What ordering a "tako" in Japan will get you, fun ways to learn Japanese, and our new kanji T-shirts

There are many interesting foods in Japan. One of our favorite treats is takoyaki, especially popular in the Osaka region. In stark contrast to the English word taco, tako is is Japanese for octopus; to differentiate the crustacean from the Mexican food, the Japanese always use the plural word "tacos" (takosu) for referring to the latter, even if they're talking about just one taco. Takoyaki are basically fried balls of batter that contain a piece of cooked octopus meat inside, painted with a delicious sauce. If you ever find yourself in Osaka, be sure to go to Otakoya, a takoyaki shop near the famous Glico neon sign in the Dotonbori area. Be warned though: you may have to stand in line for a couple of hours to be served -- that's how popular takoyaki is. Once in rural Japan we happened across a takoyaki vendor who decided to call his shop Tako Bell. My wife and I were completely floored with laughter at this unexpected sight. (Incidentally, we have some takoyaki making supplies on the site today.)

There are many ways to learn a foreign language: the Grammar-Translation method, the Communicative Approach, the Natural Method, Total Physical Response, and so on. Another time-honored way to learn a language is to "get attention" method, which I've labeled the Social Feedback Method to give it a cool-sounding name. Using this method, you learn enough phrases and words to passably communicate with the target group in such a way that you always get positive feedback, be it getting laughs from Japanese at a party, impressing cute Japanese girls, what have you. I had a friend who had taught English as a Second Language all around Asia, and he got incredible mileage from the phrase Shumi wa nan desu ka? which means "What is your hobby?" Another phrase you might try out is naruhodo, which means "I see" or "that's right" and implies having been convinced that the opinion of the person you're listening to has just made an impression on you. Another staple is honto (HONE-toh), which means "really" and can be used as a question (Honto?) or as an affirmation (Honto!). Another phrase that can be fun to know is "hen na gaijin" (lit. "strange foreigner"), but more on that below...

In Japan, instead of signing documents, you usually stamp them with a red "name stamp," called a hanko, that features your name in kanji, or in the case of a corporation, the company's name in kanji. While these name stamps can seem pretty odd to foreigners -- after all, what's to stop someone from stealing your stamp and taking all your money out of the bank? -- all in all the name stamp system seems to work pretty well. We've made two cool Japanese T-shirts that feature the unique name stamp design. The first shirt is for everyone who secretly wishes they had been born in Japan: Nihonjin ni naritai, "I Wish I Were Japanese." The second T-shirt features a phrase that all foreigners who come to Japan manage to learn within 24 hours, Hen na gaijin, "I'm a strange foreigner." Both shirts are in stock in standard sizes and ready for your order!

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.

	Totoro Door Melody. I was totally impressed by this item: a hand-made wooden Totoro that features beautiful strings and hammers that make a pleasant sound when you close a door. Very nice item from Japan.
	PSE Products #02 Trinode -- Range Murata. This is another high-end figure for fans of Range Murata, and I love it. To see his art is amazing, but for his characters to come alive like this is really a treat.
	Full of Love ~ Ai ga Ippai. A nice H manga by Sakyo Nakamura about a man with a magic touch, who makes women want him by touching them. Mmmm...
	Come in -- Megumi Kagurazaka. Dynamite photobook featuring Megumi Kagurazaka, which just drips with pure elegance in every photo.
	Japanese T-shirt "Hen na Gaijin" (I'm a Strange Foreigner). Our new name stamp T-shirt, which features Hen na Gaijin as a message. This is, for whatever reason, pretty much the first phrase that a foreigner who comes to Japan learns.
	Japanese T-shirt "Nihonjin ni Naritai" (I Wish I Were Japanese). Then there's a hanko shirt for people who secretly wish they'd been born Japanese, so they could read all those kanji and watch all that anime without having to struggle to figure it out.
	Comic AG Super Erotic Manga Anthology vol. 20. The new issue of Comic AG is in, and it looks great as always. Features lots of great H artwork and super stories that you can actually read, since they're all in English.
	Kit Kat -- White Maple Syrup *Japan Limited*. Kit Kat is popular in Japan, and they make some great flavors for the Japanese market that you can only buy here. This year's newest flavors are Cafe Latte and Canadian Maple Syrup. Yum!
	Takoyaki Maker w/Rolling Stick. I mentioned takoyaki today, and here is what you need to make your own fried octopus balls! Such fun!
	Kitsune Risu Kuta Kuta Magnet - Fox-Squirrel. Here is a treat, a "Fox Squirel" from Nausicaa (and also Laputa) that's really cute, which has a magnet inside him, allowing you to decorate your fridge, white board, etc. with him.
	Escargot Skin vol. 2. Talk about cool, this is a photobook containing the current state of the art of Gothic & Lolita in Japan today. Very nice photos, showing the interesting evolution of goth life.

Foreigners and Japanese living in Japan, all about name suffices, and more

Hello everyone! It's time for another slice of life from J-List.

It's fun living in Japan and observing Japanese life and society, and some days I like nothing better than to sit and watch the Japanese people around me while pretending to work on my Powerbook in a Famires (a "family restaurant"). It's also interesting to observe other foreigners living in Japan, and study the psyche of this "lost gaijin generation." First of all, it's been my experience that foreigners here are often jealous of other foreigners, especially of those who speak better Japanese than they do; hence, most are always willing to badmouth Dave Spector, an American "talent" who's been on TV for two decades and who speaks perfect Japanese (bastard). Lafcadio Hearn, one of the first Western writers about Japan, also had to endure more than a little criticism by other foreigners living in Japan at the time. There seem to be three or more "stages of eye eversion" that foreigners go through when meeting another foreigners on a train, which I haven't been able to understand. I've stuck up some interesting conversations with people from Ecuador to Iran to Sri Lanka, speaking Japanese when the gaijin in question didn't know English. As Japan's population continues to decline, the share of foreigners working in Japan can only go up, and I wonder how the dynamics of society will change when that happens.

You probably know some of the suffixes that are used at the end of names. The most famous is -san (SAHN, rhyming with "one") which is added to the last names for politeness (e.g. Fujita-san), and sometimes to the first name (Tomo-san) to show a little, but not too much, informality. The -san suffix is used in business settings, too: for example, when we call Canon to order more Wordtank electronic dictionaries, we refer to them as Canon-san, and they call us J-List-san. Two other suffixes that are heard often are -kun and -chan, for boys and girls respectively (e.g. Taro-kun, Hanako-chan). Someone who is older (senpai, or upperclassman) would generally use one of these with someone who was younger than him (kouhai, or underclassman); the younger person would use -san when speaking to the older person. One suffix that comes up in anime frequently is -sama, for addressing high-ranking persons, samurai lords and so on. Actually, -sama is rarely used in regular Japanese life except in certain situations (addressing letters, for example). There are several polite phrases that have the -sama suffix in them, though, such as otsukare sama deshita ("thank you for your hard work," said at the end of the work day) and gochisou sama deshita (lit. "it was a feast," said when you're finished eating).

One of the most popular category products in Japan right now are "candy toys," miniature models and figures that usually come with some kind of candy inside the box. Today we've got a great item for Star Trek fans everywhere: Star Trek Alpha, a new set of Federation and alien ships from Furuta, the premier miniature maker in Japan. We've got full sets of these amazing toys for you.

The new Download Editions of our PC dating-sim games are proving to be very popular with J-List customers, which makes us very happy. We've posted the rest of the download versions of the popular G-Collections titles, allowing you to choose between shrinkwrapped CD-ROM or download versions (whichever you prefer). All titles are ready for your immediate order!

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.

	Replicant Special Issue -- Garage Kit & Character Figure T's Chronicles ~ Takeshi Miyagawa. A fantastic special issue of Replicant, this is just about the coolest book I've seen (if Ihad to pick just one) with anime figures in it. You will not be able to put this amazing thing down!
	Sake Brand Tote Bag ~ Sango Shou -- Black. A very nice canbas bag with a sake logo on it, in this case the famous Sango Shou sake from Niigata.
	Freshly-squeezed Canned Cosplay ~ Cos-Can Namashibori. Cosplay is a popular theme in manga, and this is a great example of it. Lots of innovative costumes and scenes in this great book by Kaname Yamanashi.
	Maya Natsume *New Color*-- Tenjo Tenge *Vol.1* Figure ~ Bome Collection. I am a fan of Tenjo Tenge, also written Tenjho Tenge, since we've been carrying the manga of OH! GREAT (the writer's pen name) for years. These figures, made by famous sculptor Bome, are just great.
	Tsuya -- Yoko Matsugane. Yoko Matsugane (ma-TSU-ga-NAY) is back with a new glossy photobook. Man, I love her.
	Whole Wheat Pocky. We got Pocky back on the site over the weekend, and have added new flavors today. This is the best of the totally new 2006 flavors, as far as I am concerned. It's great.
	2006 Jiji Desktop Calendar--Kiki's Delivery Service. There are a lot of Ghibli desktop calendars this year. This is the Kiki's Delivery Service one.
	Ability -- Miki Munemasa. I've been following Miki Munemasa's career since she was the #1 race queen, which was back in 1996-7 or so. Finally, she's taken it off for the camera to show her fans something really nice as a way of saying thanks for their support. Man, she's beautiful...
	Japanese T-shirt "I Love Yuri" . Yuri is a slang word referring to themes of shoujo-ai (love between girls) in manga and naime. Here is our I Love Yuri shirt, which came out really good, in my humble opinion.
	The Best Remix -- Mitsu Amai (region 2). A nice Mitsi Amai release from Wanz featuring 3 hours of her best stuff. Mmm, the pairing of Mitsu-chan with Wanz's very nice style has got to be good.
	Japan Only Star Trek Alpha--Complete Set of 5-FURATA. If you've been on J-List for a while, you know about the outstanding Star Trek ships sold by Furuta. The newest set is in stock, and it's very nice, with a lot of cool ships you've always wanted to own.