Large and small forms of taste-related culture shock, why do the Japanese live so long, and how you can come live in Japan

There are naturally many large and small forms of culture shock a person experiences when they go go live in a foreign country, and I've had my share in Japan. One was getting used to the new tastes that were waiting for me. Right off the bat, Japanese milk tastes...different when you're used to American milk, at least at first. It's not bad or anything, but something about the Japanese cows or how the milk is processed took me time to get used to. Some other familiar products, such as Oreos, also taste slightly different (not as much sugar in them), although humans can adapt to anything. Then there were familiar products that came in "odd" taste variations, like milk flavored bread, salt flavored ramen (which is really chicken flavored), or -- it's really delicious, trust me -- "coffee jelly," coffee-flavored gelatin, excellent on a hot summer's day. Unlike America, where companies tend to think in terms of their next big national product roll-out, Japanese companies are more comfortable releasing short-run products on a more limited scale, which sometimes leads to some really interesting taste experiments, like Cucumber Ice Pepsi. Readers of J-List's snack pages know that you can always find something interesting in the taste department, from sukiyaki-flavored furikake to sprinkle on rice to rose-flavored gum and candy to the delicious Green Tea Butterscotch from Chealsea, we've got lots of fun stuff for you to try.

I noticed that the world's oldest woman passed away at the tender age of 114 the other day, and I wasn't surprised at all to see that she was Japanese. Mrs. Yone Minagawa was born in Fukushima Prefecture in 1893 when Grover Cleveland was in office, and was already in her 50s at the end of World War II -- wow. Thanks to healthy diets, social networks of lifelong friends and a generally competent national medical system, Japanese females are the longest lived people on the planet, with an average life expectancy of 85.8 years. Although it probably didn't get much mention in Michael Moore's "SICKO" documentary -- I've long stopped expecting the government and media in America to look at the various systems at work in Japan -- I think the country's medical system could be studied as a model that obviously works (since people are living a long time). It can best be described as a "blend" of private hospitals, clinics and related companies and a publically-guided insurance system, which imposes a framework that companies must work within. When you go to the doctor or dentist you bring your insurance card, and in general 70% of the costs will be covered. There are trade-offs, of course. Because of the cost caps instituted by the two health insurance systems -- Social Insurance for employees of medium-to-large companies, and Citizen's Insurance for everyone else -- not all types of care are available, so if you want to get the really good ceramic caps on your teeth as opposed to the ugly silver ones, you may need to pay for that yourself. Also, expect to go to the dentist 8 times to fix those two fillings, since they're not allowed to charge you more than a certain amount per day. Since there are more limitations on the Japanese medical system, some companies don't see the same amount of profit as in the U.S., and as a result, there's less investment in technology here (although I've never known of a hospital that needed an MRI scanner and didn't have one).

I receive a lot of questions from people interested in living in Japan someday, so I thought I'd address some of these issues in case it's helpful to anyone. While it certainly is difficult to come to a country as different from the U.S. or Europe as Japan is, it's certainly doable if you are determined. Many foreigners come to Japan on a tourist visa (3 months) and use that time to look for a job. When you find one, you have to leave the country once to process your working visa then re-enter on that visa -- most gaijin travel to nearby South Korea and do some sightseeing while they wait for their paperwork to come through. Alternately, citizens of some lucky nations like Canada, Australia and New Zealand can come on "working holiday" visas instead. Westerners are usually shocked by the difficult system of "key money" you must pay when renting an apartment. Between a security deposit (2 months), a finders-fee (paid to the company that got the apartment for you), first months' rent and "thank you money" (a move-in bonus for your landlord), it can cost $2000-4000 just to move into a small apartment. Of course, any discussion of how to work in Japan is precluded by the fact that to get a working visa at all, you must have a degree from a four-year university. So whenever young people interested in Japan ask me how they can come work in Japan, I invariably advise them to find a good, well-rounded university and get a degree -- do that, and you'll be surprised how easily the rest can fall into place.

Remember that J-List has a huge selection of various types of traditional Japanese footwear, from authentic Ninja Boots (Tabi, the outdoor kind favored by ninjas) to cool wooden geta shoes and "tatami sandals" made of the same material tatami mats are made from. We've got dozens of varieties in stock, for both guys and girls, with extra-large shoes for big-footed guys in stock, too.

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. We also recommend watching our "new products" RSS feed

	Sabra Magazine 013 July 2007. New issue of Sabra Magazine, filled with sexy Japanese idol goodness.
	Tina Daccha! -- Tina Yuzuki. Tina Yuzuki dons a classic anime costume in this Urusei Yatsura themed cosplay production. If you don't know UY, she's the space alien who's in love with an earth boy (Ataru), and it was the smash hit anime show in the 1980s that is "the reason we're all here" as an artist friend of mine put it.
	Erotic Swimming Club. More fun with Japanese girls in swiimsuits for you here. Has anyone noticed that there's like exactly one pool where they shoot these things?
	Holstein Hanako-San 1/8 Figure ~ Tsukasa Bullet 02 Designed by Jun Tukasa *Preorder*. This is a fabulous figure that you can preorder now. Such detail!
	Kokeshi Ballpoint Pen - Warabe Doll Type. I love these wooden kokeshi doll pens, really cool and uniquely Japanese.
	BEEDA Delux Bamboo Charcoal Black Soap for Men. This soap will get your hands really clean.
	DX Chrimen GAMAGUCHI Purse --- Red. Cool stylish Japanese purse to keep your money safely.
	Simple & Strong Tight Bento Box w/Chopsticks -- Black. New bento box for hungry eaters.
	Samurai Girl in Kimono 1/8 Figure. The boom in "cast off" figures continues. This is a sexy samurai girl wearing, er, very little.
	Patlabor Collection Figure -- Full Set of 6. Patlabor is the first absolutely "realistic" robot manga and anime, and it was produced by Mamoru Ishii, who would go on to make Ghost in the Shell. This is a great line of figures from the show.
	Meiji Dice Caramel *New Package*. Meiji Dice Caramel are a great way to get your daily caramel allowance.
	Tsubu Tsubu Hi-chew -- Cola Flavor. Cola flavored Hi-Chew, with Tsubu Tsubu(bits of cola flavored candy). Huzzah!
	NAS-O Illustration Works. You really won't believe how good NAS-O's art is.
	Sanrio Ice Cube Tray. This is the other cool Sanrio ice cube tray we've got for you. Make all your favorite Sanrio charactrers!
	Totoro "Mei" Alminium Bento Box. Totoro fans, we've restocked some of our most popular items for you.