Trends in rural Japan, fun places to drink in Japan, and Japanese group photo psychology

Yesterday J-List's Tomo and Jun were residents of separate towns, called Omama and Nitta, but today they're neighbors in the newly created city of Midori, which means green in Japanese. One of the biggest trends in rural Japan is gappei (gah-PEI), meaning consolidation, as smaller regions join together to incorporate as cities. In Japan's system of land organization, cities (shi, 市) are regions that have 50,000 or more people, whereas towns (machi or cho、町) and villages (mura or son、村) have smaller populations. Japan's rural areas are being hit by the triple whammy of extremely low birth rate, lack of immigration and young people moving to urban areas, which is causing parts of the country to empty out at an alarming rate. As Japan's population peaks this year, some rural areas are trying to redefine themselves to maintain their attractiveness to their citizens. It's also quite common for rural areas to reward people who move there, paying a bounty of $10,000 for building a house, for example, or a monthly stipend if you have three or more kids. At current projections, the population of Japan in the year 3000 is going to be....only 27 people.

Whenever you study Japan's society you inevitably encounter concepts of uchi (in-group) and soto (out-group). Groups are very important in Japan, and care is taken to avoid making any member feel that he's not a full-fledged member, be it a class in high school or a group of friends at Tokyo Disneyland. I've learned a lot about Japan's group psychology by watching them doing a very common thing: taking photographs. When a group of Japanese takes a photo together, you can often observe one person in the group taking a picture of everyone else, afterwhich another member will take the camera from him and take another picture, with the first person included this time. The idea is that if it's a group photo, everyone needs to be included, and excluding someone from the group will be unfair to that person. Walking away without taking a second picture might make the unincluded individual feel like he was nakama-hazure (na-KOO-ma ha-ZOO-ray), or an exile from the group. Likewise, if that person said he didn't want to be in the second picture it might cause bad feelings in the other members, so the second picture is usually taken. This system saves hurt feelings, although it wasted a lot of film back in the old Kodak/Fuji Film days.

Drinking establishments vary from country to country, and Japan is no different. The English word "bar" is used to describe a Western-style bar where you can find Guiness or a shot of Suntory Hibiki. A pub, on the other hand, often means a drinking establishment where there's a hostess of some kind, basically a pretty women who make chatter with you as she encourages you to drink more. A Japanese business associate of mine once took me to a "cabaret club," a very expensive place where your bourbon will be mixed by a beautiful girl as she makes cute small talk -- in my case it was a lot of nihongo ga jozu" or your Japanese is very good," which gets tedious after a while. Out here in the inaka (the boondocks) there's a kind of bar called a "snack" (short for "snack bar" since they serve food), where you can drink, eat and sing karaoke. But my favorite kind of Japanese drinking establishment would have to be the izakaya (ee-ZA-KA-YA), translatable as "a place to drink saké and just be." It's basically a cozy Japanese-style restaurant/bar that serves cold beer in frosty mugs, with lots of good things to eat, from sushi and sashimi to edamame (soybeans you can just pop in your mouth) and more. We happen to have a cool set of toys from Re-Ment featuring all the amazing food, drink and other items you can get at an izakaya -- see how many items you can identify! Full sets or random boxes are in stock.

We've got two products for fans of our original Japanese T-shirts: a new hoodie in cool Army Green Fatigue color, and a fitted girls version of our Ecchi parody rhinoceros shirt in earthy Olive Green. Our Japan-related T-shirts will make you look great, and since they're "coded" with secret words like the word "ecchi" or with kanji messages, most people won't know what they say. Browse our T-shirt and hoodie selection 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.

	Naho Color -- Naho Ozawa plus DVD 120min. Man, she is a beautiful woman. This is a magazine w/ DVD of Naho Ozawa, a beautiful human being if I ever saw one.
	Daah! vol. 4 Oct. 2005. Another magazine from Japan that features couples in love hotels. The name is kind of funny. What's more accurate than "Daah!"
	Momoeru Kataomoi -- Emiru Momose. Really pretty girl appearing in a nude photobook. They don't make 'em like they used to.
	Super Model Queen Akira Shiratori's Classroom. Another DVD from Japan, this is the lovely Akira Shiratori, a beautiful former model who they somehow inticed into this line of work.
	Japanese Hoody - Ecchi (Ecko Parody). Aaand we have a new hoody too! I liked the red one fine, but the manufacturer stopped making that color, so we brought out a new color.
	Arita Ware Mug Cup ~ Yakijime. Another really nice Arita Ware cup, which is so light you'll be surprised when you pick it up. Made in Arita, Kyushu.
	Heartful Smile. We've got a bunch of new doujinshi, including this one, a nice To Heart work. I'm currently watching this and just finished the ep where Robot Maid Multi comes back. Where had she gone?
	Bus Stop Totoro -- Cominica DX Statue. I am extremely glad to be able to bring you cool stuff like this. This is Totoro at the bus stop with Satsuki and Mei, and they even have the frog!
	Peach Color Pink ~ Momoiro Pink. New sexy manga from Japan, I thougth the title was rather cool. This is a futanari work, which is a word meaning "being both at the same time." Try to guess what it means if you don't already know.
	Deep Impact. So, even if you aren't into these devices (which are collectively called "holes" in Japanese), I think you need to admire the detail and construction of this unit. Man, the Japanese know their stuff. And this is made in Japan, too.
	Puchi Nomi Izakaya -- Full Set ~ Puchi Sample Series. Now, this is just too cool -- a set of miniature drink and food items that you can find in a Japanese izakaya. I love running J-List because I get to bring you cool things like this!!
	Gizmo Keychain Purse -- A ~ Gremlin 20th Anniversary. Surprise, Gremlins has turned twenty, and to celebrate JUN Planning has brought out two new plush toys that double as keychains or purses.
	Kitty Diorama -- Sakura. Ceramic diorama of Hello Kitty and her freidnsa at hanami (sakura flower viewing).
	Inrou -- Tokugawa Aoi Family Crest. For all those times when you don't have a wooden box with the Tokigawa Family Crest on it, this product is for you.
	Morinaga Koeda -- Framboise Chocolate Cake. Small chocolate covered dessert stick that's framboise (raspberry) flavored.
	Bocchan -- Soseki Natsume ~ Japanese Novel. Here's a challenge for Japanese students -- read a novel! This is Botchan, about as famous in Japan as Tom Sawyer is in the U.S., and it's quite easy to read if you've studied 3 years of Japanese or so. Go on, chicken.
	Unazukin -- Green. Another head-nodding Unazukin restocked. This is such a nice color.

Buying a new car in Japan, roundup of new 2006 features, and an anime fan's first trip to Tokyo

We've been in "buy a car" mode for the past few weeks, driving around to various dealers to see their current offerings. In Japan, there's a top-to- bottom check-up of all cars that must be done every two years called sha-ken, which is part safety inspection, part tax, and part penalty for not supporting the local economy by buying a new car as often as you could. Rather than paying another $1500 or so to keep driving our current vehicle, we did what many people do and decided to just buy a new one. As is commonplace in Japan, cars are sold through showrooms that are operated by the car manufacturers, a direct-sales business model that you'll be familar with if you've ever bought a Saturn. If you want to look at Toyota you hit your local Toyota Netz dealership; to see the latest Nissans you visit either the Red Stage or Blue Stage (I'm still not sure what the difference between them is). You never drive off with a car that day, but instead order it and wait three weeks while they make it in the factory, like they used to do back in the U.S. I've come to realize that this period of anticipation for your new car is actually part of the fun of the car-buying experience.

We had really enjoyed driving our oddly-named Mazda Bongo Friendee, which is a minivan with a top that opens like the old Vanagons, great for watching fireworks with the kids (there's a cult following for them in the UK). We wanted to replace it with something that was just as much fun. The keyword in the 2006 crop of Japanese minivans is "business class," and the new versions of cars like Toyota's Estima and Nissan's Elgrand sport reclining second-row seats with extendible foot rests -- they have cool names like "Captain's Chair" or "Super Relax Seat." I really liked the swivel seats in the Elgrand, allowing everyone in the family to face each other for an in-car game of Uno if the weather turns bad. Other features we liked in several new models included interior illumination (LEDs that fill the car with a cool blue glow) and the RFID-based "in pocket key" that lets you start the car without taking your key out of your pocket. In the end we decided to go with the newly redesigned MPV by Mazda, which had the business class-style seats, all-flat third seat and a hideaway space for me to store my onsen bath stuff.

I'll never forget my first trip to Tokyo, which I made a couple of weeks after arriving to Japan. As an anime fan, I knew I had to make my way to see the various real places that had appeared in the shows I'd watched. First I went to experience the weekend bustle of Shinjuku and stand before the famous Studio Alta television, and of course stare at the grandeur of the My City department store, which popped up in City Hunter from time to time. The icons of Tokyo's hip Shibuya area were my next stop -- I had to see the Shibuya 109 building and cross the famous "scramble intersection" (so named because you have to scramble across quickly or you'll get hit by a taxi), and of course pay homage to the statue of Faithful Dog Hachiko. Then it was over to Tokyo Tower, the 333 meter high scale replica of the Eiffel Tower, which is featured prominently in many CLAMP anime stories. It was a great time to be alive.

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.

	Yu u Wa Ku ~ Yukwaku -- Yuka Kosaka. Another elegant Japanese swimsuit idol in a hardcover photobook. Very pretty girl.
	Hyper Magic Mirror Box Car ~ Lesbian Version 2. The Japanese indies AV world is driven by kikaku, which just means "project" (i.e., fresh new ideas). This is one popular kikaku by Deep's, the go-anywhere adult studio with one-way mirrors on the outside, allowing for privacy in public places. Very inventive.
	SOD Special Rock Paper Scissors Game ~ Super Innocent Female Employee Version. Another popular kikakuseries by SOD, basically a bunch of girls do rock-paper-scissors, and the ones who lose have to strip. Since the girls are futsu (normal, amateur) it's all quite interesting.
	Moe Rurubu 2006 -- Tokyo City Guide For New Type 2006 Model ~ Tokyo Annai. This is a cool book that tells you all the hot places to go in Tokyo this year -- the shops, the maid cafes, you name it. This book is in Japanese; if you want one in English, you might try Walking Around Tokyo.
	Ghibli Music Box -- Kiki *Departure* ~ Kiki's Delivery Service. Another dynamite Ghibli Music Box, this one showing one of Hayao Miyazaki's most vibrant heroines, Kiki, taking off on her grand adventure.
	Let's Make Me Hard! ~ Ne! Shiyo. Nice manga by an artist with an odd name, Moral Anzaki. As always, when the English names are really weird, it's because that's what's written on the product, and we use it as the "official" name.
	Kanshimashi ~ Ka N Si Ma Si. Behind Moon is the leading force in futanari doujinshi, and this is their newest release. It's, ahem, really detailed.
	Ghibli Music Box -- Yubaba & Sen ~ Spirited Away. Spirited Away has to be my favorite of the "latter day" Miyazaki films (1990 and on, since the 80s are in a class by themselves with that guy). This is another music box.
	ZEBRA CLIP-ON Multi -- Blue Body. Do they have pens like this in the U.S.? It's got four colors of "ball pen" (ball-point pen) plus a "sharp pen" (mechanical pencil).
	Mini Sauce Bottle Assortment. We work so had at J-List because we love to surprise our customers with cool things from Japan. Here's one such item -- little soy sauce bottles that are great for taking condiments with your lunch!
	Kameda Curry Sembei. Senbei are rice crackers, and they're darned good. These are even better, dusted with curry powder.
	Natural Bamboo Sushi Dish. You never know when you'll need a little tray for serving sushi. You can also use it as a stand for dolls and what not.
	Nyanko Curry Set w/ Basket. Another bizarre item. Little plush ingredients for making Japanese curry.
	The Chiralism with Situation & Costume Play. Panchira is the Japanese word for catching a quick glimpse of a woman's panties. It's something they've developed pretty well, as you can probably imagine.
	Accelerando. I have no idea why this manga sells as well as it does, but we order a dozen or so each week but still manage to sell out.
	Japanese National Flag. A flag can sometimes be more than a flag. In Japan, if you waved this flag around too much, it might make people think you were right wing (pro Emperor, against being sorry for World War II). Outside of Japan, of course, there's no such stigma attached to the famous flag. I have to say, given the special meaning the Japanese flag can have in certain contexts here in Japan, I do hope that the same thing never happens to another flag I care for (i.e., having it end up being associated with a certain political party's aims exclusively, not the country as a whole).

More images from Tokyo. This is the South Side of Shinjuku, which is where you go if you want one of the more pleasant Starbucks, or to go to Kinokuniya, the massive 6-story bookstore (and the best place to buy English books in Tokyo).

In addition to Tokyo Tower, there's a replica of the Empire State Building that I hadn't noticed before. It looks pretty cool but it's way smaller than the original, to the point of being ridiculous.

This is Takashimaya Times Square, a really cool Borg Cube of a building, basically the area of sixteen JC Penny's or something, stacked one on top of the other.

Apple's iPod seems to be doing really well in Japan, and all the wanna-be competitors keep making crappy products that no one wants to buy. Their biggest competition might come from AU, who is blending phones and iPod like features. This is their LISMO download service, which parodies Apple's silhouette and colors.

There's the Starbucks, on the right. Kinda cool the way it's out there by itself. Course, you can never get a seat inside, since there are so many people there.

Signs of spring and "Haru Ichiban," different rules of economics in Japan, and surprising information on naughty words in Japanese

More signs of spring all around us in Japan, with warmer weather and lots of windy days, which are known as Haru Ichiban (the First of Spring). It's nice to see that winter is drawing to an end, but for people with allergies this in-between-seasons period can be a difficult one, as the extra-strong winds whip up lots of pollen and dust. Haru Ichiban marks the beginning of the "pollen mask season" when a large number of people will be seen walking around with SARS-style masks on their faces, trying to keep some of the allergens out.

Japan is a very different place from the rest of the world, and it operates under its own rules, even when it comes to good old Adam Smith. First of all, inflation doesn't seem to exist here, and except for a few core things like gasoline, prices don't move much at all. In fact, I've noticed very few things getting significantly more expensive over the past 15 years -- I think JR raised rail prices once, making the price of a train to Tokyo go from $16 to $18. The last decade has been mostly recession for Japan, as the country slept off the hangover from the bursting of the Tokyo land bubble in the early 1990s, and during that time the government has pursued a zero interest rate policy, effectively lowering the cost of money to banks to nothing in an effort to stimulate the economy. The result is that loans can be had in Japan for 1-2%, and sometimes for even less. I was walking by a bank the other day and noticed an advertisement for 0.78%, fixed at that level for three years (then presumably going to something like 4-5%). Of course, putting your money in the bank will generally net you a laughably low return of around 0.05%, so it's all relative, I guess. Japan may be an island nation, but it's not completely closed off, and many investors here take advantage of certificates of deposit, bond issues and other investments available outside Japan, usually offered through proxy companies.

When you learn a foreign language, the first thing you usually learn are the "naughty" words. However, people studying Japanese are often surprised to find that most of the bad words they're used to in English don't really exist. Popular Japanese insults include baka (BAH-kah, stupid), aho (ah-HO, this is the Osaka-ben version of baka) or shine (shi-NEH, meaning "go die"), and the "s-word" does exist (kuso), but it's hard to consider it a really bad word when it's used freely in anime watched by small children. It's funny how living in a society that doesn't use English changes one's perception of the what a "bad" word even is. For example, my kids are aware of all the bad words that exist in English ("those words that Dad says when he gets really mad"), but the words are all meaningless here in Japan, since using them doesn't cause a reaction out of the people around you. Language only has function when interfacing with others.

Remember that J-List makes it easy to enjoy DVDs from anywhere in the world, with our line of region free DVD players at great prices. Whether you want to watch the high-end indies or anime DVDs from Japan, or enjoy PAL DVDs from Europe, Australia or South America, the three region free DVD players we've got are all excellent choices for you. The players also play just about anything you can throw at them -- VCD, DVD-R/RW/R+, even MP3s burned onto CD-R or DVD-R. But best of all, they're incredibly affordable, starting at just $68 for the Karaoke-enabled DVD-7880K, $109 for the full-featured DVD-7050, and just $148 for the take-anywhere M-280, which has a 7-inch wide screen and battery. All players are shipped out of San Diego for your convenience and are fully warranted.

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.

	Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie ~ Conqueror of Shambara. A ncie glossy art book from the movie version of Fullmetal Alchemist, filled with great art from the movie.
	Part-Time Job Uniforms -- Rio Kitajima (region 2). New title for Sony PSP, this features the lovely Rio Kitajima wearing, er, costumes from part time jobs, like convenience store girl, campaign girl or McDonald's.
	Japan Underground. Dynamite extra-thick photobook that shows you things you never thought you'd see, like access corridors inside Tokyo's subway system, industrial freezers, Japan's underground power network, and more.
	MIRI -- Miri Hanai. One of the most beautiful women in Japan today, this is Miri Hanai's latest photobook. Lovely, isn't she?
	Imoto wa Idol -- Miki Sakita ~ My Sister Is An Idol. Another nice photobook , this one featuring the lovely nude photography of Miki Sakita, debuting at age 20.
	Keroro 1/1 Scale Coin Bank -- Sergeant Keroro. Every once in a while we have the chance to carry something so huge and so cool on J-List that we can't send it any other way than by EMS. This is one such item, a giant Sgt. Frog (Keroro Gunsou) piggy bank that will proably hold $10,000 for you.
	Extreme Roshutsu -- Nana Natsume. Roshutsu is the Japanese fetish of displaying one's self in the nude in public places, and that's what this production is about. Features the elegant Nana Natsume, the model who was headhunted by SOD to be their star actress.
	Big Tits Delusion -- Mai Kaoru. Very nice new actress from Wanz, who sports a 88 cm bust F cup. She's nice because she's genuinely pretty, not chosen only for her boobs (which are, of course, natural).
	Laputa Music Box -- Castle in the Sky. If you love the films of Hayao Miyazaki, do take a look at these ceramic music boxes from Sekiguchi, including this one that features the floating city of Laputa and Sheeta and Pazu. Fantastic!
	Noma Neko Note Book 1 - Medium ~ Purple Cover. A fun notebook featuring Noma Neko, the sake-drinking cats as seen on our T-shirts.
	The Seikatsu Hyakka -- Full Set ~ Puchi Sample Series. Find everything you need in miniature in this new series from Re-Ment, featuring little toilet items, little bathroom slippers, little dust mops to clean your room, and so on.
	Parody Japanese Geek Glasses. Be the biggest geek at the party with these funny glasses, which make you look like a dorky anime character or worse. Great for cosplay or just to be funny. Click the picture to see Yasu and Jun wearing the glasses, you will die laughing.
	Kokeshi -- Autumn Color ~ Aki. A beautiful Japanese kokeshi doll in an autumn motiff. Comes with its own box.
	Fujiya Japon ~ Urara-Hime -- Green Tea Flavor. One of the themes in the okashi (snack) industry this year has been beautiful Japanese-sytle packaging, and I've really loved Fujiya's Japon (Japan) series. This is a new version blending matcha (green tea powder) and chocolate.
	Yu Yagami PVC Figure -- Yakin Byoutou San ~ Night Shift Hospital. A popular character from Night Shift Hospital, this is one of those things that gives me pause that anything related to "anime" could look this real. It's a little "ecchi" for the blog but click over to the figure, it's excellent.

A trip to the Docomo shop. I've been yearning for an American-style smart phone, but no such thing exists here. Still, I thought it would be fun to see what Docomo had.

Lots of pretty phones. The main cell phone companies are NTT Docomo (very expensive, very stylish), AU (more affordable, also stylish, good 3G), Vodafone (so lame I read an article in the New York Times about how they were losing market share fast), and Tu-Ka (known for their PCS network). All phones are unique to each company though, so you have to shop carefully when buying or you'll miss a good phone.

This was the closest thing I saw to a smart phone, but it has no QWERTY keyboard. Plus, knowing NTT it will be a totally closed OS system, which I am not interested in.

'Course, the real reason to go into an NTT Docomo shop is to check out Chiaki Kuriyama's latest pictures. Chiaki in boxing gloves? Are they serious? The only thing cooler about this girl is that she's a shoushin shoumei (genuine, true) otaku, and I caught her on a talk show geeking out about how cool her Rei Ayanami figure with bandages was.

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