Cold and snow in Japan, the Japanese vs Albert Einstein, and Japanese studying "best practices"

Hello from freezing, windy Japan! The country has been hit by a cold front of Siberian winds that have chilled the entire nation. As usual, the snow in Japan falls mainly on the Sea of Japan side, and people on the side of the country facing Korea and China are buried in white, while those of us on the other side of the Japan Alps merely get a lot of cold, biting wind. Lucky us.

The Japanese love it when famous foreigners come to Japan, and it's always a big deal when top stars like Tom Cruise or Keanu Reeves or "Bra-Pii" visits to promote their latest film. But this is not a new phenomenon -- back in the 1920s, another famous man visited the country, creating quite a stir at the time. The man was Albert Einstein, and he had been invited to hold a series of lectures on General Relativity so that the Japanese could understand his theories. Everywhere Einstein went he was followed by reporters and fawning fans, and he stayed many months here, traveling all around the country and sharing his thoughts with leading Japanese scientists. He also schlepped around the Kyoto area, enjoying traditional ryokan inns and feeding the deer in Nara, just like so many other gaijin have done since. He was also fascinated in the physics behind the nightingale floors in Nijojo Castle in Kyoto, which are designed to squeak when walked on so that ninja couldn't sneak into the castle. The Japanese really appreciate humility in a person, and this feature was more than abundant in Mr. Einstein, part of the reason for his great popularity here.

School has ended for my son, and he's been working on his winter vacation homework, since Japanese kids always get assignments over long breaks to keep them from going baka. Although I'd be dishonest if I said I liked everything about Japan's education system -- I really dislike the idea that there's only one correct way to approach any problem, and there's still not enough tolerance for people like my daughter who don't fit the standard mold of what a Japanese student is supposed to be -- all in all I am impressed with the quality of education my kids are getting here. I've noticed some "best practices" that the Japanese put into effect to make education more effective. For starters, the importance of benkyo (studying) is taught at a very early age, and when students start the first grade parents buy them a special study desk of their very own, a good way to set the tone for the next nine years of compulsory education. The Japanese use many tricks and rhymes to help them remember things like the names of the planets in our Solar System or the first 20 digits of pi, and my wife can recite more than half the periodical table of elements because of memory tricks like this she used when she was small. One of these tricks involves changing how their numbers are pronounced in order to make them easier to say quickly, which helps Japanese children memorize their timestables, although it adds a layer of difficulty for American fathers wanting to help their kids with their studies.

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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.

	Akarui Hadaka Trio ~ Bright Nude Trios ~ Kishin Shinoyama). If you buy no other erotic photobook this year...buy this one! This is the excellent stylized nude photography that we've come to call Japanese Girls in Underoos, and we like it a lot. Damn, these girls are the most amazing doll-like little things I've ever seen. Such puri puri!
	Group Hypnotism Convention 3. Nice wacky new kikaku (concept) DVD, this is the third Group Hypnotism Convention, one of the wildest and most thought provoking titles in years (provoking thoughts like, what the hell are these girls agreeing to this?).
	Gothic Lolita & Punk Brand Book. Popular book that's basically a complete catalog of all that's cool in the gothic & lolita world, with tons of outfits, accessories, hair and make items and more.
	A Girl Like You ~ Kimi ni Naritai. In this photobook, Japanese master photographer Masafumi Sanai captures the everyday loveliness of 40 gorgeous girls from Tokyo and all around Japan. Excellent shots that show you not only the beauty of the models, but the amazingly unique scenes from Japan and more.
	Swim -- Kaori. This is Kaori, a girl who I like a lot because she was such a groundbreaking idol (one of the first giri giri non-nude idols). She is really lovely in her new photobook. The only drawback is that a generic name like Kaori is all but impossible to search for ^_^
	Yha! Hip and Lip Jan. 2006. New issue of Hip & Lip, which is a good magazine that combines live action photography and manga. Each issue has managed to get better than the last.
	STRIPPER -- Nana Natsume & Kurumi Morishita. This looks like a normal DVD starring Nana Natsume and Kurumi Morishita. But it's much more -- it's a sign of naka-naori (peace) between Soft on Demand and director Tohjiro's lavel Dogma, which split from SOD group over creative issues. See the icon of SOD and of Dogma go down on each other, and much more.
	Genki I ~ An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese 1 ~ Student CD (2 CDs). Study Japanese with the popular Genki textbook series, the #1 selling study aid at J-List. This is the student CD that goes with it, very good!
	Oyako Donburi. J-List now carries some Japanese bishoujo games, which are actual Japanese games in their large boxes for fans who want to give them a spin. Great for students of Japanese, or general hentai types. Note that we have just one copy of each game, so we recommend you hurry if you see something you like. Also note that the games are in Japanese so they're recommended for more advanced fans or students.
	Shadow Creeper Action Figure -- Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. I have to say, I was impressed with FF7AC, but sadly, I've never played the game, so the nuances of what it means for Aeris to come back like that. Anyway, here's a cool toy.
	Big Totoro Plush -- S ~ Light Grey. Nice Totoro plush. This is just about the right size for hugging or holding, and since it's by Sun Arrow, it goes without saying that it's very well made (my daughter still has some of the Totoros I've given her as a baby).
	Choro Q -- Knight Rider KITT. Really cool Choro-Q item: K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider! Yes, it's a little "super deformed" car from everyone's favorite 80s show.
	Meiji Rich Fran -- Green Tea. Meiji Fran is the number 2 stick snack in Japan, after Pocky, of course. In a way, I like their approach better sometimes -- the stick itself is chocolate, and they have (in the "rich" version) two coatings of chocolate. This version has vanilla white chocolate with macadamia nuts and green tea on the outside, that's so creamy you can really taste the matcha powder. Yum.
	Lucky Cat Face Key Chain --White. A nice Lucky Cat keychain, similar to the ones we posted last week. This one is white.
	DX Jar Style Sake Server (720ml) & 2 Cups Set. A really big sake server that you can heat, to serve up some hot sake for your sake drinking enjoyment. Also holds more mundane things like iced tea.