Interesting careers open to gaijin in Japan, getting used to strange words, and do you know what year it is?

I get a lot of mail from people who'd like to live in Japan someday, and I do my best to offer what guidance I can. Far and away, the most common job open to naive English speakers in Japan is teacher of English as a Second Language. Possible job avenues in this area include the national ESL school chains like AEON, GEOS and ECC; private-contract schools of varying sizes; jobs teaching English to employees of companies; more structured positions at high schools or universities; and the JET program. While it wasn't always a walk in the park, I did enjoy the years I spent teaching ESL before starting J-List, and I'd recommend teaching in Japan to anyone as long as they knew the limitations of the job (a four-year degree is required, and remember that "taught English in Japan" isn't always the best way to fill out one's resume). Still, I am invariably asked what other career paths are open to foreigners here. Other than the usual options you might think of -- translation, editing and checking of already translated works, becoming cast members at Tokyo Disneyland -- there is another up-and-coming career choice, that of a fake minister to perform weddings. While many Japanese get married with traditional Shinto ceremonies, Western-style weddings are still the most popular, and our prefecture has dozens of beautiful Western-influenced wedding halls, such as The Georgian House, which recreates an 18th century British manor so that couples can try to capture that elusive "Princess Diana" feeling at their wedding. In order for a white wedding to feel authentic, you just have to have a real-live foreigner there to say the nuptials. I ran into a friend of mind a few months ago, and he told me that he had almost given up teaching in lieu of his more profitable career as a wedding minister. At around $150-200 per ceremony, it's good work if you can get it, I suppose.

(Remember that I do have an article I've been writing over the past decade giving my now-oh-so-out-of-date advice on teaching ESL. See it here.)

You've been in Japan too long when you see a sign for a "mansion gallery" and know immediately that it's a building built to allow prospective buyers of high-rise condominiums (called "mansions" here) to see what the insides are like before making a purchase. Like every country, the Japanese take words and change them to fit their needs, so that sometimes a native speaker might not know what the original meaning was. For some reason only the Japanese can know, the letter "W" represents the idea of "double," and it's common for companies to use this letter in their product naming to communicate benefits, like the canned coffee I saw recently that promised "W" (double) the delicious coffee taste. The English word "service" often means "free" here, and if the owner of a ramen shop you're eating at uses the word as he hands you a free drink, you'll know what it means. Some other unique uses of English words including referring to screwdrivers as "plus" or "minus," labeling young people who decline to find full-time jobs "freeters," and one that threw me the first time I heard it, "number" for the license plate of a car.

I've talked before about how it's possible in Japan to lose touch with what year it is currently. In addition to the standard Western calendar, the Japanese have a unique system of counting years based on the reign of the current emperor. It's currently the 18th year of the Heisei era (Heisei means "Accomplishment of Peace," written 平成), which began when Emperor Hirohito died and was succeeded by his son, Akihito, so this year is Heisei 18. Before Heisei was the long Showa era (昭和, "Enlightened Peace," from 1925 to 1988), before that was Taisho (大正, "Great Righteousness," 1912-1924), Meiji (明治, "Enlightened Rule," 1868-1911), and so on. When you live in Japan, you quickly learn various dates in the Japanese system, since you need it to fill out forms -- I was born in Showa 43, e.g. 1968, my kids were born in Heisei 7 and 8, and so on. No doubt the Universal Century system of dates in the Gundam universe, which starts when humans first colonize space, is inspired by this system. It'd be kind of cool if we had names for Presidential eras, although we'd spend so much time arguing over what to use.

We've got a wacky new T-shirt for you on the site: a new re-mix of our "Do not commit Seppuku" classic. Ancient samurai were famous for committing ritual suicide by disemboweling themselves with their swords, which was called seppuku or harakiri (the latter is the same characters read with the Japanese reading as opposed to the Chinese one). Our latest J-List T-shirt features a wacky message in this tradition, with a Japanese warrior pointing to your midsection and the message, "In case of emergency, cut here." A gut-rippingly funny new offering from J-List!

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.

	Wacky Kanji T-shirt - In Case of Emergency, Commit Seppuku Here. Our newest wacky T-shirt, a new design we like a lot. Features a fun message "In case of emergency, cut here."
	an -- Anna Nagata. Mmm, a lovely photobook by a lovely model, Anna Nagata.
	Overflowing Fruit - Koboreru Kajitsu. Nice ero manga by Chitose-Rin and Hot Milk Comics, with ten stories, each about a different girl's adventures.
	Hitomi Hayasaka Memorial Best 10. We love Hiromi Hayasaka and have worked to get the good word out about her during her long career. Here is her "Best 10 Performances" as chosen by her fans.
	Waisetsu Catharsis -- Hotaru Akane. Hotaru Akane looks mighty nice in her newest release. She is just about the top name in JAV these days.
	Fruits No. 107 June 2006. Heh, another issue of Fruits, showing those wacky Tokyo kids who dress so funny.
	Donkey Kong Plush Doll (S) -- Mario Party. Based on J-List sales of Nintendo stuff, I'd say Wii is going to best PS3, since we've really been blowing through these products this year. Here's a plush Donkey Kong for you.
	Kinopio Plush Doll (S) -- Mario Party. Kinopio looks really good in his new plush body. Very soft and huggable.
	Mig-60 1/9 Scale PVC Figure -- Mecha Musume. Man, oh man, this is a nice figure. It's a tall statue of a beautiful girl who happens to have been fused with a WWII era Mig-60. Kawaii!
	Coloring Book of Cats - Neko No Nurie. Another coloring book for grown-ups, a popular form of stress relief in Japan.
	Hip Parade *Vol.01* -- Individual Box ~ Trading Torso . We've got a new Hip Parade choice for you, individually packaged trading torsos, so you can buy one, two or ten, as you like.
	Wave & Plover Kinchaku Bag -- Blue. This is a cool bag made of cotton, sort of a woven burlap material called Kinchaku. Very cool, if you're in the market for a unique bag from Japan.
	Hot Pot (Nikomi) Ramen -- Miso Flavor. This is something I've wanted to carry for a while, and I'm glad we have it. It's one of my favorite foods, basically everything you need to make a big pot of delicious hot miso ramen with tons of vegetables for the family to eat. Yum.
	Mogmo Kun -- Blue ~ USB Memory Case. This strange looking flellow will eat your USB memory sticks and keep them save for you.
	Small Corgi -- Welsh Corgi Walking Toy ~ Iwaya. A super cute plush doggie that walks and barks. This one is the Corgi.
	Animal Voice Keychain -- Full Set *Set of 8* ~ Bandai Gashapon. Another cool item from Japan, this is a set of keychains that make sound like moo, quack, woof and so on when you press them. And they're cheap as heck.
	Frog Style *Autumn Ver* Keychain -- Full Set *Set of 12*. Another item for fans of stylish stuff from Japan are the new Frog Style keychains. I especially like the Ojizo Frog, essentially a frog that's a little Buddhist statue protecting children.
	Wa no Takumi -- Full Set *Set of 12* ~ Japanese Tea Room Ver.. A really cool Re-Ment style set (but not by Re-Ment actually), recreating everything you'd find in a beautiful Japanese tea house.
	Cup Noodle Mug Cup. Heh, this is something we've been selling for 4+ years, and I still love it. A very nicely made coffee cup, but that looks like Nissin Cup Noodle.
	My Neighbor Totoro Deluxe Cuckoo Clock. And another item we've been selling for a long time, almost five years, the only Totoro Cuckoo clock you will ever see.