The Japanese fascination with movies about New York and Audrey Hepburn, thoughts on home-owning in Japan, and the Japanese take on "Kamikaze"

The Japanese are fascinated with the enigma of New York City, and there are hundreds of books written about the city from the standpoint of Japanese living there. They also love movies, and the other day I caught an interesting show on NHK featuring a circle of Japanese guests (as well as the token Japanese-fluent foreigner) discussing their favorite movies that were set in New York, from Taxi Driver to The Godfather to An Affair to Remember. They talked about how easy it was to obtain permission for making films in the city compared to Tokyo (shooting Lost in Translation was only possible thanks to Mayor Shintaro "The Japan Who Can Say No" Ishihara getting personally involved and saying yes). The favorite New York-based film of everyone at the table was Breakfast at Tiffany's, especially popular in Japan because of its demure star Audrey Hepburn, who managed to become famous all over the world despite her small bust, a fact which caused female Japanese fans to identify with her.

(This is a Chinese version of a Japanese commercial for Kirin's Afternoon Tea. I couldn't find a Japanese version that didn't look crappy.)

One of the big differences between Japan and the U.S. is how a home is viewed. In the States, homes generally go up in value over time, and if you spend money renovating bathrooms or adding rooms you're likely to be rewarded with a higher value next time you get the house appraised. This isn't the case in Japan, where living in a "used" house is all but unthinkable, and anyone buying an existing home will tear it down and build a new one in its place. No, in Japan, land is what's considered valuable, not any building sitting on it, so any improvements to your home that you make are for your family's use and enjoyment and no other reason. While is kind of nice, actually -- not having to be concerned with what modifications you make to your home will do to its value is kind of refreshing. When we added a Japanese-style genkan (a recessed area near the front door for guests to take their shoes off) and bath in our house in San Diego we had to make sure we weren't doing anything to the home that would cause problems for us later.

It's funny how a word can mean one thing to one group of people and something else to another. When Americans hear the word kamikaze (kah-MEE-kah-ZEH), meaning "divine wind," they naturally recall the images of desperate Japanese pilots diving their planes into ships in the last months of the War in the Pacific. Japanese people, instead, bring up images of the historical typhoons that destroyed two invading Mongol fleets in 1274 and 1281, which kept Japan free from invasion by the much more technologically advanced Mongols, as important an event to Japan's history as the Norman Conquest was to England. For the record, the wartime suicide attacks, which were are generally known as tokko or "special attack" missions, an example of the Japanese penchant for using polite euphemisms for just about any word you can think of.

If you've ever been to Japan, you might have been impressed by the super-realistic wax replicas of menu items on display in a glass case in front of restaurant windows. Creation of replica food that looks so delicious customers will want to come in and eat is an art form, and popular artists who can create delicious-looking fake food are quite in demand. This fascination with realistic looking food can be enjoyed in the super-detailed miniature toys of Re-Ment, the company known for making everything from sushi to cakes to the every day meals served in Japanese kitchens, and packaged supermarket foods, too. Since Re-Ment toys are all scaled the same, you can mix and match the many delightful miniature toys in any way you like. Many of our customers who collect dolls buy Re-Ment toys to provide an extra layer of realism to any display, or else just have fun lining up the miniature toys on your TV. Nearly all our Re-Ment toys are available as full sets of random individual boxes. Check them 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" (a yes/no verification screen will be displayed to filter products from our mature site). To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Karami 27 -- Mitsu Amai. Gorgeous issue of Karami, featuring Mitsu Amai, the Sweet Honey Girl of the JAV world.
	Comic AG Super Erotic Manga Anthology vol. 57. New issue of Comic AG again, featuring 80 pages of top-quality ero manga that's always accurately translated. And just $4.99 per issue! (Or less if you get it as a AGSET back issue set.)
	Star Wars Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader Artfx ~ Kotobukiya. Every once in a while someething so cool comes along that it makes everyone stop working and wow over it for an hour. This is just such a toy. Wow!
	Afureru Ai -- Ai Arakawa. Gorgeous photobook featuring the lovely Ai.
	Japanese T-shirt "Beware of Panty Thieves". This is our newest T-shirt, warning against panty thieves. Carrie Fisher approves of this shirt (she bought one for her daughter).
	Newtype Mar 2007. New issue of Newtype, filled with color and free stuff for you.
	Myojo Feb 2007. Myojo is the leading magazine for fans of boy's fashion, J-POP and the "Johnny's Entertainment" crowd.
	Nonoko~Moon~1/6 Figure *Preorder*. This is a fantastic original figure that you can preorder now. Such detail! And those geeky glasses are so cool!
	Saber Maid Version 1/6 Figure ~ Fate /hollow atraraxia *Preorder*. For Fate/Stay Night fans, or Fate/stay night if you're not into capital letters, this is a great upcoming figure from Alter.
	Hello Kitty Animal Head Plush Keychain -- Frog. This is so cute I've got a lump in my throat right now.
	Neon Genesis Evangelion Portraits 2 ~ Full Set. Love these figures, they are so well done.
	Mai Kawasumi 1/8 Figure by Kotobukiya ~ Kanon. Seriously, if you watch only one anime series this year, make sure it's Kanon. This is Mai, one of my favorite characters from the show.
	Surprise Daruma Key Chain . It's a keychain! It's a phone strap! It's a Daruma that will keep you from losing your keys!
	Real Man's Tofu Pouch -- Full Set *Set of 7* ~ Otokomae Tofu Ten *Dandy Tofu Shop*. Are you a real man? Do you eat manly tofu? This is the product that will likely change the way you think about Japan's famous food.
	Xylish Gum -- Platinum Mint (Chardonnay Flavor). Delicious gum from Japan that's flavored like .... Chardonnay???
	Green Tea Pretz w/Black Honey Syrup Flavor. Green Tea Pretz, a delicious new twist on an old favorite.
	Melon Collon. The best snack for your Colon. And we love the name.