Our trip to Tokyo, Japan's strange connection with Peru, alcoholic green tea, and what Jabba the Hutt can teach you about linguistics

We wanted to do something fun with the kids over the weekend, so we shinked (gaijin-speak for "took the Shinkansen," e.g. the Bullet Train) down to Tokyo to check out the special exhibition on the mysterious lines and geoglyphs in Nazca, Peru at the National Museum of Science. The strange shapes, which form images of a spider, a hummingbird, a condor and so on, were made 1500-2000 years ago, and are a big mystery. It was quite an interesting display -- we looked at many pieces of well preserved pottery with beautiful designs, and even a real mummy they'd brought over. I've always been amazed at the special interest the Japanese seem to take in Nazca, which is featured in some television show or another just about every month here. Maybe it has something to do with the twin connection Japan has with the region, due to the little diaspora of Japanese to South America at the start of the 20th Century, and in prehistoric times, since the same Mongolian stock that colonized Japan also made it to South America. Any trip to Tokyo with kids in tow is a potential stress-fest considering the sheer number of people around you, but it was so crowded at the museum we were all beside ourselves with claustrophobia. As always, going to Tokyo makes me appreciate living in a smaller, slower-paced part of Japan. As a card-carrying Star Wars fan, I've heard my share of alien languages from all corners of the Lucasverse. I remember watching Return of the Jedi back in 1983 and wondering at a line of Jabba the Hutt's dialogue, "You weak-minded fool! He's using an old Jedi mind trick." The line was spoken in Huttese, an invented language, but the phrase "Jedi mind trick" was in English, and I believe it's the only instance of mixing of languages in Star Wars. Language mixing is known in linguistic terms as "code switching" and if you have two bilingual individuals it's quite natural for them to jump back and forth between the two languages, depending on the ideas they want to express, the environment they're in, and so on. I've got a American friend who recently got his doctorate in Cultural Studies from a Japanese university, and whenever we hit the onsen together, we naturally mix quite a lot of Japanese in with our English conversation, usually to the amazement of Japanese in the bath, who try not to be too obvious as they eavesdrop on us. Of course, part of learning a foreign language is separating the two languages in your mind, easy for adults but a challenge to bilingual children -- my son and daughter got confused when neighborhood kids in America didn't understand their Japanese. There's a great deal of experimentation that goes on in the mind of a child during the separatation process, and it can be fascinating to observe. When he was two or so, I went to a bath with my son, and he commented to me that the cold bath (which you go in after you get heated up in the sauna) sure was "cold-katta." This amused me, since he was mixing the English word cold with the Japanese past tense ending katta.

If Japan had a national drink it would have to be green tea, which is consumed in massive amounts and rivals coffee in popularity. Green tea is a major crop here, with Shizuoka Prefecture claiming it as its meibutsu (lit. "famous thing"), building its tourism industry in part around the stuff like Napa or Sonoma do with wine in California. Green tea is very healthy and has been shown to be effective in various areas including cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, cholesterol control and weight loss, but in Japan its popularity is based on its wholesome and mildly bitter taste, which people find delicious. More and more, green tea is finding its way into other products, from caramels to cookies to bath salt ("green tea...it's not just for ice cream anymore"). Kirin has even pioneered the first alcoholic drink using green tea: Ocha no Chuhai, a blend of cold green tea and shochu, a traditional Japanese spirit distilled from anything from rice to barley to sweet potatoes. In the picture above, the one on the right is Green Tea Chuhai, and the one on the left is genmai cha, er, unhusked rice tea. Summer is coming, and that means summer anime conventions! If you're looking for a super costume to wear, J-List humbly recommends the excellent uniforms that we sell in an exclusive arrangement with Matsukameya of Japan. Each uniform is sewn just for you, to the sizes you specify on our detailed chart, and the quality is unbelievably -- honestly, I've never received anything but lowing praise and feedback from J-List customers who have purchased these uniforms. Several styles available, from girl's summer and winter uniforms to the excellent male "gakuran" school uniforms. 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.

	Urecco Gal Feb 2006. Urecco Gal is a nice spin-off from Urecco, featuring girls that are done up in an extra fashionable way, like kogals in Tokyo's stylish Shibuy area.
	Love Para -- Mihiro. How do we love Mihiro? Let us count the ways. I'm glad to see her doing down-to-earth photobooks like this actually, which is where her roots are.
	Kera vol. 87 Nov 2005. Kera is the super hip magazine of gothic and street fashion and urban culture. And Becky (half Japanese, half British) looks so fine.
	Imma Seiden - Volume 4 - 6 Box Set. A very popular "H" anime series, and something we've wanted to carry for a long time.
	Nihongo Journal 5 May 2006. Nihongo Journal is one tool I used to learn Japanese. This is the newest issue.
	Maihime - My Hime Artbook Special. My Hime (aka Maihime, aka Mai Hime) is a really good anime from Sunrise, in which 12 girls are hime (princesses) with special powers. The fun thing is, you don't know who the next hime will be, so it's fun to watch. The title comes from a famous novel by Mori Ougai in the 19th century and means "Dancing Princess."
	W Cast -- You Kitajima & Rio Kitajima (region 2). Nice offering from Moodyz with two gorgeous women whose last names are Kitajima (altough the kanji are different, so they're not, er, related).
	The Art of the Japanese Garden. Nice new book from Tuttle. Gives background on Japanese gardens, where the tradition began, and so on.
	My Teacher Reina ~~ Sensei ~ Mata Aoune ver. Boku no Reina. I've always loved the works of Chataro. His stuff is so polished and enjoyable to look at. Here is his newest Reina Sensei offering.
	Hawk & Tiger T-shirt - M Size ~ Navy (Match Label). More Match Label shirts, in three sizes (M, L and XL). Really cool original design.
	Totoro 80 Pieces Jigsaw Puzzle w/ Frame. Three new Ghibli puzzles, which you can use as picture frames too, if you want to put pictures of loved ones in there. The frames are real wood and feature Soot Sprites on them.
	Konomi Yuzuhara 1/8 Scale Figure -- To Heart 2. New figure from To Heart 2, the popular bishoujo game and anime.
	Square Geta w/Navy Snow Hanao ~ Lacquered Paulownia . New block-style traditional geta sandals, these are great for large feet.
	Perfect Plus -- Black Sesame & Nuts. Healthy Calorie Mate-like snack food with lots of roughage.
	Keroppi Gamaguchi Shoulder Purse -- Kero Kero Keroppi. Kero Kero Keroppi is really making a comeback this year, and here's another good item, a plush should bag/purse to hold your money.
	Kabaya Mamegomarium. This is rather hard to describe. Basically, Mamegoma means "bean sesame seed" and these are cute animals basaed on this concept, i.e. roly poly creatures that you keep as pets. So cute!
	Kitty Key-Met -- Pig ~ Key Cover. The coolect Hello Kitty key covers we've ever seen. Transforms something boring into pure kawaii!

We're off to Tokyo. We took an Asama, the red-white-and-blue trains, but I was hoping for a Max (the double-decker trains), which are much cooler.

Japan is always fun when speeding along at 150 kph.

Lady with the food cart.

Finally, we were in Ueno Station. This is a really old, really large station that I usually just pass through. But today, this was our destination. It's pronounced "oo-EH-no" by the way, and you can tell a gaijin who learned Japanese in romaji, rather than kana, because he will pronounced the "U" in Ueno as "you."

Homeless man...check. Yes, we're in Ueno alright.