Thoughts on raising kids bilingual, the origin of the name "Atari" and Our RV Trip

Well, our RV trip to the Grand Canyon is finally over. We had great fun and the kids were amazed at the grandeur of the place, and I was happy to be able to show them a beautiful part of the USA. Now I'm headed "Back East" to Maryland with my son. We're going to visit family and check out the places where I grew up as a boy (including the Kay Bee Toy Store where I bought my very first Star Wars figure, if it's still there). We'll also duck into Otakon (Aug 4-6) in Baltimore and check out the show -- I'll be on some panels related to bishoujo games on Saturday if you're there and want to come by to say hi. For information on Otakon, see http://www.otakon.org.

My wife and I want to raise our kids to be bilingual, but it can be difficult sometimes. Since we live in Japan, my kids are naturally much stronger in Japanese than in English, which is why we bring them to the U.S. every summer so they can get a good dose of American culture. We learned early on that if my wife or I are around, my kids will find excuses to speak Japanese, and nothing we can do can force them to use English. The best way we've found to manage this is to put them in a "sink or swim" situation where they have to use English if they're going to survive, and we've found summer camps to be a great way to make this happen. Every summer we choose several summer camps to send the kids to, which forces them use English and make friends with other kids. Today we dropped my daughter off at Raw Hide Ranch camp here in San Diego, a fun place where kids ride horses and play cowboy or cowgirl for a week (which I highly recommend, if you're looking for a summer camp in the area for next year). For most people a summer camp is a great experience for their kids, and a peaceful week for parents, but for us it's actually an incredibly beneficial tool for making our kids acculaturate to the U.S. and feel like "Americans."

It's funny, the things you discover when you start studying a language like Japanese. The first computer I ever owned was an Atari 400, those cool 8-bit machines from the early days of home computing. The word atari (pronounced with all syllables stress the same, e.g. ah-tah-ree, not ah-TAH-ree) is a Japanese word that literally means "to hit" and it's used in the context of hitting a target or meeting a goal. It also means to get the right answer, and on game shows the host may shout "Atari!" when a contestant guesses correctly. (Alternately, he might should "ping pong!" which happens to simulate the sound of a "that is correct" bell to the Japanese ear.) When former childhood idol of mine Nolan Bushnell founded Atari in 1972, giving your company a Japanese name when it wasn't Japanese must have been quite "edge." Looking at the kanji for the word (see it on the J-List main page), you can even see that they drew a lot of the inspiration for the Atari logo from the design of the character.

JAST USA is sponsoring the first "H-Game Webcomic" entitled "HH" over at JAST USA, a hilarious web-based comic that will parody the themes found in bishoujo games, featuring characters from games by G-Collections, Peach Princess and more. Come on by and check it out! We plan to update the comic every Sunday.

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.

	Karami 09 -- Miko Hayama I just love the Karami format -- a magazine devoted to very artistic photographs of a single model. Do they have anything like this in the States?
	Miracle Stars This is a nice collection of very avante-garde photographs from an extremely talented photographer.
	Y Keikaku -- Yasuko Akiba I just *love* the sexy photos in this offering. I mean, this is all you need -- a really beautiful angle, and just enough clothes to let the imagination run wild.
	Nettaiya Tropical Night -- Mihiro Mihiro's latest offering. Spend a dreamy tropical night with Japan's #1 AV idol.
	Primura 1/8 PVC Figure -- Shuffle Shuffle is the hottest b-game in Japan these days, and here's a figure from the game, the lovely Primura.
	Kodomo Kanji Jiten ~ Children's Kanji Dictionary A kanji dictionary for kids, which makes it useful for learners of Japanese. Recommended for those with at least two years of study under their belts.
	This Palm ~ Kono Tenohira Nurses must be in in Japan this year. This is one fine nurse-themed cosplay manga.
	Star Wars Magnet 03 -- Set of 8 *Full Set + Rare Item* ~ Real Mask As a Star Wars fan, I have to say, this set of mask magnets is just too cool for words. I mean, they give you Commander Cody! A really top-notch item for collectors, sold only in Japan.
	Nintendo Soft Vinyl Figure -- Kuribo / Goomba ~ Super Mario Characters We have some cool Nintendo soft vinyl figures, always a popular item around here.
	Kimono Netsuke -- Fuku ~ Pink We also have more Netsuke (NETS-keh) straps, which feature the beauty of kimono designs on a handy strap for your phone.
	Women Geta -- Strawberry ~ Yumeji Takehisa Good "geta" shoes for females, with a pretty strawberry motif.
	Ukiyoe Tapestry -- Gofukuya *Kimono Shop* A nice wall hanging featuring a real image of Japan's Ukiyoe art style.
	Hello Kitty Soap Bubbles Blow Hello Kitty bubbles with your friends with this handy bubble set.
	Ceramic Aroma Pot -- Brown A ceramic pot that holds aroma oil (which we happen to sell). Very handy to have around.
	Morinaga Bottle Ramune Candy -- Cola Flavour Ramune candy is delicious, sort of like the old Sweet-Tarts candies. These are Ramune Cola Bottle Candies so they're really tasty.

This is the RV we went to Arizona in. Two adults and four kids, it was certainly cozy inside.

It was 1100 miles, there and back, not that far as far as trips go (not as bad as, say, our annual trip to Dallas for A-Kon), but far, nevertheless.

Of course, gas sucked big times, although since gas prices are always way high in San Diego (usually $3.50, although today I found gas for $3.21) we were often happy to find chaper gas.

As a long-time Peanuts fan, I've *always* wanted to go to Needles to see if they had a statue of Snoopy's brother Spike, the only brother who I consider 'canon' since he's been around since the 1970s at least (Belle can live too, but Olaf, Marbles, and Andy have to die). There was no such statue to be found. Now I need to go to Petaluma. ("Petaluma?")

The kids were having fun in the back, although trying to get 4 kids to sit still in a vehicle for that long is a feat.

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.

I sure know how to keep busy. The San Diego Comicon ended just two days ago, but I'm already several hundred miles away, at the Grand Canyon. I'm taking a much-deserved vacation after our hard convention season this year, touring in an RV with my mother and my two kids, who just flew in from Japan. We're having great fun near the South Rim, doing very "American" things like eating hot dogs and beans and making s'mores (and with real graham crackers, too, not saltines like they use in Japan). It's a challenge, keeping the kids entertained in the middle of hot, hot Arizona, but we're having a blast so far...

I've learned something about my own country so far on this trip, at the campgrounds we've been parking our RV at each night: in addition to folks from all corners of the US of A, we've met people from such far-flung places as Germany, Israel and the U.K. It seems that a popular way for foreign visitors to see the "real America" is to rent an RV and hit the road. It's been interesting, talking with people from countries like the Netherlands about what they've seen in this great, wide country, and they're always surprised to meet an American who's an ex-pat in another country. Since people in most other countries pay a lot more for gas than we do in the States, I'm sure the fuel required to drive an RV through the U.S. looks reasonable by comparison.

Most of us know the name Americus Vespucius, the explorer and mapmaker who coined the phrase "New World," and how his name came to be placed on maps representing North and South America. Japan got its current name through a very indirect route. The early name for Japan used by European countries was Cipangu, which and the country was mentioned in the tales of Marco Polo (something the Japanese are no doubt thrilled with, knowing their penchant with making a good impression on Westerners). Eventually this morphed into Zipang, and eventually, the modern Japan in the English language. In Japanese, the name of Japan is either Nihon or Nippon (both are correct). Written in kanji (日本）, the name means "origin of the sun," which is a fairly reasonable name since the sun appears to come from Japan, when seen from China, and they didn't know much about those things back then.

Back in the Edo Period, there were four castes in Japanese society: warrior (samurai), farmer, artisan and merchant, with merchants at the bottom of the rung, despite their actual position of importance as movers of the economy. There seem to be similar castes in Japan today, which might include such groups as salarymen (full-time employees of private companies), providers of skilled services like carpenters, farmers, and Japanese public employees. The latter group, called komuin (KOH-mu-in), are an interesting part of society here, consisting of every national, prefectural or local employee, every fireman, every policeman, every tax collector, and every educator at any level. Postal employees used to fall into the komuin category, but Prime Minister Koizumi has privatized the post office, essentially making it a publicly mandated private organization. Responsible for administering Japanese laws, collecting taxes, granting permits for various activities, issuing marriage licenses and generally making Japan run smoothly, komuin are in theory like public servants in the U.S., and yet quite different. Unlike the private sector, where companies must work hard and show results, Japan's public employees enjoy incredible stability, and theirs is the last segment of society with de facto lifetime employment in Japan. Young people who want the comfort of the stablest possible job and a long, steady climb up the social ladder aspire to pass the difficult tests that allows you to work as a public employee, although of course, if your parents are friends with your local city councilman he may be able to get you a job even if you haven't passed the test -- Japan is nothing if not flexible. While Japan's public employees provide a solid white-collar backbone of stability for the country, there are a lot of complaints about lack of fiscal restraint in Japan's public sector. For example, despite the decade-long recession in Japan, our prefecture found the money to build a 32-story skyscraper-style prefectural office that cost hundreds of millions to erect yet does nothing but provide government employees with a beautiful view. Before starting J-List, I had the opportunity to work as a komuin in my city for a few months, and I learned a lot from the experience (including that I didn't want to have a life that was that stable).

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 Mar. 2006 vol. 237 Ah, another issue of Urecco, and with a sassy new look to it, too.
	The Best Scenes of Spring Kyoto ~ Kyoto Sakura Hyakkei Kyoto is the most beautiful place in Japan. Here's a photobook loaded with pictures of Kyoto in the Spring.
	Daisy -- Hina Kawai (region 2) Hina Kawai really looks good in her new DVD release, a soft-core offering.
	Pan-Sto Hunter ~ Panty Hose Hunter Ah, the Japanese and their love of panst, or panty stockings. It's one of the fetishes I can buy into, since a woman can look sexy without actually showing anything.
	Monochrome -- Misako Yasuda Misako Yasuda-chan is always a treat. Here is her new photobook. Because it's by Sabra you know it's a good one.
	Uniform Trance -- Kasumi I just love the photography on all the Uniform Trance DVDs. Superb!
	Naru Narusegawa *Bathtime* Figure -- Love Hina Naru-chan from Love Hina. A cute new figure for those of us who can't paint our own anime figures from scrach.
	Midnight Seminar 3 ~ Mayonaka Seminar 3 A nice "H" manga for you from Japan. Er, very educational, yes.
	Star Wars Kubrick Series 6 I love Star Wars, you know I do. And one of my favorite types of SW figure are the Kubrick toys, which are so well made you'll be shocked when you hold one in your hand (*way* better than the Kubrick pretenders that came after).
	Seven Samurai Figures -- Colored Ver Another cool figure series, this is a set that gives you famous characters from the Seven Samurai, including a figure of Akira Kurosawa himself.
	Next Day Kerori Plush -- Small *White* ~ Tsugi no Hi Kerori A new cute plush frog from San-X. I guess it's their take on Keroppi? Since they've already redefined cute cats with the Nyanko line.
	Gold Fish Clear Pouch More ways to keep goldfish near your heart.
	Hyottoko Mask This is just plain weird, but it's the kind of weird that Japanese people can laugh at. Great cosplay for your favorite anime convention.
	Naminori Tatsujin "Fujiyama" Mug Cup More wacky "Surfing Samurai" stuff, this time a coffee cup that features Mt. Fuji on it.

More pics from Comicon. Hey, I've seen that shirt before!

We are always retiring older J-List shirts for new ones, and so we have quite a lot of older shirts. This is one, and this guy wears it proudly as an "old school" J-List fan.

We always get a lot of comments on our banners, which were designed by Naomoto Sakaki or the Borderline series. We get plenty of offers to buy them, although they're not for sale.

This guy was walking around in a Pocky costume.

This girl was so hot, I thought for a moment I was at the AVN show in Las Vegas. She's holding the Domo-kun plush that was such a hit at the show. Bummer that my Treo decided to put an artifact in the picture.

I liked this shirt, too.

And this one, with Space Invaders printed into the shirt.

Isn't this the coolest thing in the world? I love the Clone Wars-style redesigns of the Star Wars characters.

The end of Comicon again, thoughts on math and the abacus, and strategies for communication

It's that time of year again: the crowds have gone home, the D.C. Comics banners have been pulled down, and the giant inflatable Pikachu has been deflated. The San Diego Comicon has come to an end, and we're all so tired, we feel like we've climbed Mt. Fuji. There is nothing like this convention anywhere in the world: a sprawling room that's easily ten times the size of Echo Base on Hoth, filled with all manner of geek culture, and there were well over 100,000 attendees this year. We had a great show, shook a lot of hands and sold a lot of Totoro T-shirts. If you came by to say hi, thanks!

In addition to greeting fans and talking about the wacky things from Japan we carry on the J-List website, I completed a lot of purchases for customers. Two T-shirts here, three packs of Black Black there, and did you want all three of the X-Change games? I had to do a lot of calculation in my head, which can really be challenging, since I'm not very good at doing math on the fly. The general consensus among Japanese I've talked to is that Americans usually aren't very good at math, and in my case this is certainly true. While trying to figure the total for some loose socks and Domo-kun toys I found myself envying my Japanese wife, who always seems able to do complex calculations in her mind with perfect accuracy. Part of the reason she can calculate so quickly is no doubt due to her years learning the soroban, or abacus, a complex system of beads that makes all kinds of addition and multiplication a snap. My wife has the equivalent of a "black belt" with the device, and can actually do calculations on an "air abacus," moving her fingers in mid-air and imagining where the beads would be to get the total. Sadly, it seems that abacus skills are slowly falling by the wayside in the current generation, as fewer and fewer kids are going to the special juku schools to learn how to use an abacus.

Communicating with people from a different country can involve making use of communication strategies to get your point across. These strategies take many forms, from hand signals to indicate an item on a menu to using non-sequitors to feign comprehension at times to keep the flow of a conversation from grinding to a halt -- I've actually done this while getting sloshed with British friends in Japan when I couldn't quite tell what they were talking about. I have a gaijin friend who's a full professor at a Japanese university, and he actively avoids using proper keigo, or formal polite Japanese, going out of his way to make some mistakes in his speech when talking with the other professors. The reason, he says, is to keep the staff of his university from knowing how fluent his Japanese is, since they might pile unwanted translation work on him if they knew of his linguistic abilities. Plus he wants to remain humble and raise up his Japanese colleagues: although he could pass level 1 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, the primary test for students of the language, he avoids taking this step, since most of the professors he works with haven't passed their level 1 of the "Eiken" test (the corresponding test for English).

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 April 2006 Another nice issue of Urecco Gal, always one of our favorites.
	Pururun Big Breasts -- Yuu Ogawa This girl is really beautiful. Here is her new offering for DVD fans.
	Mihiro Style Mihiro is our top adult video idol at J-List, and here's a dynamite photo-magazine of hers. Get it before it's gone, since we only have five in stock.
	Loving Kindly ~ Koishikute Yasashikute -- Yuko Ogura First Photographs Yukorin fans, this is an item you should not pass up -- a reprint of her very first photobook.
	EVA 2nd ~ Evangelion Second Impact Visual Book - Pachinko Nice item for Eva collectors here: the Evangelion Pachinko cross-over. Now I am waiting for them to make a New Yamato Adventures, using the updated Yamato designs Matsumoto-sensei did.
	Tour Document Diabolos -- Gackt I've been playing yaoi games far too much lately (testing our new title, Absolute Obedience), but Gackt-san really looks like he came out of one of these games.
	Mutsumi Otohime *Bathtime* Figure -- Love Hina Nice new figure for Love Hina fans.
	Ukiyoe Tapestry -- Sumo *Yokozuna* A cool item for your wall featuring a real ukiyoe image.
	1085 Kodama Figure -- Clear *Sitting* We love the Kodamas from Princess Mononoke, and here are two new figures.
	Totoro Planter -- In Woods *Kodachi* Ah, another Totoro planter. This one is extra cool -- Totoro will help your flowers grow!
	Mother Rule Nice "H" action for manga fans.
	Hello Kitty Folding Umbrella -- Pink A super cute umbrella from Japan.
	Dots -- Pacman Make your own Pac Man image with Dots, great for retro video gamers.
	Handy Grand Child's Hand (Back Scracher) Scratch your back with this great item from Japan.
	Glico Banana Bisco Delicious cookie for kids, and very healthy.

Heading into the convention center now. Why don't you join me for some fun at Comic-Con?

One of the major differences bewteen Comicon and Anime Expo, other than the fact that the population of my Japanese home city is around me on the convention floor at the former, is the cosplay differences: there were not many costmes at all at SDCC, but 33-50% of the fans at AX were in costume.

Lots of interesting T-shirts, yes. Since she likes the military uniforms, I gave her a catalog with our upcoming game.

I always get culture shock at all the tattoos and face-piercings (in some cases, "harpoonings" is the only term to use), which of course they don't do back in Japan too much. This woman had a Monopoly board on her arm -- pretty cool.

Nice button. Pretty wacky.

Close-up. Incidentally, I was using my Treo 650 that I bought for use in America (won't work in Japan though, grrr), which isn't as good in the camera-department as my normal camera.

We had this girl in costume hold our school bag from Matsukameya, and it looked really good in her hands. We got a *ton* of interest in the school uniforms we sell.

This guy looks like he's cosplaying Ray Bradbury cosplaying Mr. Spock.

Cool costume. He used a real flight helmet for the helmet part, too, for extra realism.

Another Mei. This one was cuter than the last one I took a picture of.

Some useful phrases for making a good impression in Japanese, Japan and the sweet potato-bank ATM connection, and fun at the San Diego Comicon

The San Diego Comic Con is underway, and although it's just gotten started, we're tired already, however it's the good kind of tired. We spent Thursday greeting about a jillion fans and selling our many unique products, from dating-sim games to our wacky Japanese T-shirts and hoodies to Domo-kun plush toys and more. Incidentally, I made a mistake on the booth number in the last update -- we're actually in booth 229, all the way to the right side (when facing) of the convention center, right in the middle of Anime Alley. For more info on the show, see this page. We hope to see you at the show, or if not, on the J-List website!

The all-purpose polite Japanese phrase domo is a handy word for a foreigner to know, as it can be used as an abbreviation for the correct phrase in almost any situation, even if you're not sure what that phrase would actually be. Literally meaning "very" (as in, domo arigato gozaimasu, thank you very much), the domo expression can be used to mean hello, goodbye, I haven't seen you in a long time, thanks for taking care of that problem for me the other day, and so on. Domo-kun, the popular mascot of NHK, Japan's public broadcasting network, serves partially to make kids aware of how important it is to be polite to others, hence his name. As usual, Japan is very onion-like, and you can be sure that peeling away the layers of politeness will bring on more complexity. While the nuances of Japanese courtesy can be about as confusing as parsing TCP/IP headers -- there are verbs that change form depending on whether the subject of the sentence is an honored guest who must be raised up to a higher level, or yourself or a member of your "in group," requiring a self-effacing, humble verb -- you can make a good impression by learning a few simple phrases.

One such elementary phrase that comes in handy in many situations is ojama shimasu (oh-JAH-MAH shee-MAHS), which basically means "sorry for intruding" and is what you say when you enter someone else's home. Kids often forget to say this when they visit a friend's house, and I always go out of my way to make sure my kids say it to their friends' mothers when visiting (the sight of an American lecturing his kids on how to speak polite Japanese is an amusing one in my neighborhood). Another important phrase is onegai shimasu (oh-NEH-GAI shee-MAHS), which just means "please" (or more literally, "I request it of you"), always useful to know. Finally, there are itadakimasu and gochiso-sama deshita (ee-TAH-DAH-kee-MAHS and go-chee-SOH-SAH-MAH DESH-ta), which are used at mealtimes and essentially mean "I'm going to receive the gift of this food" and "thanks for a delicious meal," respectively. While the two phrases are used in most every household (the latter corresponds to "May I please be excused?" in that kids aren't allowed away from the table unless they say it first), they're especially important in situations where politeness is needed. If someone takes you out to eat and they're picking up the tab, it's especially important to use the latter phrase to thank them for dinner.

Japan can sure be a perplexing place. It's a highly advanced nation in which digital technology is often far ahead of other countries, and yet in the autumn there's no finer sound than the baked sweet potato man, driving his truck around as he sells stone-baked sweet potatoes while singing his baked sweet potato song. Bank ATMs are another perplexing area. We take 24-hour automated tellers for granted in the U.S., but when I came to Japan, I was surprised to see "cash corners" (as they are called here) close at 7 pm weekdays, earlier on Sunday. The reason? By law, there has to be a bank employee inside all "automated" tellers, so it's difficult to keep them open at all hours. Once I was trapped in Hokkaido during Golden Week, unable to get money out of my account for several days because the ATMs were closed along with the banks. In contrast, a friend of mine was able to get money out of his account in Sweden while living in rural India with his normal bank card and PIN. Another ATM difference: you can only get a few hundred dollars out at machines in the U.S., but in Japan, it's possible to withdraw up to $30,000 at a time.

Since not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to attend the San Diego Comicon, we're going to give you a nice surprise: free shipping (U.S./Canada) or half-price shipping (for international customers) on all our amazing PC dating-sim games, which makes this a great opportunity for you to spend some time browsing the J-List website and bag a few "H" games. Why not take this chance and get all the great English-translated PC dating-sim games you've been wanting to buy?

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.

	Bejean Mar 2006 vol. 149 A nice new issue of Bejean, one of our favorite magazines. The, er, girl in the 2nd picture on our website is really, really amazing (how do they make girls like that?).
	Characters of GUNDAM A nice item for old school people like me, into Gundam. Tons of great art in here, including some good Zeta stuff.
	Mcacumei!! -- Inrin of Joytoy Yinling (aka Inrin) is a fabulously beautiful Taiwanese race queen who's had a heck of a career. This is her new Yinling of Joytoy release.
	EROMESU 3 -- Yuuhi Aihara Another fabulous adult video offering in the ERO (erotic) MESU (female) series.
	REGGAE Dance Style vol. 01 This is just bizarre -- hipe dancing and eroticism combined into one.
	Thank you, Lasseter-san (region 2) A rare treat for Miyazaki fans, this is a documentaty and "thank you video" from Miyazaki-sama himself to the man who helped make Spirited Away a hit in the U.S. (which got Miyazaki an Academy Award).
	Kinohana Lacquered Bento Box w/ Bowl -- Sakura A really nice bento box for you. Comes with a lacqered bowl for your miso soup.
	Nao Morisaki 1/6 PVC Figure -- Swimsuits Ver. A nice figure of Nao Morisaki from Soul Link.
	Kingyo ~ The Graphics of Japanese Goldfish Dozens of amazing pictures of goldfish, a famous icon of Japan for centuries.
	Love Sales Man ~ Ai no Salesman Here's a nice "H" manga about a man who will do anything to win his girlfriend back.
	Women Geta -- Kobana Dukushi ~ Blue Some really stylish Japanese traditional sandals for women, geta style.
	Umino Kuma Plush Keychain -- Dark Brown ~ Honey & Clover Another odd-but-cute item from Japan, these are the Umino Kuma (Umino Bear) plush toys, in two new colors.
	Lotte Uji Matcha Soft Cookie Really good Matcha (Green Tea) cookies from Lotte, featuring tea from the Uji region of Japan, which is decidedly the "in" brand of green tea this year.
	Red & Black Sake Cups for Couple -- Fuku& Kotobuki Really cool item for couples, square "masu" cups for drinking sake, in two colors.
	Pull-Dash Car Eraser -- Beetle (Type A2) A wacky eraser that sits on a car chassis -- fun to play with!
	"Looking For a Japanese Girlfriend" - Fitted Girl's Tee Posted last time, this is the brand new Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend, made in a girl's shirt size for girls who are lookin' for girls.
	Kiki in Shop Planter -- Kiki's Delivery Service A new Kiki's Delivery Service planter for gardeners. Put your own plants inside here and grow something special!

More pics from our trip to Santa Cruz (since my camera battery was dead, making it impossible for me to take pics at the Comicon today). Nice picture of our new baby Nicholas and his favorite cousin.

We had to do the mission, of course, which was a really beautiful one. This was the mission in Santa Cruz, one of the oldest in California.

This mission as founded by Junipero Serra, who happens to be the guy who founded my high school, since it's named after him. Or something like that, anyway. (Just kidding.)

Fr. Serra is actually buried in the mission. I'm not sure if he is below this stone, or elsewhere in the compound.

A bible from 1568 that Serra probably used. Kind of cool to try to read the Latin. Speaking of Latin, has anyone seen Elfin Lied, the most coolest anime to come along in a while? They get major kudos for having an opening credit song sung entirely in Latin.

A reconstruction (?) of Fr. Serra's humble room.

The garden outside was also beautiful, and hopefully restful for those interred here.

All about bowing, something America has that Japan does not, and a strange buzzing sound

Can you hear that? The buzzing sounds you hear are the murmers of excitement being uttered by everyone who's going to be at the San Diego Comicon this weekend, July 19-23. J-List will be there in a big way, of course, and we sure hope you'll be at the show, too -- come see us in Anime Alley in the 500 aisle (I think that's where we'll be -- anyway, just look for the Domo-kun plush toys). For information on the show, see this page.

You know you've been in Japan too long when you bow while speaking to someone on the telephone. It's just one of those local mannerisms that you can't help but pick up, like doing the swishing "come here" wave (which to Western eyes looks like "get away from me"), or "slasher hand" as you move through a crowded room. The Japanese bow in many formal and "sort of" formal situations, but like the politeness that's built into the language itself, there are many subtle layers. If you were to meet a person you work with on the street, you might slightly lower your head and utter that all-purpose Japanese polite phrase, domo -- a pretty casual greeting. Meeting with a representative from a company you do business with is obviously a more formal affair, and you would show respect by bowing lower and for a longer period of time as you exchange meishi, or business cards. Funerals are extremely solemn, and when the father of J-List's accountant passed away, my wife gave me careful instructions about exactly how to bow when giving my condolences to him and his family.

There are many differences between Japan and the U.S. One of them is that the U.S. has inflation, while Japan does not, or not much, anyway. The accepted wisdom is that "Japan has very low inflation, but the prices are high to begin with," and while this statement seems odd when you hear it, in practice it's proven quite accurate. In the fifteen years I've lived in Japan, prices have changed very little -- it used to cost $16 to take the train from our city into Tokyo, and now it's up to $18.50, and the 350 ml Coke that used to cost $1 is now $1.20. It probably sounds nice to be paying 1995-era prices for many products, but there are downsides, too. First, gas is plenty expensive, the equivalent of $4.50 a gallon, although Japanese drivers don't feel the pinch as much as they otherwise might since they don't put 50 miles on the car just going to the mall like I'm doing now in California. The other downside of the lack of inflation is slow or no growth in salaries, which leads to a general economic malaise since consumer spending can't push the country forward like it does in the States. A major part of the reason why inflation is hard to find in Japan is that land prices have fallen every year since the bursting of the economic bubble back in 1989 -- they've down to half what they were at their height, which is bound to create more than a little economic suckage.

J-List sells our world-famous wacky Japanese T-shirts, with cool slogans in kanji and other original designs that will really make you stand out in a crowd. Our newest shirt is one that customers have requested often, a version of our best-selling "Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend" design, but on a stylish fitted girly tee, rather than our normal men's T-shirts. It's very kinky, looks great, and we're sure that you or someone you know would look super in it! Why not browse all our amazing Japanese T-shirts and hoodies today?

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.

	Sabra Magazine Another gorgeous issue of Sabra Magazine, the most heavenly product in its category.
	Peach Pie -- Hikari Gonoi Hikari-chan is really lookin' good in her new photobook, which we recommend a lot.
	digi KISHIN -- MEGUMI Megumi, Megumi, Megumi... You Blessed Goddess of the Yellow Cab Talent Agency. Far and away our favorite Y.C. girl, she's cool because she's so smart, and can talk up a storm with anyone (it's that Kansai-New Yorker type personality). She's a regular on Spring of Trivia, a show which (I gather from the lack of buzz) didn't exactly distinguish itself on Spike. Oh well...
	Chijo Horse-Riding Hyper Piston -- Noa & Naomi Hirose Enjoy the "chijo" (er, the female version of a "chikan") action of Noa and Naomi-chan in this new "Horse Riding" special DVD.
	Dengeki Layers July 2006 Enjoy cosplay culture in the new Dengeki Layers. Lots of top-quality costumers in here!
	Introducing JAPAN Another book that introduces you to Japan's culture, religeon, art, history and more.
	Kendama -- Wooden Type ~ JKA Official Product *For Competition* This is cool -- a *world class* Kendama, not just any old Kendama. I didn't even know these existed.
	Ayano Kunugi 1/8 Scale Figure -- Welcome to Pia Carrot A really cute figure for collectors, from the Welcome to Pia Carrot anime (and game).
	Maid Tachi no Gohoushi ~ The Service of Maids A nice hentai manga for our "H" customers. Man, this artist really knows his stuff, doesn't he?
	Kaonashi & Bou Nezumi Planter -- Spirited Away A really cool ceramic planter for your garden, featuring No Face and Bou, the baby who was turned into a small pink mouse and who is really, really popular (don't ask us why).
	Tomy Tomica Limited ~ Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (IV / VII) -- 4 Models See the history of the Mitsubishi Lancer series with this great set of Tomica cars.
	Shopping at Supermarket -- Individual Box ~ Re-ment Puchi Sample Series More tiny miniature action from Re-Ment. Always a treat. I can't wait to get my set opened when I get back to Japan.
	Pink Gold Fish Cell Phone Holder w/Flap - A Type Because you can never have enough pink gold fish...
	Soft Sauce Sembei Delicious rice crackers, flavored with "sauce" (which is to say, tonkatsu sauce).
	Hello Kitty Daruma (Lucky Cat) Strap -- Purple Another strap featuring Hello Kitty as a Dauma. Very cute, and lucky, too!
	Key Chain Style Portable Ash Tray -- Dragon Black If you smoke, carry one of these and earn the respect of everyone around you, even as they stare in amazement that such a thing exists.
	Chopsticks & Hashi-Oki (C-4) -- Gold Fish Japanese chopsticks are the best, and these are made of bamboo. Here's a nice set with rest.

We continued up the mountain. Chug chug chug...

One member in our group didn't like the loud noises the train made, although riding in a train built in 1912 was pretty cool, I thought.

At the top was...trees, and more trees. These were some of the most beautiful things I've seen. Roaring Camp and the mountain it sits on is one of very few spots that had never been logged, so the trees were all pristine, from prehistoric times.

It was really amazing, seeing all these trees, which stretched back to 3000 years ago.

Really, if you're in this area you can't not take this trip. It was really fun, a great way to respect nature. I could really see how Indians (and Japanese) revered the kami that lived in these old, beautiful trees.

My Narita Reconsideration, a very useful Japanese mantra, and an important virtue for Japanese to have

Like Tokyo Disneyland, the New Tokyo International Airport is not located in Tokyo, being situated in Narita City, Chiba Prefecture, about an hour's train ride from Japan's capital. Back in the 1960s, Haneda Airport became unable to handle the country's growing air traffic, and the government made plans to build a new airport in Chiba to handle the International side of things. The trouble is, no one consulted the farmers of the then-sleepy shrine town of Narita beforehand, and a massive fight over whether the nation has the right to force citizens to sell their land for the common good ensued, with plenty of violent protests by the farmers who didn't want to be told what to do. The idea of "eminent domain" was not an established legal concept in Japan at the time, and the case is still not completely resolved. Ever since the 1980s (read: ever since Japan has been exerting a major cultural influence on the outside world), Narita has been the setting for the final scene of many a manga, anime or TV drama, including several that I used to study Japanese with. In all of these scenes, the unique metal tile ceiling of the Narita departure terminal (which you can see on the J-List site) can be seen. Every time I step foot inside the airport I look up at that ceiling, remembering the many emotional scenes that had unfolded there before.

I talked about kokuminsei (if you want kanji, 国民性) last time, the short list of features that ties each of us to our home country. Another facet of this "national personality" in Japan is the widely-used mantra shikata ga nai (仕方がない、sh-kah-tah ga NAH-ee), which translates as "it can't be helped" and is used by Japanese whenever they face a difficult situation that they feel powerless against. Don't like the current policies the government is adopting? Is there some aspect of society that you dislike? Just say shikata ga nai, or its more common version, sho ga nai (しょうがない, "there's nothing I can do about that"), and you'll feel better. It's really the perfect excuse -- you can even say shikata ga nai about stupid foreigners who think Japanese say shikata ga nai too much. In a country that crams half the population of the U.S. into an area the 1/25 the size, getting along is very important, and I guess these magic words help facilitate that harmony. On the other hand, there are times when people could do something about a particular problem, be it racism or sexism or the government's wasting money on needless public works projects, but people are so used to saying that nothing can be done about a problem that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

A similar concept is the idea of gaman (gah-MAHN), which means to endure that which you can't change. The ability to tolerate a bad situation without complaint is considered a very good quality for Japanese to have, and much of life in Japan involves sucking it in and putting up with the little things we wish were different. Apartments in Tokyo, often re-branded with the Japanese-English term "mansion" to make them sound more grandiose, are too small to comfortably raise a family. Cities are urban jungles, prices for many necessary products are high, the population of the country is projected to be just 27 at the end of the current millennium, and our local bank pays 0.02% interest per year on a 1-year CD. The only thing you can do when faced with such adversity is gaman, just put up with it without complaint, or you'd go crazy. As with the phrase shikata ga nai, which helps Japan get along more harmoniously but also causes people to fail to take action when it's called for, gaman is both a stoic virtue as well as the source of problems. If you've got a pregnant wife and the restaurant manager apologizes that there isn't a no smoking section for you to sit in, as happened to me years ago, it's definitely not a gaman situation.

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.

	eonna March 2006 Mmm, new issue of eOnna, always a treat. I mean, an adult mag where the girls are...not even naked? (well, 99% of the time)
	Shitsurakuen -- Rina Akiyama Rina Akiyama is so very cute. Here is a great photobook featuring her hot bod.
	digi KISHIN -- Chizuru Ikewaki A new digi KISHIN DVD, a kind of DVD-based digital photobook, celebrating Chizuru's beauty.
	No-Cut 3 Hour Special -- Natsumi Mitsu The No Cut series is back again, a popular DVD line that focuses on one lovely Japanese star for 3 hours, with lots of her great "ecchi" performances.
	Comickers Art Style vol. 2 I have to say, I just love the art style and quality in Comickers. This is the 2nd volume and it looks great.
	NANA 1 (region 2) Anime of Nana -- I have to put this on my list of things to see as soon as I get back to Japan. In the meantime, here's the first DVD. This is, like, the most popular shojo manga story since, like, the dinosaurs walked on the Earth or something.
	Mitsuki Sawatari 1/6 Scale Figure -- He is my master A rather sexy figure from the He Is My Master anime/game.
	Pokemon DX Plush -- Pikachu Pokemon is very popular in Japan these days, and this is a really cute plush from Bandai.
	Rabbit Bride ~ Usagi no Hanayome Beautiful "H" manga in this new manga offering today. Great art.
	1082 Kodama Figure -- Clear *Running* More Kodama figures from the popular Hayao Miyazaki film Princess Mononoke.
	Sushi Candle *C* -- Ebi, Tako & Akagai More sushi candles. It would be such a waste to burn them since they look cool, but that would also make for a special event in and of itself, too. Imagine a tray full of burning sushi candles! A burnt offering to St. Maguro of the Holy Sashimi!
	Nyanko Mask -- Pencil Nyanko Nyanko SARS mask. Could you ask for anything else?
	Gamakuchi Coin Purse -- Dragon Fly Cool old-style coin purse (really you can put anything in here, SD cards, money, you name it).
	Mitsuya Cider Gummy I didn't know that these existed myself. Sounds delicious! Mitsuya Cider is a Ramune-like carbonated drink that's been sold for over 100 years in Japan.
	Cinnamoroll "Donburi" Bowl w/Lid A cute bowl (donburi) featuring Cinnamoroll, the cute recent addition to the Sanrio pantheon.
	Navy Plum Health Slipper for Women Health Sandals are specially designed to massage the pressure points on the bottoms of your feet. They are pretty cool!
	Hello Kitty Daruma (Lucky Cat) Strap -- Gold Hello Kitty as a Daruma...I like this, I really do.

I'm up here in the Santa Cruz area seeing some family (I love the Internet, it lets me work anywhere!), and we went to a grand place called Roaring Camp Railroad, a mountain with old growth redwoods that were just great to see.

Going through the parking lot. I stopped counting Honda Odyssey's (Odysseies?) when I got to 14. We were driving one, too.

They had a barbecue place and a general store with fun stuff, and various things for kids to do that was old west-style. The highlights were the path through the redwood trees as well as the trip up the mountain in a 1912 steam train.

This is a tree that had lived something like 3000 years. You could put your finger on the points where Rome was founded, when the Magna Carta was signed. I love doing stuff like that, touching really old things and see what vibes I get.

Here's the World Famous Tourists, puffing their way up the mountain. What was waiting for us? I'll post next time...

Comparing cars in Japan and America, culture shock I get in my home country, and Americans don't like to say "goodbye"

Japan and the U.S. are very different places, and the cars that people choose to drive are different, too. In the U.S. the top-selling cars tend to be sedans like Civic (#1) or Camry (#3) or larger vehicles like Toyota's RAV4 (#9) or the Chevrolet Tahoe (#10). The top selling cars in Japan are usually small and stylish, often of the type known as "one box" (basically, boxy hatchbox cars), like the Suzuki WagonR (#1), the Daihatsu Move (#2) or the Honda Fit (#4), all very stylish cars that are marketed to hip young people who want to buy an inexpensive car but still have something fun to drive or pimp out. These cars tend to be "K" class vehicles, meaning that they have engines of 1000 cc or smaller, making them very fuel efficient -- the standard-gasoline WagonR gets 47 mpg/21 kpl, not bad at all. Besides the obvious fuel savings, another reason people are buying more efficient cars is that Japan's road taxes are set up to encourage them. Drivers of vehicles with large engines would pay a "road tax" of almost $1000 every year, but drivers of "K" cars pay around $60. Not all cars on the roads in Japan are small and efficient, of course, and you can see a huge range, from BMWs to the really big Land Cruisers, and even a surprising number of Cadillacs and Jeep Cherokees on the roads. But it's nice to have a choice.

Because I live outside the U.S. and only come back to visit a few times a year, it's interesting to see what changes I notice. During the 15 years I've lived in Japan, I've often been on the receiving end of culture shock in my own home country, feeling like Rip Van Winkle, or perhaps his Japanese counterpart, Urashima Taro. When I went to Japan, it was not that common for manufacturers to print Spanish or French on their products, but then one year I came back home and bam, every package was shouting New! Nuevo! Nouveau! at me. Back in 1991, you completed a credit card transaction by signing a piece of paper, but overnight (from my point of view, anyway), everyone went and got those computer terminals you sign on directly. Today we ate dinner at a favorite restaurant of ours, Gaetano's Pizza in Tierrasanta, one of the few businesses to change very little over the past 30 years (despite Walmart, etc.), and I noticed that the sign had been replaced since the last time I'd been there, something I probably wouldn't have spotted if I'd been seeing it on a daily basis.

Something about living in another country makes a person think introspectively about themselves. The features that make Americans Americans and French French are collectively called kokiminsei" in Japan, translatable as national personality." Basically, this word refers to the list of traits that people from a certain groups tend to share, some of which are certainly stereotypical but which may nevertheless be largely accurate. When I started J-List back in 1996, I started tapering off my ESL teaching, saying goodbye to my students as J-List grew to devour all my waking hours of free time. One school I taught at held a party for me, with karaoke and all the trimmings. Afterwards, I got a ride home with one of my students, an interesting lady in her 40s who was studying English because she wanted to live abroad for a few years. "Well," I said as we neared my house, "I'll see you later." "No, you won't," she replied. "A person has the same number of 'sayonaras' in their lives as first meetings, and we won't see each other again. But please be 'genki' in your future life." For some reason, being told "goodbye" in such absolute terms was more honesty than I was used to, and I was somewhat unsettled by her words. It seemed to me that Americans (or at least, this particular American) tended to substitute light-hearted parting words ("see you later") even when this clearly wasn't the case. Maybe we as a people don't like to say goodbye?

Remember that X-Change 3, the excellent dating-sim game by Crowd, is in stock and shipping now. One of the most popular interactive "H" game series ever, the X-Change trilogy follows the life and times of poor Takuya, who has a habit of changing from male to female at various points in his life. If you haven't ordered the third chapter in the series, we hope you will, as it's one of the best games Crowd has done in a long time. Of course, all our PC dating-sims are fully translated into English and mosaic-free, so you can enjoy everything about the story. Why not browse our game 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.

	Gokuh vol. 175 Feb. 2006 Ah, always love Gokuh, which is one of the best classy nude magazines in Japan.
	Twenty Years Old Eyes -- Hitomi Kitamura Hitomi Kitamura is a lovely thing to behold, and her body is just amazing (and of course, all natural).
	Continuing Whale Shower --- Mana Youki Whale Shower is a popular fetish in Japan, and with a lovely girl like this, I can see why.
	REGGAE Dance Style vol. 02 This is rather interesting -- stylish, hot dancing girls getting down on the floor. Very sexy dancing with nudity.
	Flare and Pleated Mini - Jun Seto Hehe, Shinkosha is back with another elegant leg fetish work, and this time they ups the ante with pleated skirts that flare out so prettily. Man, they know how to push our buttons.
	Innocent -- Shizuka Kondo Shizuka Kondo is a lovely creature from Japan, and you can enjoy her new glossy photobook, on the site now.
	Infernal Boys I am playtesting the 2nd Yaoi game we'll be releasing, so I've got quite a lot of yaoi on the brain. Anyway, here's our latest yaoi manga.
	Tokyo no Kocchigawa This is quite cool, a collection of "a day in the life of Tokyo" style pictures, from festivals to normal people doing normal things.
	Sushi Candle *A* -- Toro, Uni & Ika Sushi candle -- a bunch of sushi that you can light as a candle! Wow!
	Neko Bus Planter --Tonari no Totoro More Totoro planters, great for anyone with a garden who wants a very special addition to it. This is the Cat Bus.
	Secret Love Secret Love is a charming H manga about an H manga artist, who seems to be writing himself into his own stories.
	1086 Kodama Figure -- White *Standing* Nice, nice Kodama figure, a popular character from Princess Mononoke. We love to sell these special Hayao Miyazaki products.
	Folding Fan for Display -- Hanaguruma This is a really nice fan for displaying anywhere. Gold leaf, very pretty.
	Hello Kitty High School Bag -- Dark Blue Hello Kitty school bag. Take Kitty-chan to school with you.
	Morinaga Bake -- Chocolate I wish I were in Japan right now so I could eat this. A tasty chocolate snack for you.
	Umino Kuma Plush Keychain -- Orange ~ Honey & Clover This is...cute? You will have to be the judge, of course. Kind of too cute to be called cute.
	Tatami Pillow for Nap -- Red Dragonfly Another tatami pillow, great for taking a nap on a lazy afternoon.

Pictures of the Miata run. It was a lot of fun, although no matter how I cranked the Initial D soundtracks, it didn't transport me back to Mt. Akagi.

A gaggle of Miatas.

Went to a newphew's birthday party. He was ten. If he were Japanese I'd make a job about him being tensai which means "ten years old" but also "genius" (therefore, everyone who is ten years old is very smart).

My newest nephew Nick wasn't the birthday boy, but he was the star of the show.

"So, why does this guy keep speaking Japanese to me?"

That was quite a good picture. Nick has five brothers and sisters so he will never be alone, even when I'm back in Japan.

Heh, we asked Joey, the birthday boy in question, if he had any profound wisdom to pass on to little Nick. He said: "All I know is, that in ten years of life, I've never learned what the word 'profound' means."

The value of spending a year abroad, various definitions of "bilingual," and observations on Japanese females

If you ever find yourself in the position of giving guidance to a young person, try to turn them onto the idea of spending a year outside their home country, preferably as an exchange student in college. Dorothy was right -- there's nothing that can make you realize that "there's no place like home" than going away for a while and learning to deal with the differences found in other countries on a day-to-day basis. Just taking a trip for a week or two doesn't seem to do the trick -- you have to spend a few months or a year to get the full effect. Since I'm back in San Diego now, everything from Mexican food to Pop Tarts to Peter Pan peanut butter seems a little more precious to me than before I first went to Japan so long ago. Last night I pulled a Bud Lite out of the fridge and savored it slowly, just because I could -- there are hundred other beers I'd rather be drinking, but because you can only get Bud Light in the U.S. of A., it was somehow more special to me. I had the same experience when I lived for a year in New Zealand as a boy -- I remember when the first Pizza Hut in Aukland opened in 1976, and we cried tears of joy to eat something familiar from back home.

The concept of being "bilingual" in a language is an interesting one. After four years of studying at SDSU and fifteen years of living in Japan, I'm as bilingual as I could ever need to be -- I can discuss various subjects, read a newspaper, and so on. But no matter how much you study a language, there's always an undiscovered linguistic country waiting around the corner, a new aspect of the language that can throw you. My father was a nautical engineer, designing high-speed boats and writing books on the theory of marine dynamics, and once he asked me to translate a patent he had created, which was certainly an interesting journey into a bizarre world of arcane kanji and Japanese grammatical structures. Contracts are another highly specialized area of the language, with some features that are no doubt left over from ancient China. For example, when dealing with a contract in Japanese, you quickly become familiar with two kanji, koh (甲) and otsu (乙), which in Japanese law signify the concepts "your" company/entity, and "ours."

The subject of the Japanese female (feminas japonesas) is quite a complex one, and if I should ever find that I am immortal, I might have enough time to pen a book on the subject. I've known quite a few Japanese females in my day, between girls I've dated, students I've taught and my wife, and have come up with some general observations. First of all, Japanese females are usually so organized it's scary, and I've observed female friends whip out little diary books and set a time to meet a month or more in the future. This tendency towards organization is a big plus when managing the household finances, and if you ever marry a Japanese woman, by all means take advantage of this and let her handle the family's savings. Whereas most guys will not split hairs when dividing a restaurant check, I've known Japanese women to meticulously calculate the correct division down to the nearest penny, making sure that no one overpays. Most all Japanese females are constipated, no doubt since they eat so much rice (although they will deny that there is a connection). Finally, I've noticed that a high number of Japanese females have bizarre fetishes, like the urge to pull a man's whiskers out of his face by the roots with tweezers, or an obsessive-compulsive desire to make sure their boyfriend/ husband's ear canals are completely free of wax.

We've got two job openings at our San Diego location, for an experienced T-shirt silk-screener and a general order fulfillment assistant. If you're in the San Diego area and are interested in helping J-List spread our unique brand of Japanese pop culture, we hope you'll apply! For more info see this page (T-shirt printer) or this page (order fulfillment assistant).

A big shout-out to Playboy today, who plugged J-List's extensive line of Japanese snacks in their current issue -- thanks! Some J-List readers will note that we don't currently have some of the items shown in the picture in the magazine, like chocolate Pocky or Green Tea Kit Kat. Because summer in Japan is so hot and humid, we're forced to remove some chocolate items, or they'd turn into so much Melty Kiss, but we'll have these items and many more for you in September, when things start to cool down.

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.

	Mecha Ii -- Syo Nishino ~ The Catcher in the Room - Sho Nishino Mmmm, Sho Nishino... (I'm meditating on how good she looks)
	Miko Collection 4 Hours For all those who have developed a fetish for Shinto shrine maidens, here is your DVD.
	Bomb ~ Misako Yasuda Trading Card 2 Misako Yasuda continues to thrill, a truly gorgeous swimsuit idol from Japan. Here are her newest trading cards.
	Love Letter -- Honoka Honoka is a lovely example of Japanese women (today's topic). This is her new photobook offering.
	Final Fantasy VII Advent Children - Reunion Files New art book for FF7AC fans. Very nice illustrations throughout.
	Shutsugen! Photomo ~ It's Arrived! "Photomo" Photographic Models A guy who takes old pictures of Showa-era Tokyo and cuts them out, creating 3-D recreations.
	Hourei -- Ourei Harada Ourei Harada, you truly are a national treasure for Japan. Here is her latest DVD release.
	Lesbian Triangle A new lesbian release featuring a love triangle of three gorgeous gals.
	Izumi Sawatari 1/6 Scale Figure -- He is my master A super cute figure from He Is My Master, for the "moe" (mo-EH, I can't type the slash correctly because EG Bridge Universal has taken over the option+8 key on my MacBook) crowd.
	Sleeping Totoro w/ Mei Planter I *love* these cool Totoro planters, and hope we can get more for you. These are the coolest things imaginable for Ghibli fans. Click the link and see the Ohmu one we have on the site too -- it's basically a planter that's a dead Ohmu carcass from Nausicaa, such a cool idea!
	Kimono Netsuke -- Fuku ~ Yellow More fun netsuke from Japan, featuring kimono themes and colors.
	Tomica Limited Porsche 356 / 911S -- Set of 4 Want to own four Porsche legends? Here is your chance, thanks to the Tomica line.
	Kyoto Doll ~ Small -- Gion Yuzen A new Kyoto Doll for the site. Very traditional and kawaii.
	Crefer -- Maple Custard Delicious Maple Custard cookies. I am weak when it comes to products with the word "custard" in them.
	Instant Green Tea Powder Cool! Green tea powder, aka matcha powder, which has many uses (I recommend you sprinkle it on vanilla ice cream, yum).
	Dots -- The Legend of Zelda Legend of Zelda Dots -- woo hoo! Build your own graphics from the game, or create new variations.
	Tatami Pillow for Nap -- Navy Kasuri Take a nap with this handy tatami pillow, which is made of real igusa grass. Sounds like something out of The Lorax, doesn't it?
	Gamakuchi Coin Purse -- Gold Fish A handy way to hold your money, with cool Japanese patterns on the outside.
	Classic Pocket Purse -- Dragonfly This is cool too, a cloth purse that holds your paper money and coins, just like they used to use back in Old Edo.

During the show we hit a supermarket, one we always hit in Anaheim. I just had to get my camera out.

I mean, they have marketing in Japan too, of course, but I'm not generally overwhelmed as much as I was in this store, which had tons of PotC stuff in my face, big time.

Another thing you don't see, pricing structured in a way to make you buy more. Which may explain why Japanese people are thinner than us...

This struck me as extremely cheesy for some reason.

I'll have to do a post on ceral one of these days. America, of course, has as many varieties of cereal as there are species of insects in the Amazon basin, give or take. Japan has, like, 8 varieties, if that. This is my all time favorite ceral, Sugar Corn Pops.

Another product name that wouldn't fly in Japan...

They had Lotte Choco Pie! We had to get some of this and eat it with our Romulan Ale (Vodka + Blue Kool Aid). I hate to say it but the consistency was quite different from what is sold in Japan -- the only way I can say is, it seemed to be firmer inside, like, containing more lard. But they were good.

Fun in my Miata, all about Sake and what to avoid, and the sound of silence in Japanese

We're quite a Mazda family around here, with a Miata in San Diego, a Miata (or "Roadster," which Japanese think means "road star") in Japan, an MPV, and two previously owned Mazda vehicles. I like the engineering and the design, and I like their underdog status compared with Toyota and Honda -- they work harder since the Mazda brand is less famous. I especially love the two-seater Miata, the most excellent "open car" ever made, and I just got back from a wild run through desert roads around San Diego. It was a little odd, driving Initial D-style with the sandy color of California around me instead of the greener shades of Japan that I'm used to. It was great fun, but now I'm all sunburned (ouch).

Everyone is familiar with Japanese sake (酒, pronounced SAH-kay, never "saki"), or rice wine, the alcohol made from distilled rice, also known as "spring water" to Yamato/Star Blazers fans. Sake has been made for millennia, from 6000 years ago in China and 2000 years in Japan, and is one of the world's oldest fermented beverages. I like to drink hot sake, called atsukan, and I have many fond memories of drinking sake we heated with a camping stove, surrounded by friends while sitting under the cherry blossoms. As with wine in the West, sake has always been associated with religious ceremonies, and when we built our J-List office, a Shinto priest came out to purify the ground with sake and salt to ensure that we would have good luck in the future. One of the most famous brands of sake is Shochikubai, a word that literally means "pine, bamboo, plum" and which refers to three levels of achievement, like the belt colors in martial arts. Because it's widely available internationally, Shochikubai sake is often the first (and sometimes the last) sake that many people try, but truth be told, it's reputation among sake drinkers in Japan is not high -- consider it the "Bud" of sake, if not the "Milwaukee's Best." The J-List staff in Japan recommends that you try a brand called Koshino Kanpai or Shira-Yuki if you're going to sample some excellent quality sake.

I've always been fascinated with onomatopoeia in Japanese, with the differences in how "sound words" work between Japanese and English. Animal noises like "woof woof" (in Japanese: wan wan) are different, of course, but the mechamisms are the same, as with other words, like "twinkle twinkle" (kira kira) or "drip drop" (potsun potsun). The Japanese also assign sounds to odd actions, which we would never think of creating. The "sound" of eyes looking left and right is kyoro kyoro, and this term is applied to a guy who is being unfaithful to his girlfriend by looking at other girls. The sound of snow falling has a sound word, too, shin shin ("sheen sheen") which summons up pleasant images of whiteness outside a frosty window. There is a "sound of silence" in Japanese, too, which is shiiin ("sheen," with a lengthened vowel). When someone makes a joke that isn't funny, it's common for someone to crack wise by saying "Shiiin!" to highlight the lack of laughter from the first person's joke. It takes time to get used to concepts such as these, but it's all part of the wonderful mystery that is Japan.

J-List strives to bring you rare and unique products from Japan. One of our favorite products are the highly detailed miniature toys by Re-Ment, which recreate in fantastic detail famous foods from around the world, household items, home electronics, you name it. Re-Ment has made a cool new toy series that brings you the most famous Japanese foods recreated for you in perfect miniature, with the Washoku ("Japanese food") series that we have in stock today! (full sets are in stock)

Then, another special item for Ghibli fans from Japan: ceramic Ghibli planters for your garden, which you can place your favorite plants inside for a really amazing blending of Miyazaki's organic creations and your living plants. We've got a Totoro planter and a cool one featuring Jiji from Kiki's Delivery Service on the site for you 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.

	Karami 33 -- Rei Amami I like how er name sounds just a little bit like Rei Ayanami...anyway, she is darned beautiful, so I recommend you check out this item.
	Oxide 2X ~ Kim Hyung-Tae Illustration Top notch illustrations from an illustrator from South Korea. Fabulous work!
	Bijo Megane ~ Bijyo Megane Beautiful girls wearing glasses. Yowza! I am such a meganekko moe (mo-EH) it is silly.
	A Labyrinth of Tenements ~ Nagaya Meiro I like the idea of this photobook, which shows you the dirty, run-down places to live in Tokyo, not just the tourist-ey spots.
	Pure Smile -- Hina Kawai Super lovely idol in a new release for you.
	Love Premier -- Shoko Hamada Now this is just too cool -- all the best aspects of Japan's amazing photography, captured here for you.
	Lady Boy Diary 1 If you are a fan of Lady Boys, aka Mr. Lady, aka New Half, well, this is for you, I guess.
	Sakura Taisen Pinky Street -- Sakura Shinguji ~ Sakura Wars Pinky Street meets Sakura Wars. Dude! That's really smart on the part of the company, making cool creations from famous anime like this.
	Maneki Neko Netsuke -- Blue ~ Manabi *Study* Another cool Lucky Cat Netsuke that promises to bring good luck to your home, feng shui style.
	Moist Love ~ Nure Koi A nice, rather steamy H manga for our customers. Where do they come up with titles like this?
	Totoro Planter -- Earthen Treasure Pot Now, this is something I am so jazzed out -- a ceramic planter from Japan that you put your own soil and plants in, and Totor will tend them for you. Such a great idea!
	"The Storming Drummer" T-shirt A new T-shirt with cool kanji on them. I like the way these are put together, very high quality shirts.
	Poppen Fan A summer fan that folds up when not in use.
	Mono Gachapin Mukku Mug Cup 2 -- Star Bucks Parody A wacky cup from Japan that features a rather confusing Starbucks parody.
	Japan "Panama" Tatami Setta -- Navy Dragon Hanao Another set of really cool Japanese sandals, with leather bottoms and everything.
	Mankitsu Washoku Dokoro A set of super detailed Washoku (Japanese food) from Re-Ment, featuring every major Japanese food item recreated for you.
	Pokemon DX Plush -- Plusle Pokemon fans, we've got a cute plush toy for you! These are really cool...
	Hustle Mania Fans of Razor Ramon HG, aka Hard Gay (who isn't hard and isn't gay, but whatever), this is cool: WWF style wrestling, as only Japan could do it!

Okay, a few more od pics of AX to throw at you, then I can move on...

Asking "Can I take a picture of your T-shirt?" is a lot more socially acceptable than asking "Can I take a close-up picture of your breasts?"

While I really tire of the "Got X?" slogans, this one made me laugh, as it caught me by surprise.

This was much funnier though ^_^

After we were done with the convention, I knew what I needed: a Denny's "too big for one gaijin who lives in Japan" shake. I gave the cup of extra shake stuff that they give you to Yasu.

What you can learn about public baths from Street Fighter II, Japan and Yellow Cabs, and the end of 0%

There are many things to like about Japan: beautiful temples, delicious food, cherry blossoms, and Hello Kitty bento boxes. But another really cool aspect of the country are the baths, which come in two flavors: sento, or public baths (like the E. Honda level in Street Fighter II), and onsen (OWN-sen), or natural hot springs. Sento are the public bathing facilities that everyone used to use, back in the days when no one had their own baths at home. The name refers to the old currency of "sen" (1/100 of a yen), which used to be common in the days before World War II, before being retired for having so little value. A sento is just a low-cost ($2-3) place where you can enjoy several large baths, and maybe a Western-style sauna, and they often have beautiful ukiyoe style art painted on the walls. If you're too poor to afford a nice house with its own bath, you have to hit the sento every day, and thus there's a kind of bohemian feel to the places. While the traditional sento have a Showa-era charm to them, most people would rather go to an onsen, a bath warmed by an underground hot spring, all too plentiful in volcanic Japan. Onsen can be found in all corners of the country, although our own prefecture sports several popular onsen towns known for the quality of their baths. The best kind of onsen bath is the rotenburo (roe-ten-BOO-roe), or outdoor bath, which allows you to bathe while looking at the "vibrant nature" all around you, or up at the stars high above. Once I took a bath at a very nice onsen in Niigata Prefecture (the "Snow Country" of Kawabata's famous novel), with the snow falling all around us while we were in the bath. It was quite an experience.

Japan has certainly had a rough decade and a half. During the 1980s the country underwent a massive real estate bubble, during which all the land in Tokyo was worth more than the entire USA, on paper. When the bubble burst in 1989, it brought on a massive economic hangover which took years to recover from. The bursting of the Tokyo land bubble brought many changes, including the end of the famous institution of lifetime employment (now few sararimen expect to hold the same job all their lives), and it also created an opening for American companies to assume a dominant position in several industries, from Coca-Cola joining the "Big Four" Japanese beverage makers to Toys "R" Us changing the face of the toy industry in Japan. During the off-again, on-again recession years, Japan took a "0%" approach to restarting the economy, lowering the interest rate for banks to nil, which allowed real interest rates to hover around 1.9-2.5% for many people. This summer, this policy will be officially ending, and Japan is bracing for a return of "real world" interest rates, and everyone is praying the change won't cause more economic hard times for the country.

It seems that Japanese people never fail to surprise you. You would think that they'd be horribly offended by slurs like "yellow monkey," and yet there was a well-known rock band in Japan that used that name to increase their fame. Similarly, Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto played in a band called the Yellow Magic Orchestra, a name which sounds a little odd to gaijin like me. In the 1990's, writer Shoko Ieda wrote a novel called Yellow Cab about the strange phenomenon of normally demure Japanese females going to New York and becoming nymphomaniacs when they find themselves suddenly free of Japan's restrictive society, and the term came to describe all Japanese females who are loose sexually. You might assume this term would be offensive to the Japanese, but again, you'd be wrong: one of Japan's most famous talent agencies is called Yellow Cab. They handle virtually all the top swimsuit idols in Japan, including Megumi, Eiko Koike and Eriko Satoh, and all girls who want to be "talents" (a catch-all word that refers to any kind of young swimsuit idol, singer or actor) dream of being scouted by them.

Every month we'll have a different "Dating-Sim Game of the Month," showcasing a game we think is really exceptional, which we'd like to recommend to everyone. This month the game is Little My Maid, a personal favorite of mine because of its excellent blend of beautiful characters, innovative interactive system and great story (based on a famous story by Hans Christian Anderson). You are transported to a mysterious mansion with three maids, who you can use any way you wish -- ring the gold bell for loyal Mari, and silver bell for headstrong Hina and the copper bell for the super-cute Mayu. You must solve the mystery -- what is the secret of these maids, who are thousands of years old? Special pricing on this outstanding game, this month only!

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.

	B Love ~ From the Bathroom with Love I am so in love with this book. It's perfect, with great "in the bath" pics of all the top names.
	All View Point ~ Himitsu Yuugi -- Yuko Ogura Man, I am floored by how "ecchi" they are letting Yuko Ogura get. Although she's been around for a long time, she's always gone for the "cute" look, and avoided being so steamy. Not that I'm complaining...
	The Japanese Dog ~ Nihon no Inu A photobook of pictures of unique Japanese dog breeds.
	The Oral Test in Costume Pub Another interesting DVD release, this time featuring a lot of cosplay.
	FULL NUDE -- Reo Matsuzaka This is a new line of soft core DVDs with models that are just gorgeous. A really great work that we're happy to have for you.
	Indian Sarasa Multi-Purpose Cup An attractive ceramic cup suitable for drinking anything.
	*White Ver* Inabaya Bunny Girl Ridia Man, this figure is great -- I just love everything about it. There's a black one too.
	Moe Kei Cosplay Bishojo CG Guide How to draw really cute Moe (mo-EH, not the guy who serves Homer beer) characters.
	Paradise Ladies ~ Gokuraku Ladies A nice manga about paradise ladies.
	Razor Ramon HG Zipper Mascot -- Mini Kurohige Type Razor Ramon HG, aka "Hard Gay," is really popular throughout the world -- we've got some HG stuff on the site!
	Walkie Bits -- Cherry *Red* A new Walkie Bits for you. This is the #1 product for us this far this year, incredibly popluar.
	Chirimen Owl w/ Chopstick Case -- Traditional Gift Set For all those who asked us, after seeing Lost in Translation, for plush owls, here you go.
	Ninja Kokeshi A cute wooden doll that looks like a ninja.
	Japanese Tapestry -- Oden Oden (Honorable Den) is a delicious Japanese food, basically a vat of soup with eggs, chikuwan, squid, devil's tongue and other stuff inside. This is an advertisement for Oden.
	Japan "Panama" Tatami Setta -- Black Dragon Hanao A new high-end setta sandal from Japan, very nice quality.
	Bakata Candy -- Orange ~ Genius Bakabon *Russian Roulette* This is just weird. Candy that you give out to your friends, but one is secretly spicy, not sweet.
	Pilbo -- Tonkotsu Ramen Flavor Potato Chips Potato chips flavored like the ramen served in Kyushu. What could be better?

Got a few more cosplay pics from Anime Expo to show you. This is a group from Rayearth, one of my favorite shows.

Charging the iPod with the Domo-kun.

File this in the "kind of scary, but cute nevertheless" file.

If you haven't seen Burst Angels, hunt it down. It's quite a good show, the perfect blending of Bubblegum Crisis with Eva. Plus the robot that rollerskates on the freeway is pretty cool.

This is Gainax Boy, a fan who seems to be bucking to get himself added into a Gainax anime, Toren Smith-style.

A giant sized Voltron! Is this not the coolest thing you've ever seen!

The end of Anime Expo 2006, North Korea and their damn missles, and views on my ESL teaching days

Once again, Anime Expo has come to a close, and we're all going home, tired but feeling very energized. The show was a blast, a real matsuri (festival) in the Japanese sense, and we had more fun than than we thought possible. As usual, there was more than one event being hosted in the hotel we were saying at -- this year there were cosplay-clad anime fans alongside participants in the leading gay square-dancing convention in the U.S. ("When You Wish Upon a Thar"), and a conservative Christian group, all rubbing elbows with each other. By the time the weekend was over, the hotel staff's eyes were spinning like cute little manga characters. Once again, thanks to all readers who came by to say hi!

Japan is hopping right now over the missile that North Korea's Dear Leader has test fired. The Taepodong-2 is designed to reach all the way to the U.S., and it therefore causes a great deal of worry to Japan, who lie well within its range. The test appears to have failed, but it's still causing plenty of worry throughout Japan, with every channel reporting on the crisis. Yasu, here in San Diego with me, is filled with worry that the missle test might lead to something more serious, that would affect his wife and two daughters. We certainly hope for some sanity in North Korea already.

Before starting J-List, I did what most "white boy" gaijin in Japan to: I taught ESL, or English as a Second Language. I really enjoyed my time as a teacher, which allowed me to meet literally hundreds of Japanese students of all ages, and I got a lot out of my experience. One odd by-product from my teaching years was, I developed the innate ability to speak "easy English" to Japanese people, unconsciously altering my speech to make it easier for them to understand, by avoiding difficult words I knew would cause problems for them, or repressing some elements of my native California dialect ("gnarley tight, dude"). The problem is when this "reduced English" became my natural way of speaking, which would happen when I went for months without meeting any native speakers. Once I even met a Japanese person whose English was so good, she realized I was speaking "easy" English, and called me on it. It was rather embarrassing and I didn't quite know how to react.

We're happy to officially announce a new game today, which is being translated for future release in English: YUME MIRU KUSURI :: A Drug That Makes You Dream, a great title from RUF that explores life, love and growing up in modern Japan. Loaded with teenage angst, confusion, frustration and wonder, and beautiful artwork that draws the player in, this is a dating-sim like no other. We hope you'll preorder this game for free shipping when it's ready.

The longest-running movie series is Otoko wa Tsurai yo, or "It's Tough Being a Man," which told the story of traveling salesman Tora-san over 48 installments. In each movie, Tora-san goes to some region of Japan to sell his wares, and has an unlikely romance with a beautiful woman from the area, which invariably ends with him getting his heart broken. The movie is incredibly famous in Japan, and has fans all over the world. We've gotten in a cool T-shirt that features the well-known Otoko wa Tsurai yo logo, great for kanjiphiles who want to wear something cool and unique!

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 vol. 82 A nice new issue of my favorite leg and stocking fetish magazine.
	Lovely Time 09 Another in the series of Lovely Time videos, which takes a no-name girl, dolls her up, and takes you on a virtual date with her. It's interesting that they never tell you the girl's name.
	digi KISHIN -- Sonim Honesty time, I don't like Sonim, although she is cute. I saw her on a TV show seeming to boast about how good her English was, when it was no better than anyone who had learned Korean and Japanese. Oh well.
	KABUKI DANCE -- Bando Tamasaburo This is cool -- a DVD about Kabuki Dance, a really cool find from Japan.
	Bachelor Mar. 2003 A nice older issue from 2003, featuring Yulia Nova. Good for collectors.
	Tomica Leisure Car Collection This is a collection of Tomica die-cast cars, a rather nice set of "leisure cars" that's quite cool.
	"Otoko Wa Tsurai Yo" T-shirt This is a shirt from the "It's Hard Being a Man" series of movies, which numbers 48 installments (when the Japanese start out to do something they really do it). A rare shirt that is very cool.
	Ghibli Fuwa Fuwa Mascot -- Blue Totoro Very cute Totoro plush keychain.
	Tokyo Tower A nice photobook that shows you everything you've ever wanted to know about Tokyo Tower.
	How to make a Pretty Figure ~ Kawaii Onnanoko Figure wo Tsukuro! This is an interesting book that shows you how those super cute figures are created.
	A Celebrity that Pursues Pleasure ~ Yuwaku Celeb Here's a nice "H" manga for you, with really good artwork that's so subtle, I just love it.
	A-02 Lilith-XX -- Evangelion Lab Sample This I don't really understand -- Lillith, from Evangelion, reworked as a clone of Rei? Well, it's cool.
	Japanese Tapestry -- Takoyaki Takoyaki is one food you should try. This is a cute tapestry (wall hanging, whatever) that advertises the stuff.
	Clover *Koban Type* Bento Box Really, really cool bento box for everyone today.
	Re-ment Summer Vacation Here's a toy line that commemorates summer, with everything you'd need to enjoy summer vacation, if you were in Japan at least.
	Morinaga Bake -- Cookie A delicious new snack from Morinaga.
	Himegoto -- Kazusa Sato Now this is a really lovely thing from Japan, a red-hot idol who delights the senses with her existence.
	YUME MIRU KUSURI :: The Drug That Makes You Dream This is the newest game to be announced by Peach Princess, and a really cool game it is. We're hard at work on it now, and I hope fans interested in bishoujo games will show their support by preordering it.

Whenever we do a con, we tend to go to the same places to eat every year. This is the somewhat cool restaurant at a mall near Disneyland we always go to.

Ceaser salad with, er, a wall of baked parmesan cheeze.

This is the drink of the Gods, Sangria, which I didn't know about before we came here. It's really good, if you haven't had it. It's basically wine, fruit, and fruit juice (and gin, if you're lucky).

Dude! This place has s'mores! Without Saltine crackers too! I feel like photoshopping in a little Calcifur into this picture but I am too tired.

The marshmallow roasting commences...

Dekiagari!

Er, I hate to compare America and Japan here, but this little, lame-ass finger wipe is nothiing compared to the glory of a hot oshibori towel you'd get in Japan. So there .

Notes from Anime Expo, culture shock and toilets, all about MOS Burger, and fun in Graceland

Hello again from an extremely enjoyable Anime Expo, which is still going on here in "Animeheim, CA." We're having lots of fun, meeting customers and shaking hands and showing off a lot of our cool products -- X-Change 3 and Enzai are flying off the table, along with our T-shirts, Domo-kun and other items. If you are in the area, do try to make plans to come down to the show -- it rocks like no other event in the animeverse. We'll be here through Tuesday!

I've had many kinds of culture shock since I moved to Japan back in 1991. Vending machines selling beer, eggs and rice (as well as a few unmentionables). Advanced technology and old, dilapidated buildings set right beside each other. Squid on pizza. But when I married my wife and made plans to come live into her house -- since I am a son-in-law who did not take the last name of my wife, I am a "Masuo" (mah-suu-OH), named after the husband in the long-running anime Sazae-san, who is in the same situation as me -- I had another shock: the toilet in her house was a bo-ton (ボットン、pronounced bo-[small pause]-TON) (a "small tsu" if you know what that is), essentially a sceptic tank with a great hole over it. You squatted over the hole -- a Japanese-style squatting toilet, of course, not a sit-down toilet as we would have in the U.S. -- and did your business, waiting for several seconds until you heard the bo-ton (splat) sound. I wasn't too thrilled with living in a house with an old-style toilet like this, and laid down the law: if I was going to live there, we were going to have to "reform" (what they call remodeling) the house and put in a modern toilet, which we happily did.

When it comes to fast food hamburgers in Japan, you think of McDonald's, like most other places in the world. In addition to the usual hamburgers and "Biggu Makku" that you'd imagine, they sell Chicken McNuggets, (which are originally based on Japanese tempura), Teriyaki McBurgers, and the new Shrimp McSandwich, shrimp pressed into a patty and batter-fried, which is kind of gross to me. But according to many fans, the better fast food experience can be had at MOS Burger, the #2 Japanese hamburger joint. Established on March 12, 1972, MOS Burger set out to bring a higher standard of quality to the lowly hamburger, with better quality meat and organically-grown lettuce and tomatoes. Although the MOS in the name might give the occasional gaijin pause, it stands for "Mountain, Ocean, Sun" and does not make Japanese people think of moss being scraped off a tree trunk to be put on your burger. Every few months MOS Burger comes up with something new and interesting, like the Curry Naan Dog, a hot dog served on Indian naan bread with curry over the top. Although foreigners in Japan usually like the offerings of MOS Burger, the portions are so small that we usually need to order two sets in order to feel full.

Prime Minister Koizumi, hands down the coolest leader Japan has had in the past few decades, will be stepping down in a couple months, as his five-year term comes to an end. He's just finished his "sayonara tour" of the U.S. where he went with President Bush to Graceland to sing a duet of "Love Me Tender" with the President. A noted fan of Elvis, the Japanese Prime Minister thanked the U.S. for the great songs of The King.

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 Feb 2006 vol. 236 with DVD Ah, Urecco, which was one of the first products (along with JPOP CDs) we started out with, egads, nearly a decade ago.
	Hip! Step! Jump! -- Nozomi Araki A lovely photobook featuring a lovely model. Part of the giri giri genre in Japanese photography (meaning "almost nude").
	Gals Paradise 2006 Race Queen Debut ver. Nice item for Race Queen fans, of which I am one.
	Gunkanjima ~ Forest of Ruins (region 2) Okay, this is amazing -- a man-made island which thousand of people lived on, which was abandoned a couple of decades ago. Go back and see what's become of the place now.
	Welcome to Pure Carrot!! Nice Pia Carrot parody, with lots of waitress fetish action going on.
	digi KISHIN -- Eiko Koike Eiko Koike has always been one of my favorite of the "Yellow Cab" (odd name, I know) girls, and here is her latest video release.
	Sigma ~ Satoshi Urushihara Illustrations It's always nice to have a new Satoshi Urushihara book on the page, since he's been one of the most famous artists since the 1980s.
	Tomitech No.5 -- Toyota Alphard This is a remote controlled Japanese car, kind of like a Tomica car that you can actually derive fun from driving.
	Bicycle Tire Sole Setta A nice new setta (kind of flat Japanese sandal) for your feet.
	Tomoko Hoshina 1/8 Scale Figure -- Private Ver. ~ To Heart Anime figures are booming, and this is a super cute figure from ToHeart for you.
	Blythe -- Mame Chiyo ~ Spring Chocolat Here's a cute Blythe figure for collectors of the eerie but cute doll. Originally a failed toy line from the 1970s but recreated just for you by Takara.
	Secretarial Section Drop 1 ~ Hishoka Drop 1 New "H" manga for your pleasure, featuring a focus on secretaries.
	Hello Kitty Mini Tower Electric Fan This is a great item for Hello Kitty fans -- stay cool and keep kawaii!
	Navy Tatami Sandals (Slipper Style) for Woman -- Pepper & Autumun Leaves Cute sandals from Japan for your feet.
	Shingen Takeda Kokeshi This is the new kokeshi doll we have for you. I think it's very cute.
	Maneki Neko Netsuke -- Black ~ Mayoke *Talisman* More Lucky Cat fun for you, a really cute item for your phone, keys, PDA, PSP, DS, or whatever.

Pics from the show. These guys were makin' us happy, wearing our kanji T-shirts.

Cool Clone Trooper. My son would have been thrilled.

A really cool person who let me take her picture. She reviews our "H" games for some websites. Not your typical H-gamer, or is she?

Miyazawa from Kare-Kano.

Hey, she's got poop on her head!

Lots of goth-loli types at the show, like, maybe 10% or more of all cosplayers.

Not sure who the character is, but we like her.

Another lovely cosplayer.

Three lovely cosplayers.

Domo-kun! Arrrrgh!

At J-List, one of the most popular products we've sold was the Yatta! comedy DVDs by a group called Happa-tai (Fig Leaf Squad). These guys were way funny.