times a day.)

One of the most anticipated snack treats from Japan is finally here: the delicious winter-only Melty Kiss, delicious fudge cubes coated with cocoa powder that are heavenly to eat. The name is also one of the most bizarre and fun bits of wasei eigo (lit. "made in Japan English"), capturing the image of a warm stolen kiss with snow falling all around you. We've got all three flavors for 2005 in stock: Precious Cocoa, Matcha (Green Tea) and Strawberry!

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.

	2006 Calendar - STUDIO GHIBLI (No Tube). Always the best-selling calendar at J-List, this it the 2006 Studio Ghibli calendar which we got restocked today. The cool thing about this is, all the illustrations are original and new every year -- they provide a window into Mr. Miyazaki's mind that no other product can offer.
	iPod nano Leather Case -- Matte Black. Another case for the iPod nano, sold by Elecom, the top electronics maker in Japan. I happen to have a 5th gen iPod but I more than half wish I had a nano when I look at this case.
	Nintendo Controller Alarm Clock w/ Rapid-Fire Game. Is this cool, or what? An alarm clock shaped like an original Nintendo controller. Comes with a game you can play!
	The Weeding Wife ~ Shitagariya. Excellent manga by Kagura Yutakamaru, whose works are featured quite prominently in the AG comics.
	Dix-Neuf Buster Machine -- Top wo Nerae 2! ~ Reach for the Top! 2 Gunbuster. Among other things, I am a fan of all things Gainax. Gunbuster, aka Aim for the Top, was one of the best anime series ever. This is the Buster Machine Dix-Neuf from Aim for the Top 2! which no one has seen, but I love it so much I decided to carry the Dix-Neuf mech anyway.
	Japanese T-shirt - Mona Neko Trio - Standard Men's. Nice shirt design featuring the Mona Neko cats, who started out as ASCII creations but were so nicely animated here that we decided to make some cool T-shirts based on these characters.
	Japanese T-shirt - Girl & Mona Neko Cats - Standard Men's. Another Mona shirt. "Panchira" is the quick glimpse of a girl's panties, and of course this is one of the coolect things in the universe. Am I right, guys?
	Tempura Onigiri Nyanko Plush -- Tenpura & Onigiri. In case you don't have enough cute stuff in your life, here's a plush tempura shrimp kitty rice ball from San-X.
	To Heart Collection Figures -- Full Set + Rare Item *Set of 7*. Another special item, these are the figures from the To Heart anime series, which started out as a really killer "H" game by the way. Try to get anyone to admit to that now.
	Hello Kitty Stamp ~ "Geishun" (Happy New Year) w/Fujiyama - Blue Ink. New Year's Day is very big in Japan, and stamps for making New Year's Cards (nengajo) are always a hit at J-List. We've got the traditional as well as the cute this year.
	DEEPS Employee's Female Dormitory. Another "female employee" offering from Deep's, which will show you the secret sex lives of the girls who work at the company. Uh-huh.
	Meiji Melty Kiss -- Matcha (Green Tea). Melty Kiss is here! Up there with "crunky" and "mapple" as the strangest product names in Japan, Melty Kiss is a delicious kiss of melty fudge to warm your winter heart.
	Comic AG Super Erotic Manga Anthology vol. 23. Surprise! A new issue of AG, the English translated manga of art, sex and CG culture, lovingly published by Icarus Comics. By the way, if you're looking for back issues, we've got handy discount sets for you.
	Kitty Christmas Ornament ~ Candy Stick. We have more Christmas ornaments for you featurng Hello Kitty. So cute!
	B2UP - Bust Up Gum. By customer request, we've got more Bust Up Gum on the site -- and this time, it's in stock in San Diego, so the shipping is a lot cheaper. Enjoy some bust up gum today!