The link between North Korea and Japan, Japan's many seasons, and imitation being the sincerest form of flattery

The major link between North Korea and Japan is a cruise ship called the Mangyonbon-go, which makes regular trips between the ports of Wonsan in North Korea and Niigata here. In addition to being the most difficult-to-pronounce word according to a poll of newscasters (trying saying MAHN-gyon-bone-goh five times fast), the ship represents the only normalized link between the two countries, and for many Japanese of North Korean descent, the only way to journey back and visit relatives. The ship has caused trouble between the two countries because of concern that it's being used to funnel forbidden electronics from Japan back to the communist state. North Korea has a nationally-sponsored program of printing U.S. and Japanese currency, and also manufactures industrial-grade drugs to smuggle into Japan, which they use to fund their government and destabilize their enemies. There are concerns that the ship is being used to smuggle these items into the country, and every time the Mangyonbon-go makes a call into the port at Niigata, there's a huge flurry of negative news reports about potential problems with the ship's visits, especially with all the anger here over the kidnapping of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 80s.

"You've been in Japan too long when you believe that the country only has four seasons." The Japanese are exceedingly proud of the fact that their country has four distinct seasons, compared with only two in the U.S. (or so people who have never been anywhere but California believe), and there are many customs designed to enjoy each seasons in its own unique way here. In reality, of course, there are about 12 seasons in Japan if you count the in-between ones, like sakura season, a brief week in early April when the cherry blossoms are so beautiful; rainy season in June, when it drizzles most every day; hayfever season, when Japan's policy of using one tree and only one tree in its national forestry program (the Japan Cedar, or sugi tree) causes massive problems for allergy sufferers throughout the country as the trees pollinate; and typhoon season, when massive Pacific storms batter the country every few days in September. A few weeks ago we had a bad bout of "Asian Dust," a strange seasonal phenomenon throughout the region where "yellow sand" (kousa, in Japanese, 黄砂) blows from China's Gobi Desert across Korea and Japan, dirtying our cars and creating various health problems. Sometimes I wish there were only four seasons in Japan...

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and if so, the Japanese are very polite indeed. Due to the tendency for people here to look up to Europe and America as "higher" cultures than their own (which is known as seiyo suhai shugi, literally meaning "worship of the West-ism"), Japanese have a great tradition of copying good ideas they find abroad. You can see signs of Japan's fixation with the West in many places -- Tokyo Tower is a scale replica of the Eiffel Tower that they built just for the fun of it, after all. If you go to Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, you can see Japan's version of the beautiful Dover Cliffs. There's a range of mountains called the Japan Alps, and in Tokyo's Shibuya area, a hill called Spain-zaka (Spanish Hill), named after the famous Spanish Steps in Rome. Japan has its own Academy Awards ceremony where Japanese directors and actors receive awards for Japanese films (not that there are that many made). Most recently I stumbled across the website of the Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, which names itself MoMAT, in imitation of MoMA in New York.

Remember that Mothers Day is not far away (May 14 this year), and J-List has plenty of unique ways to say "thanks" to your Mom. From cool traditional items for the home to the amazingly cute toys like Hidamari no Tami or the adorable head-nodding Unazukin -- remember, there's one of these that has "thank you" written right on it. We also have J-List gift certificates, a super way to send the gift of wacky things from Japan to anyone -- let her pick her own gift!

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.

	Miniska Daizukan DVD Feb. 2006 ~ Mini Skirt Illustrated vol. 81. My favorite leg-related magazine, this is Mini-Skirt Illustrated.
	Kera vol. 86 Oct 2005. Kere is fast becomming one of the top magazines at J-List. It's similar to Gothic & Lolita Bible and Fruits, and is always a great read. Chiaki Kuriyama fans take note of this new issue.
	Lesbian Ward - 2 Disk Box Set. New "H" anime boxed set. Very nice, and you can watch it in English or Japanese (with subtitles).
	The Maid Sisters. Now, one of the things I like about Japan's adult videos is the sense of elegance. Could you find some equisitely created costume acting in a similar production in the U.S.? I've never seen anything that was as interesting to me, to be honest.
	Koushoku Seifuku Zukan ~ Lusty Uniform Picture Book. A nice manga focusing on various uniforms, maid, stewardess, you name it.
	Totoro *Utatane* Towelket -- 140 x 190cm ~ Take a nap. New towelket colors for you. These are really handy to have around in the summer, trust me.
	HMX-12 Multi Bodysuit Ver Figure -- To Heart. To Heart was the really big bishoujo game that marked the mantle of "best b-game company" moving from Elf to Leaf in the late 1990s. This is Multi, the maid robot that is so cute.
	Unazukin -- Hopi ~ World Ver.. New Unazukin, this one based on an American Indian design. Very nice.
	Unazukin -- Coral *Orange* ~ Sango. And here's one that represents coral in the sea. I love the sense of design that goes into these things.
	Asakusa T-shirt ~ Zen (Buddhism). A new made-in-Japan shirt, this time sporting the kanji for zen as in, "it's really zen of you to sit there in the lotus position like that."
	Bamboo Charcoal Body Soap. Why not clean your body with black body soap made from charcoal? It's cool!
	Charmmy Kitty De Catch. I personally love Charmmy Kitty -- she's actually a cat for one thing, not a cat-like human. Here's a new Kitty de Catch mint dispenser for you.
	Kabaya Engi-Do Honpo Mascot Key Chain w/ Cockies. Engido Honpo is back! Basically, this ia a box of cookies with one free netsuke toy, a little Lucky Cat to bring you good luck, or one of the Seven Gods of Happiness, or a Daruma. Such a great item!

So, they have these limited edition cars, see, not unlike the Harley Davidson Limited Ford F-150. This is a car branded with Miki House, an annoyingly cute makers of children's toys.

I mean, cute culture is good, I'm all for it. But this is just awful...

Maybe it's a rip-off job or something, someone made the stickers themselves and pasted them on.

"The mild flavor, carefully prepared from the high quality milk, will enrich the taste of cuisine." For the record, the English word "the" is really hard for people from other countries to use.