Culture shock related to cars, subtleties of language, and all about Japanese pocket tissue

When I first got to Japan, I had plenty of culture shock related to auto- mobiles. Cars are very important to the Japanese, and in all cities except for the largest ones, a car is really required to get anything done, just as in the States. Auto theft is quite uncommon in Japan, so it's not at all rare to see someone leave his beautiful Nissan Fairlady Z parked in front of the combini (convenience store) with the engine running. The idea that his car might be stolen just doesn't enter into the thinking here, so it's perfectly safe. Japanese cars have the steering wheel on the right side, as in England and Australia, and the Japanese have perfected the art of starting the car without getting in it, since the ignition is easily accessible on that side of the vehicle. When stopped at a light at night, it's considered good manners to turn your headlights down to "park" so you don't blind the person in front of you, and when someone lets you go ahead of them in traffic, flashing your emergency lights at them once or twice conveys your thanks -- although this is done by polite Tokyo drivers, not Gunma locals, who have bad driving manners. Japanese love their cars, and there are many interesting products that allow drivers to deck their vehicles out, including bizarre and interesting accessories, gaudy air fresheners, and flashing lights that are great for picking up girls.

I've talked before about how languages reflect the personalities of the people who speak them, and vice-versa. English speakers are direct -- usually saying "yes" or "no" rather than speaking in more subtle shades of grey as the Japanese do -- in part because the language is set up that way. Japanese is a very indirect language, with the subject and even the object often omitted from sentences because both the speaker and listener usually know what is being talked about, which at times can be confusing. If character A says they love vanilla ice cream but leaves this word unstated, character B might get confused and think that they themselves are the object of character A's affection, a basis for may misunderstandings in anime. Another vehicle for indirectness is the passive voice, that bane of high school English teachers, used infrequently in English, but quite common in Japanese. If the boss made a bonehead decision that was a bad idea for the company, you might complain about him in English directly, e.g. "The boss upstairs decided that we should contract with a Russian spam company to increase website traffic." In Japanese, where you'd be less likely to take your boss to task in front of others, passive speech would likely be used, to avoid naming the person responsible, e.g. "It's been decided that..."

If you came by our booth at the San Diego Comicon, we probably handed you some Japanese pocket tissue. One of the most popular methods that companies have to advertise their services to consumers, printing pocket tissue with advertising on it is a staple in many industries, including home remodeling companies, banks and the high-interest finance companies that have become so popular since the bursting of Japan's economic bubble. When we looked for a way to tell people about our little Japan-based web shop, we naturally turned to the famous Japanese pocket tissue, since it's universally convenient -- you never know when you're going to need tissue -- and totally Japanese. We give pocket tissue with almost every order, too, in every case where the square shape of the tissue won't damage your order (such as an order of thin magazines, which might be bent by us including a tissue packet inside). So if you want to get some great pocket tissue from Japan, make an order today! (We also have a few types of tissue on the site, such as Domo-kun

J-List genuinely wants to spread interest in Japan in all it's mysterious forms. For those who'd like to learn to read and write Japanese, the starting place is hiragana and katakana, the two basis syllable-based writing systems used in the language. We've got a great new set of study cards that make it easy to learn hiragana and katakana using visual cues, equating a kana character with a picture that helps you memorize it. Check it out now!

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.

	Gokuh vol. 176 (with DVD 3hours) Gokuh, no relation to the character from Dragonball Z, is one of the best adult photography magazines in Japan.
	Katachi An interesting look at geometry in Japanese design.
	Sunlight -- Yoko Kumada Yoko-chan, why do you haunt me so? One of the cutest swimsuit idols (aka gravure idols) in Japan, this is her new photobook.
	Nakadashi 20 Times -- Azusa Ayano Nakadashi is nothing to watchers if yoh-mono (videos from America and Europe), but in Japan, which has the highest condom use in the world, it's almost taboo. Which makes this production very daring.
	Kana Practice Flashcards Learn your hiragana and katakana with this great new kana practice series. It lets you match pictures with kana characters.
	Madam is Beautiful Superior ~ Okusama wa Bijin Joshi A nice new "H" manga from Japan, with great art and story.
	B-Boy Phoenix 1 For our yaoi customers, this is a nice new collection of stand-alone stories from many authors.
	Minako Iwasaki Art Works Minako Iwasaki's art is top notch, and you can see it in this great artbook.
	Gamera02 Art Works -- Normal Color Ver. I was such a Gamera fan at the age of 4, and loved nothing more than that radioactive flying turtle. Here's a great toy line from Japan.
	Super Mario Cushion -- Mushroom This is cool -- Super Mario cushions from the games!
	Chu Totoro w/ Leaf -- Small Mascot Plush A new Totoro plush, this one being the blue "Chu" Totoro.
	Ukiyoe Tapestry -- Kagami Jishi *Mirror Lion* A nice tapestry (wall-hanging, whatever) featuring a classic ukiyoe (浮世絵, pictures of the floating world) image.
	Business Card Case -- "Dragon" Red A nice case to hold your busniess cards in style, from Japan.
	Tea Dog Town Magnet Stand Tea Dog is still the cutest tea-related character (but not the only tea-related character, as you might think). This is a new line of cute toys.
	Morinaga Hi-Chew Citrus Fruits Assortment Enjoy a new Hi-Chew flavor, Citrus Fruits Assortment. Yum.
	Naminori Tatsujin "Brand Stamp" Mug Cup A new "surfing samurai" coffee cup. Great kanji design.
	Hello Kitty Daruma (Lucky Cat) Strap -- Yellow What would be cooler than Hello Kitty? Hello Kitty encased in a Daruma head.
	Aisia 1/8 Scale Figure -- Da Capo Second Season *D.C.S.S* A nice figure from Da Capo, an anime I happen to currently be watching. (Well, I am hooked on season 1, and this is from season 2, but whatever.)

Whenever a convention ends, there is the inevitible pack-down that must be done. Here are pictures of the pack-down at Comicon, in case you want to see. This is Chancee, our most excellent employee from San Diego, who sadly, is leaving us to back to her home in Texas.

It's a lot more lonely after all the crowds have gone.

This is the J-List Mobile, our handy F-150 truck with trailer that we bought this year.

The reason we make sure to put our logo on the trailer is, our last trailer got stolen right after we bought it. That really sucked.

Another view of the "accidental" rivet.

The last image you're likely to see on a Comicon advertisement. Well, goodbye, Comicon 2006. We'll see you in 2007.