Funny things you may see in Japan, strategies for taking tests, and an important difference between Japanese and American schools

Hello again from Japan where getting your hair colored is known as a "hair manicure." For some reason, one of the weirdest sights you can see in Japan is two foreigners using Japanese to carry on a conversation. Although it's theoretically no different from people from France and Germany using a third language to communicate, the sight of two gaijin chatting in nihongo looks very strange here, and will often get amused giggles from passers-by. I used to have an Iranian friend who spoke no English, so we had to use Japanese to communicate. He'd ask me if America was really the way it looked in Hollywood movies, and I'd ask questions about life back in Iran, and we both learned a lot. Once I flew to the States on Varig, the national carrier of Brazil, and learned that Brazilians aren't generally fluent in my native tongue. Any small talk I wanted to make with the people around me had to be done in Japanese. I remember those standardized tests we had to take back in school, the ones where you had to use a No. 2 pencil (although I have yet to encounter a No. 1 or No. 3 pencil in my life). The teachers would try their best to give us some strategies for the tests, like, make sure you blacken in the circles completely and, if you have time at the end, go back and check your answers. The Japanese are a bit more focused on tests than I was during my education, and the idea of studying for a university entrance exam isn't really about simply learning the subjects that will be tested, but rather how to approach the test itself. Teachers who prepare their students to take the test for a school like the prestigious Aoyama Gakuin University have to research the past year's exams so they can help predict what the students need to cram for this year, and there are prep schools that do nothing but prepare students to get into a single university. Students want results, and these prep schools will advertise the percentage of students who got into their school of choice each year. When it came time for my kids to take the "Eiken" test, the standard test of English that's usually taken by much older students, my wife plotted a complex strategy for them, allowing them to score points on their strengths (listening comprehension) while avoiding the difficult patches (long-paragraph reading and "find the grammatical errors" exercises). Both passed with flying colors.

If you've ever tried complimenting a Japanese person on something, their language ability for example, you might be surprised to hear them deny your compliment. A big part of being Japanese is having humility, which is called kenson (KEN-son) in Japanese, and as a rule people here take great pains to avoid appearing boastful and proud. When a Japanese person gives you a gift, they'll usually say, "This isn't very interesting, but please accept it," or if it's food, "I'm not sure if this tastes good or not." One major difference between schools in the U.S. and Japan that I've noticed is that here, the children themselves are responsible for every lick of cleaning that goes on in their school, from sweeping to wiping off desks to cleaning the bathrooms, including the "big cleaning" that's done at the end of the year. There are no janitors at Japanese schools, just a handyman for doing jobs like changing out lights -- all the cleaning is the responsibility of the students. This certainly has some budgetary benefits for schools, but it also helps build character and yes, a little humility, in the kids. This tradition of self-cleaning is carried over into many companies, and every Monday morning the J-List employees wipe, sweep, clean and vacuum the office to make sure we have a clean place to work in all week. Remember that J-List sells incredibly warm hooded sweatshirts that are perfect for cooler months, or for throwing on the evenings when it cools down. Our hoodies feature cool kanji designs, from our classic "Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend" design to our fun "Respect the Emperor and Expel the Foreign Barbarians." We've also got our great Domo-kun hoodies for you, a great way to show your individuality and love of Japanese pop culture. While most of the hoodies we see being sold online are the inferior 50/50 blends that feel rough against the skin after a short time, we sell the best hoodies money can buy, with high quality 80/20 blends that are really soft and cozy. 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.

	Bomb Nov 2006. New issue of Bomb, whch has been in print for like 34 years -- wow.
	Erotic Woman -- Mitsu Amai. Mitsu Amai has been one of my favorite idols over the past couple of years, and it's great to see her doing indies work now.
	Bijuku -- Hitomi Kobayashi. Gorgeous photobook featuring the "ripened woman," Hitomi Kobayashi.
	Lily White -- Yuriko Shiratori. On the other extreme, here's the lovely photobook of Yuriko-chan, Lily White.
	Catgirl Delivery ~ Hakonde Nyanko. Need cat girls delivered?
	Thunder Warrior Raidy ~ Kaminari no Senshi Raidy Anthology Comic. Ahem, a really amazing manga based on a game from Zyx. We're big fans of this title. This manga includes futanari.
	Yoshi Plush Doll (S)-- Mario Party. Yoshi has never been more huggable.
	Otona no Origami ~ Aruchu Masa. Origami for grown-ups rocks! See how to make funky origami out of Japanese money, like sea urchins and trilobites and more. My favorite was Super Man, a little flying man that's a great gag, since you make it out of a 10,000 yen note (ichi man en).
	FRUiTS No. 115 Feb 2007. New issue of Fruits for fans.
	Hobby Japan Mar 2007. Also, the new Hobby Japan, with its focus on Yamato and all the recent toy releases.
	Japan Atlas ~ A Bilingual Guide. Need a really good map of Japan, with both English and Japanese? This is for you.
	Comic AG Super Erotic Manga Anthology vol. 53. The new issue of AG is in, and it's great as usual because it's got friggin' Maguro Teikoku in it. Wow!
	Tamaki Kousaki Figure *ToHeart 2*. Dynamite figure from ToHeart2 that you can, ah, disrope if you so choose.
	Genuine Arita Ware Latte Mug with Pink Hiragana Script. This is great, a really high quality cup (useful for many types of drinks) from Japan!
	Rinzu Clamshell Jewery Box. We've gotten in some cool small jewelry boxes that can of course be used for other purposes. I love the chirimen fabric on the outside.
	Yellow Lucky Cat Tea Cup . It's a cup that turns into Lucky Cat when you turn it upside down -- wow!
	Basic Kanji Drill New -- 1st Grade. Learn kanji the way the Japanese do with this series of kanji drill books.