Japan's latest boom: Akiba-kei, Otaku Culture and "Densha Otoko"

Japan is the land of the "boom" and every year something new seems to come out of left field and become really popular here. One of the keywords for 2005 so far has been Akiba-kei, which literally means "related to Akihabara" and refers to Tokyo's mecca for electronics and, increasingly, for general otaku culture. "Otaku" are people who love anime and manga, can appreciate beauty in a bishoujo game character (the dating-sims that J-List sells), and may know something about the subtleties of maid uniforms. As Akihabara has lost its importance as the place to buy electronics in Tokyo, it's been morphing into a haven for fans of doujinshi (Japan's famous amateur comics), high-end anime shops and maid cafes, where beautiful girls in Gothic maid costumes will bring you coffee. It seems everywhere you turn these days, people in Japan are talking about good, wholesome geek culture.

Part of the reason for this new interest in otaku-dom is the hit drama Densha Otoko, or Train Man, the story of an introverted man who loves anime and video games. When he saves a beautiful woman from a drunkard on a train, she shows her thanks by giving him an expensive Hermes tea set. He's smitten by her beauty, but too shy to do anything about it, so he goes online and asks for help on a popular Internet BBS. Before long, their budding love is being followed by a million otaku throughout Japan who take part in the discussions about their relationship. The drama, which is a few episodes from its end, is based on a true story -- a real member of the popular Japanese BBS 2ch did find love by getting help from thousands of otaku. The show is incredibly popular, commanding upwards of 20% of viewers here.

Otaku culture has also made its mark on a popular Japanese television show, TV Champion, which normally challenges teams of artists to create amazing works out of trash, or design sprawling creations using legos, or bake cakes in the shape of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. This week's episode was Akiba-kei all the way, though, with geeky contestants doing things like listening to clips from anime and identifying who the voice actor/actress was, answering obscure trivia about anime, and dressing normal Tokyo girls up like their favorite anime characters. In the end, the contestant with the most votes was awarded the title "King of Otaku."

We've got a new announcement for fans of our English-translated PC dating-sim games: many titles are now available via Internet download! Now you have a choice when you purchase selected G-Collections games, ordering them on CD-ROM as you've always done, or downloading the new Download Editions. As always, CD-ROM versions will be standard packaged games that you can install in your PC normally. The Download Editions make use of Virtual Mate 2.0, which is an updated activation system that requires an Internet connection when you load the game. G-Collections has worked hard to improve V-Mate with the new version -- you get a license to install on up to five computers, with the ability to manually "de-register" a machine, for when you upgrade to a new computer. Best of all, V-Mate is optional, since you can opt to buy the full CD-ROM version instead which has no internet connection requirement. There are currently fourteen games available for download.

The availability of the new download versions means that several of the popular games we've been out of stock of for a while are available again, including The Sagara Family, Come See Me Tonight, and Do You Like Bunnies? 2. All are on the site and available for immediate purchase as download versions (and the Virtual Mate-free CD-ROMs will be posted as soon as they're back from the duplicators).

J-List customers tell us that the #1 way they hear about J-List is through word-of-mouth. We're very glad to hear this, and we're always happy to have you recommend J-List to your friends! If you've got a friend who might be interested in our unique brand of Japanese pop culture, why not tell them about J-List, or ask them to sign up to our J-List updates? Thanks!

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.

	Studio Ghibli Collection III ~ Kiki's Delivery Service Figure . Today, I'm going to throw up some random products that we've got in our database. This is one I've always liked, a PVC figure of Kiki on her broom from one of Hayao Miyazaki's master works.
	High School Uniform Top (Summer type, short sleeve). J-List is fortunate to be able to sell the high quality high school uniforms made by Matsukameya of Nagoya, which are individually made to your size specifications. Since they don't speak English, we handle their ordering for them.
	Do You Like Horny Bunnies 2? ~ H na Bunny wa Kirai?!. Now that J-List has announced downloadable games again, this title is suddenly back in stock (even though we're reprinting the CD-ROM now, since it was so popular we sold out during the summer cons). A very nice game with cute bunny girls.
	Kitty Kimono Frame with Sensu *Sakura*. What is more Japanese than Hello Kitty? Hello Kitty wearing a kimono, and here's a very popular ceramic wall frame that you can display in any room.
	Replicant vol. 18. I'm a big fan of the anime figures made in Japan. Since it's quite hard to get all the cool figures you want, as they're darned hard to find (and many are hand-painted garage kits), I make do by collecting (and selling) books like Replicant, Figure Maniacs and so on.
	Pick Me Honey!. Here is a "new" cover for Pick Me Honey, a modification of the Japanese cover (which needed some, ah, covering). I really like the way the new cover game out. This fun game is also available by download.
	Japanese Setta -- Black Hanao ~ Rubber Cushioned Sole ~ Large Size. More Japanese setta, basically sandals made out of wara and very traditional looking. These are nice and big, for large feet.
	Poop Mascot -- Set of 5 ~ Unchi Slimy. Looking for something cute? Here's a bunch of a rubber poop mascots, little poops in different colors who want to cheer you up.
	Rei Ayanami Sports Figure -- Tennis. We love the post-Eva figures they keep on making, and this is one of the coolest -- Rei and Asuka after a game of tennis.
	Smart Girls Return. Smart Girls is a hard thing to pin down. Basically, it's a style and fashion magazine, mainly intended for chicks, which contains nudity in it. The photos are really amazing, some of the most stylish we've seen. We've come to call this style "Japanese girls in Underoos" since there are quite a few pictures of cute girls in the boy's underwear that are popular with girls here.
	2006 Calendar - Howl's Moving Castle ~ Hauru no Ugokushiro. I really enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle, although I wasn't familiar with the original work. This is the new calendar for 2006.

More in Akihabara, which is timely since I talked about it, above. There's a nice toy shop I found last time, which had these figures -- beautiful anime-fied versions of ANA stewardesses. Wow...

Time for lunch. There's nothing really good to eat in Akiba -- you'd think they'd have at least a Starbucks with all the google-eyed foreigners who go there. I went for beef bowl. Here it is before I poured raw egg all over it...

And here it is with the egg poured on. You need to do the egg or else it's too hard to eat the rice with chopsticks.

Back on my way to the embassy. This is some Japan Foundation official logo, which seemed incredibly cute to me.

Advertisement for promoting awareness of Heat Island Syndrome, a big problem in over-urbanized Tokyo in which all the asphalt and all the air conditioners cause a much higher temperature than would have occurred normally. Does anyone else think she looks like Aoi Sora? Maybe I've been doing this too long...

Finally, another ad I caught going for my train, featuring Chiaki Kuriyama. Man I love her, and am happy that she's been rewarded for her fame overseas with promotion deals. The girl next to her is Ryoko Shinohara, a former singer in the Komuro Family who sang the opening theme song to the Street Fighter II movie, which really ruled (I once rode my bicycle to no less than 11 shops to track that single down).

The Fall season in Japan, touching Japanese TV commercials, and a cosmic rule about pickles

Hello again from Japan. We're very sorry with the problems with the site after the last update -- we had reset the products on the server, but many of them had images that were missing throughout the site, causing them to fail to appear. Also, T-shirt sizes weren't being displayed, which caused some confusion. We're happy to report that everything's working again now.

Fall is coming to Japan, my favorite time of the year hands-down. Before long, the leaves will start to change to beautiful shades of red, yellow and brown in a beautiful display of colors second only to the cherry blossoms in April. The most popular tree in the autumn is the momiji-no-ki (紅葉の木）, or Japanese maple, with small, delicate leaves that are really beautiful. The changing of the leaves is called koyo (紅葉), and it's especially nice to head up to the mountains to enjoy the colors up close -- we often have barbeques up there with friends in October. The coming of Autumn is a chance for advertisers to sell products themed for the season, such as Kirin's season-limited Aki-Aji ("Taste of Autumn") beer, which is best enjoyed during an evening of tsukimi or moon-viewing. Autumn is also the season for school sports festivals, held from one end of Japan to the other. Kids run relays, perform synchronized dances, and generally celebrate sports while their parents look on with pride. Makers of home electronics don't miss the opportunity to sell sell video cameras to mothers and fathers who want to record these events for posterity. This year's Panasonic TV commercial is especially nice, capturing a bittersweet moment. See it here (Flash required).

While living in Japan is fun, there are an awful lot of things you have to learn to do without. The local version of peanut butter here is nothing like what's sold in the U.S., so when I run out of Skippy or Peter Pan at home, I have to learn to eat something else on my bread. Tortillas are very hard to find in Japan, and the closest thing to a burrito here are the Twisters at Kentucky Fried Chicken, which are actually not that bad as a substitute if you bring your own hot sauce. Other staples like Campbell's soup, macaroni and cheese and root beer are absent from an expat's life in Japan. For some cosmic reason, living in another country seems to make people yearn for the traditional pickles of their homeland. Although the Japanese have a long tradition of pickling vegetables (including making kim-chee, delicious Korean spicy pickles), they're not just a replacement for good, crunchy Vlassics that I am used to from home. Likewise, J-List's Daisuke (the guy who keeps us stocked with Domo-kun toys) tells me that when he was living in Chicago he yearned for various pickled Japanese foods, including ume-boshi, Japan's tart pickled plums. We've got some ume related products on the site for you if you want to try some.

J-List carries thousands of amazing and rare products from Japan, including a lot of cool traditional Japanese items that are hard to find outside of Japan. We've added a huge stock of our popular Japanese sandals, including "tatami" sandals (called zori in Japan) of various sizes, including our largest sandals for the guys. Come browse our great Japanese traditional footwear!

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.

	Multi Style. Another nice erotic manga, this book features very nice art by Ken Akamatsu that's really clean and pleasant to look at. It's a cosplay themed book.
	Asa Mizushima 1/8 PVC Figure -- Color of Sky Coler of Water ~ Solid Theater. Here's a nice prepainted figure featuring Asa Mizushima from Color of Sky, Color of Water, a bishoujo game and anime. Great imagery in this figure -- she seems to really come to life.
	Kiki's Delivery Service Mini Stamp Set -- Set of 4 ~ Pink. I've been a fan of Kiki's Delivery Service ever since I saw it back in 1990 (before I spoke Japanese, wow). Japan seems to be in a "Ghibli rubber stamp boom" right now, so here's a cool stamp set for Kiki fans.
	2006 Calendar -- Yoshitaka Amano. It's calendar time at J-List, which is why there are about 200 calendars on the site. One of our favorites every year is the Yoshitaka Amano calendar. The creator of Vampire Hunter D, he's also created art for Batman and Sandman, which was breathtaking to see.
	2006 Calendar -- Space Battleship Yamato (Star Blazers). Another oldie but a goodie, this is the 2006 Yamato (Star Blazers) calendar, filled with original art by Leiji Matsumoto -- a real treat! Yamato is one of the most important influences on me as a child, and helped put me on the road to Japan.
	Glasses Fetish Fuzoku. Another Japanese glasses fetish product for you, this brings you a fuuzoku (soapland, e.g. a place where you go buy services from pretty women) who all wear glasses.
	2006 Calendar - Totoro Desktop Calendar (No Tube). Another popular calendar evey year, this is the 2006 Totoro Desktop Calendar, which is really cool because you get a great original calendar to display all year -- and when the year is done, you have a fantastic picture stand to show off your kids!

My trip to Tokyo. I had to go to Tokyo to get something stamped in my passport. It was raining, since a typhoono (not named Katrina) was coming to the Kanto area for a visit. This is Akihabara, Japan's electronics mecca.

As a Mac user, I'm mildly insulted that Laoxx's old Mac-kan (Mac only store) has given way to a NTT DoCoMo store selling cell phones (and this is a 7 storey building selling nothing but phone stuff, wow.) Now the only place to buy Macs and get a good selection is Sofmap's store, located farther from the station (and thus, having lower status).

However, they had a big poster of the beautiful Chiaki Kuriyama, aka GoGo Yubari, so it was okay.

I'm sure an Apple store is coming to Akiba soon, but in the meantime, there's a Bose store that seems to be cut from the same cloth.

Japanese postal politics, all about Japanese political parties, and stupid jokes in Japanese

Hello again from J-List, your friend in Japan!

Well, the Japanese election is behind us, and it was a landslide for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Prime Minister Koizumi, who successfully chased the anti-reform Diet members from his party and got a mandate for change from the voters. It was a very interesting election in that it was a lot more "American" than those of the past -- the heads of each Japanese party campaigned directly to the people, presenting their ideas on the main issue at hand, the privatization of the Japanese post office along the lines of Japan's privatizing of the old national railroad system during the 1980s (which became the current six Japan Railroad companies). Japan is a parliamentary democracy based on the government of the U.K., with a Prime Minister elected by the party that holds the most seats in the Diet. Since the leaders are not chosen directly by the people, as in countries with presidential elections, it creates a different dynamic between the voters and the head honcho. This time around, there was the sense that people were voting for the leader directly, rather than just casting votes for their local representative in the Diet.

Now that the LDP has gotten the go-ahead, they'll be putting their plan to reform Japan's massive postal apparatus into action. The problem with Japan Post isn't how they deliver the mail, of course -- they're extremely polite and hardworking, and J-List wouldn't be able to function without the efforts of several post offices in our area. (J-List sends so many packages, we once received a special thank-you plaque presented by the director of the postal service.) The biggest problems with the post office are the convenient but unnecessary Kampo life insurance and postal savings accounts, which operate under different rules than private insurance companies and banks in Japan and which effectively keep the private sector on an inferior level compared to these government-backed enterprises. Japan could also afford to shed a few thousand of the 24,000 post offices that dot the country -- it'd ridiculous how many I pass when driving around my town. Maybe they can combine some of them and put some real parking lots in?

Japanese humor can be quite interesting, and watching anime can teach you some words and phrases that are fun to know. At the age of 37, I'm passed the oniisan phase and am well on my way to being a true ojisan (two words which mean older brother and uncle, respectively, but in more general context refer to young-ish men in their 20s and men starting their silver years). For whatever reason, middle-aged men in Japan make the stupidest puns, which are called dajare (dah-JAH-rey), but when I make puns my kids use the word dadajare, combining "dada" (Daddy) with dajare, which is rather deep as that's a dajare right there. Here are some stupid Japanese phrases you can use if you know any Japanese people. One comes from a commercial for Listerine which combined the English words "bye bye" with the word for bacteria (baikin) to make bye bye-kin (bai bai-KEEN) which caught on and was said by everyone for a while. Another involves a phrase you might have heard in anime, sonna bakana, which means "what a stupid..." and is said to express shock, but if you change it to sonna banana ("what a banana!") it's mildly amusing. (The word "banana" is pronounced in Japanese with the stress on the first syllable, e.g. BAH-na-na.)

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.

	Japan: Then and Now ~ Eigo de Kataru Nihonjijyo. I really don't know why but bilingual books (with Japanese on one side, English on the other) that give background details on various aspects of Japanese society, religeon, culture and travel are quite popular, and J-List has carried about ten of these books in the past two months or so. This one is very interesting, and if you're a student of either Japanese or English, it's useful to compare how ideas on one side are expressed on the other side.
	Swimming Suit Collection 4 Hours (2 Discs). Another fetish item from Japan, this is a collection of 4 hours of beautiful Japanese girls wearing swimsuits, and of course taking them off at some point. There's a good focus on famous swimsuits like those by Speedo, Mizuno, and others. Plus the girls are awfully cute.
	Howl's Moving Castle Stamp Set *B* -- Set of 4. We just love Howl's Moving Castle, and will be posting the DVD for preorder soon (we're waiting on the cover image). In the meantime, here's a really stylin' set of Howl stamps that come in a nice box.
	Samurai Japan Pins. Another nice item from Japan, these are really cool metal pins with various designs on them, e.g. samurai kanji, famous Japanese castles and more.
	2006 Calendar - Tonari no Totoro. This year's Totoro calendar should be good, and will probably feature the super cute Koneko Bus, also known as the Kitten Bus, the offspring of the Neko Bus from the film. I want a Kitten Bus to ride in! I like the cover of this year's calendar -- it's kind of an anime recreation of a famous painting by Monet.
	2006 Calendar -- Natsumi Abe. One of the most popular bands of the past decade has been Mo-Musu, aka Morning Musume, a huge group of idols who are experly managed by a guy named Tsunk. The individual members are really cute, and one of the cutest is Natsube Abe (ah-BAY). Here is her 2006 calendar.
	Charmy Kitty *Sitting Down* Plush w/ Comb. I personally love the idea of Charmmy Kitty: a much cuter version of Hello Kitty that actually acts like a cat. (I think Charmmy Kitty is Hello Kitty's pet, which raises some issues about slavery and human rights in the Sanrio universe.) I just love the design of this character, and the plush toys we've just gotten in are really special.
	CFNM ~ Clothed Female Naked Male 18 (region 2). A big fetish in Japan, this is CFNM, i.e. clothed female, naked male. The reactions the sexy women make as the tease, prod and otherwise embarrass the guys is really remarkable. This is the newest release from Moodyz.
	2006 Calendar -- Super Milk Chan. Another great 2006 calendar, this is the new one for Super Milk Chan, a popular late-night anime character.
	2006 Calendar - The Prince of Tennis . Always a popular item, this is the Prince of Tennis calendar for 2006, based on a popular anime (and manga, of course) about tennis and sweaty boys.

Humility in Japan, the many faces of apologies, and Japanese calendars

Hello again from J-List. We're a day late with the update because of some database related problems, but the update is finally ready. And what an update it is...

One of the more interesting aspects of Japanese is their strong tendency to be humble, being polite by putting one's self down in order to raise others up. If you've ever complimented a Japanese person on their English only to have them deny your compliment strongly, you've experienced what Japanese call kenson (ken-SON, which means humility). You can see this at work in Japan's group culture -- each member of a group of people trying to decide which restaurant they all want to eat at will gently probe and test the other members before putting forth a suggestion. Successful learners of a language inevitably go beyond mere grammar and vocabulary, actually internalizing the values of the group you're interacting with. When I'm in Japan I find my "Japanese" personality is much more low-key and humble than my outgoing American self.

Another side of Japan's famous humility can be seen in the times and places where apologies are used, often in situations that English speakers would have trouble comprehending. When I first got to Japan, some friends took me to a sento, a public bath with a sauna. It was late, near closing time, and we were a little slow getting out of the bath, which caused inconvenience for the staff who were trying to clean up so they could go home. I thanked the lady at the counter as I left, using the Japanese phrase "arigatou gozaimashita." But my Japanese friends corrected me, saying I should apologize instead, using the word "sumimasen deshita." I was confused -- why apologize when I'm trying to thank the lady for letting us stay past closing time? "Thank you sounds cheap," I was told. "In this case it's better to use words of apology." As I was shaving this morning I watched a news report about executives of the Fuji Television Network issuing a formal apology over an incident involving camera crews who used eyewitness reports that had been faked in order to make them sound more dramatic (which is called yarase, ya-RAH-say, a common problem with television here). Since the news station I was watching was on the Fuji network, the newscaster bowed his head low to the camera and apologized again, right in the middle of reading the news.

Today's a big day at J-List, because we've posted our popular Japanese calendars! Every year in the fall hundreds of large-format glossy calendars are released in the Japanese market, and once again J-List is making them available to fans all over the world. If you've never seen these Japanese calendars, they're really amazing -- huge poster-sized sheets of thick stock paper, with beautiful printing and photography and art that will really make your year special. This year's calendars are extra nice, with many items that we think will be very popular, including anime, JPOP, sexy idol, and more -- there's even a Domo-kun calendar this year! Ayumi Hamasaki finally broke her 4-year record of claiming the coveted "CL1" spot, losing out to the super-cute Aya Ueto, the cheerful idol and actress.

The calendars we've got for you are preorder, so it's best if you can order with credit card, so we can hold the order until it's ready to be shipped to to you (but this is not a requirement). Rolled calendars require a mailing tube, which is $2 and one tube can hold two calendars. As in previous years, if you buy 4 or more calendars you'll get 15% off, and get your mailing tubes for free! As usual, we don't have the calendars in stock yet, so we had to scan the small sample image so you can see what the calendar covers are like. To help you make a decision about which calendars you want, we've posted sample images from last year's calendars for most items. Enjoy browsing our great Japanese calendars, and remember, they make great Christmas gifts for that otaku on your list!

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.

	Nanamerica -- Nana Natsume. Nana Natsume is one of the top names in Japan's adult film world, which is amazing since she started out as a senzoku (contract actress) who only worked with Soft on Demand, the quintissential industry outsider. Yay, Nana!
	2006 Calendar - Naruto (A). This year's Naruto calendar looks very good, and last year's was excellent too so I won't be surprised.
	2006 Calendar - Mayumi Ono. A good example of one of the swimsuit idol calendars we've got, and Japan is nothing if not loaded with sexy gravure idols. Mayumi-chan is the super cute girl who appears on the commercials for Acom, a high interest loan company.
	2006 Calendar - STUDIO GHIBLI (No Tube). Japanese calendars really are amazing, and we love bringing them to everyone. Each year various calendars sell at different levels, but the most popular item always seems to be the Studio Ghibl calendar, which features really, really nice printing, BIG pages, and art that is all original -- not just frames from their animated films.
	2006 Calendar -- Domo-Kun. We were also overjoyed at the Domo-kun calendar this year, which is a change from recent years when they didn't make Domo-kun calendars. Domo is a great little guy and his calendar will be really cool.
	2006 Calendar -- Aya Ueto. Aya-chan, the popular idol slash actress slash all around cute girl, grabbed the top calendar spot, and is this year's CL1 girl. Ayumi is finally brought low.
	Debut!! -- you. (region 2). Isn't this girl cute? I thought so, although don't try searching Google for her video releases, since her name is You, a cute rewriting of the Japanese name Yu.
	Rei Ayanami Sports Figure -- Tennis. This is one of the cutest Eva figures to come along in a while, cute "tennis bunny" versions of Rei and Asuka. I really like the way Rei looks in this pose.
	The Rhythmic Gymnastics Girl of Black Hair -- Aika Hoshizaki. Another wacky Japanese fetish, this is rhythmic gymnastics, but brought to you with a dark twist as only Soft on Demand could do. Great for fans of leotard fetish.