Wacky Japanese holidays, gift-giving and Kobe beef receiving, and what's up with the word "gaijin"

Although the Japanese have a reputation for being diligent and hardworking, there are actually more legal holidays in Japan than there are in the U.S. -- fifteen, versus just ten in the States -- and unlike the period of high economic growth of the sixties and seventies, people actually take them off now. While some of these holidays are similar to special days in other countries -- for example, National Foundation Day, which commemorates the traditional founding of Japan in 660 B.C. -- most are culturally unique to Japan. Among these are Coming-of-Age Day, when 20-year-olds officially come of age in the eyes of society; Children's Day, a day for celebrating children; Marine Day, to celebrate the sea; and Respect for the Aged Day, when the country honors the 20% of Japanese who are 65 or older. It's popular for organizations to "brand" certain days, too, such as May 3rd, Trash Day, a day to think about environmental issues, set on this day because 5/3 sounds like gomi, meaning trash; August 2nd, Pantsu-no-hi, or Underwear Day, an important day for undergarment manufacturers here; Nov. 11, Pocky Day, since 11/11 looks like four Pocky sticks lined up; and the recently mentioned February 9th, Meat Day, since 2/9 sounds like niku meaning meat. Incidentally, today is Neko-no-Hi, or Cat Day, as 2/22 somehow sounds like nyan nyan nyan (a cat's meow) to Japanese ears. Gift-giving in Japan is quite formal and complex. There are two gift-giving periods, Ochugen in July and Oseibo in December, when families will give gifts such as canned coffee, laundry soap or cooking oil to the people who help them in some way, such as teachers or others in the neighborhood. When you receive a gift, you're supposed to give a return gift, called okaeshi (oh-KAH-eh-she), worth about half the amount of the original gift. (Birthday and Christmas gifts are strangely exempt from this, perhaps because these customs were imported from the West.) There are times when a Japanese company gives cash "congraulations bonuses" (in Japanese, o-iwai kin) to employees for happy events like getting married or the birth of a child, and okaeshi gifts are also made in return. J-List's Jun (the guy who works hard to keep our J-Snack selection so well stocked) became a father last month, and his return gift to us was something very special: the famed Kobe beef, just about the most expensive steak you can buy. Coming from cows that get daily massages and are fed beer to bring out the famous marbling quality of the meat, it was certainly the most amazing steak I've ever tasted. The word for foreigner in Japanese is gaijin (外人), written using the characters for "outside" and "person." While it simply refers to foreigners, the word is kind of harsh and can sound derogatory depending on how it's used. For this reason, it's common to hear the word gaikokujin (外国人) or "outside country person," a better term that sounds much softer to the ear. One thing about foreigners living in Japan: while they usually don't appreciate Japanese calling out to them by saying "Hey, gaijin!" they're more than likely to use the term amongst themselves openly without a second thought. J-List strives to bring you thousands of fun and hard-to-find products direct from Japan, and we sell hundreds of snack and chocolate items, from the new Green Tea Pocky to delicious Melty Kiss and Japan-only Kit Kat varieties, with new and interesting snack items updated three times a week. Today we've posted an old favorite, Every Burger, which are chocolate hamburgers surrounded by cookie buns -- so fun to eat! By the way, all food items we sell are stamped with a "freshness date" and we unconditionally guarantee that everything we sell is within this date. 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.

	RIO -- Rio Kurusu. Super sexy idol from Japan, this is her nude photobook, Very nice photos.
	Zenra Rhythematic Gymnastics. A new release from SOD to commemorate their 10 anniversary, this is a new All Nude Female Rhthematic Gymnastics DVD. And these girls are really good!
	Deeps Female Employees with Megumi Tsuchiya Bus Tour! "Bus trip" seems to be the fetish de jour in Japan, and girls having sexy with guys on a moving bus is all the rage. This is a new Deep's Female Employee release featuring the very pretty Megumi Tsuchiya.
	Dengeki Comic GAO Feb. 2006. Dengeki Comic Gao (which means "Roar" and is an inside joke on the Air anime/game, since the main character always says Gao all the time) is a LOT of manga, as in, 500+ pages. And you get a free figure.
	Totoro Music Box -- Neko Bus ~ Scene Collection. An excellent Totoro music box, it's made of ceramics and plays the Totoro theme song. We have several new ones in stock today.
	Love Friends. A manga about a circle of friends who also support each other sexually.
	Comic AG Super Erotic Manga Anthology vol. 28. The new issue of Comic AG is in, and as usual it's great, with art from five or six top named artists. We hope that fans of the hentai art style will consider signing up for a regular subscription to show their support for the publisher.
	Carmine from Septem Charm Magical Canan -- Kaiyodo Bome Collection. Great figure from Bome, this seems to be from an "H" anime. This is the top figure sculptor in Japan today.
	Dot-s *Set B* -- Super Mario Brothers. Nintendo fans, we've got a cool new item: a cool little puzzle you can build any Super Mario Bros. icon from.
	Kururin AIUEO -- Wooden Educational Toy. Learn to read Hiragana with this fun set of wood blocks. A really cool item from Japan.
	Miniature Yachiyo"Ohina-Sama" . Another cool Ohina Ningyo or Girl's Day Doll, they represent the Emperor and Empress of Japan from ancient times.
	Samurai Sword Ear Cleaner w/Red Strap. Japanese ear cleaners are metal or bamboo scoops that you use to (carefully, of course) remove ear wax from the inside of your ear. It defies logic, but they feel great.
	Bourbon Every Burger. Every Burger, little cookie bugers with chocolate inside. A great item from days past, back in production again.
	Momoya Kimchee Base. Kimchee is Korean, not Japanese, but it's darned good, and everyone here loves it. This is concentrated kimchee base, which you can add to just about anything. Kimchee ramen anyone?
	Jiji Pouch -- Medium ~ Jiji's Zakka Shop Series. Kiki's Delivery Service is one of the most touching films of Hayao Miyazaki, and we're all big fans. Here's a great pair of pouches featuring Jiji the black cat.
	Totoro Soot Sprite Keychain ~ Makkuro Kurosuke. This little guy is the Soot Sprite, whose name in Japanese is Makkuro Kurosuke. Really cool plush toy from Sun Arrow.
	Oppai Ball *G Cup* -- Breast Ball. Sometimes a man (or woman) needs something soft to squeeze, and the Oppai Ball is always there for you. One of our most popular items ever!

Getting ready to open the wagyu. It comes in a special box that looks like wood but is really styrafoam. Those Japanese are so talented.

Jahn! This meat was incredible to look at, marbeled with white throughout and very high quality. Of course, you have to like meat prepared this way -- this is a steak fit for a wealthy Japanese industrialist, not particularly someone who wants lean meat.

This meat comes with a certificate indicating where it was raised, what kind of Kobe beef it was, and amazingly, the name of the animal I was about to eat.