All about the Japanese and shoes, the benefits of living in another time zone, and understanding the world through its taxis...?

You probably know that the Japanese take their shoes off when they enter a house. Shoes are considered to be extremely dirty objects which must never be brought inside unless they're thoroughly cleaned first, and my wife keeps our old washing machine outside our house specifically for shoes, since washing them in our normal machine would be unthinkable. I once had the gaul to stand on a bench with my shoes on and got yelled at by my students for causing inconvenience to the next person who wanted to sit there, something that had never entered my mine before that point. Shoes are always left in the "genkan," a recessed area by the front door which is officially considered part of the outside of the house (in the old days, the genkan was much larger and animals were kept there). One staple of TV dramas and boy-meets-girl anime involves a girl who comes to her boyfriend's apartment only to see another female pair of shoes already there, an interesting dramatic twist that would be difficult to translate culturally to the West. The other day, my daughter came out to carry some bags from the car without putting her shoes on, which caused me to realize what a gaijin my little girl was. Because the soto (outside) of a house is so much dirtier than the uchi (inside), it's all but unheard of for Japanese children to walk around outdoors barefoot.

You can view the world in many ways, from the standpoint of history, politics, the arts, or if you're like me, comparative popular culture. Or if you like, you could focus on taxi cabs. Although we all take taxis for granted, they're often an interesting symbol of each respective country, from the iconic Black Taxis of London to the multi-cultural mish-mash that are taxis in New York City. When my son went to Malaysia he was fascinated to see that all the taxis there were vehicles made in that country, apparently required by law, which caused us to start paying attention to taxis whenever we went somewhere new. If you ever come to Japan, be sure and take a lot of taxi rides, as it's a real treat. Just as taxis in Germany are usually well-apportioned Mercedes Benz vehicles, 90% of Japanese taxis are the Toyota Comfort, made by Japan's most famous automobile company specifically for the industry. Japanese taxis are extremely clean, and when they're not driving someone to a new location, taxi drivers are usually lavishing care on their vehicles to keep them spotless. The most interesting aspect of Japanese taxis for foreigners are the passenger side doors that open and close automatically, using a hydraulic mechanism the driver can control. It's the ultimate in convenience.

One issue of living in Japan and running an international company like J-List is dealing with the time difference between here and the rest of the world. Japan is 16 hours ahead of California, which means that when people on the West Coast of the U.S. are sitting down to dinner, we're all just starting our morning the next day. Being ahead of everyone else has several benefits, including the ability to forget birthdays or Mother's Day without penalty, since you can be a day late but still be in the zone. It's a benefit for Mac users, too: I got to get Leopard, Apple's new OS, 16 hours ahead of most of the world. Although people grumble about having to remember to set their clocks for Daylight Savings Time, it's not a problem here since Japan never adopted the system. While not having to spring forward or fall back is nice, having it get dark at around 4 pm then going to bed while the morning sun peers through my window is kind of lame.

J-List customers know that we always have a huge selection of products for fans of Studio Ghibli, the animation company of Hayao Miyazaki responsible for all his most celebrated films. From Totoro music boxes to plush toys and bento and the super warm blankets we posted last time, the quality of every Studio Ghibli product is without peer. Today we've got a real treat for you: a line of fabulous umbrellas featuring art and characters from My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. As you might guess, these umbrellas are extremely well made, with sturdy construction and thick, high quality materials throughout. You can feel this quality when you look at the all-wood handle and shaft, which combine to form an organic creation that was approved by Mr. Miyazaki himself. We're overjoyed to have these great Totoro and Jiji the Cat anime umbrellas for you!

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

	Mini Skirt Illustrated DVD vol. 90 ~ Minisuka Daizukan DVD Aug 2007. One of the best magazines published in Japan today, featuring lots of innovative photography.
	Bible Black: Revelations - Vol. 4. We've gotten in the Bible Black DVDs back in stock, for all the pervs reading this.
	Gekkan -- Hitomi Aizawa. Hitomi-chan is looking mighty good in this photomagazine.
	Summer Days Visual Guide book. I am really into School Days right now (actually the post today was inspired by the scene when Kotonoha goes to visit Makoto and Sekai's shoes are already there). Actually I have to stop watching it becasue my wife wants to see the rest of the episodes.
	Tsuruya-san Maid Costume 1/8 Figure Max Factory~ Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi *Preorder*. Although she's a minor character (and not even an esper, android or alien -- that we know of , hmm), Tsuruya-san from the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a very popular character.
	Makoto Sawatari 1/8 Figure ~ Kanon *Preorder*. I *love* this figure from Kanon. In fact, I want to nominate it for the unofficial Firefox web browser mascot, as this is related to this girl's story in the anime. Who's with me?
	Lazy Sakura ver. ~ Nendoroid Figure . Cute remix of Sakura from Fate/stay night.
	Aru Love Pillow Cover　~ Miageta Sora ni Ochiteyuku. Our Hug Pillows are very popular, in fact they keep selling out. Here's a new until until our reorder of the others comes in again.
	Hello Kitty Stationery Gift Set ~ Notebook, Pencil w/Case, Mini Case, Mini Tissue. Cool item for Sanrio fans.
	Lacquer-style Square Sake Cup with KANJI ~ FUKU / Fortune. Gorgeous square cup for drinking sake.
	My Neighbor Totoro Umbrella -- Green. *Great* umbrella for Totoro fans. Totally awesome construction, all hardwood, with beautiful printing.
	Kiki's Delivery Service Jiji Umbrella -- Navy. This is the Jiji the Cat umbrella.
	Nonoko~Moon~1/6 Figure White Costume. I don't know why, but this original character figure is just so enigmatic. Like a librarian gone totally berserk with geekiness.
	Dueli Diamond Gummy -- Cassis Soda Mint Flavor. I'll bet you haven't come across any Cassis Soda gummy anywhere else today?
	Whiteen Pliola Gum -- Rose Peach Flavor. The boom in rose flavored products continues.
	Gothic Lolita Deluxe Japan Bento Box Set CUTE COSPLAY. Ah, our Goth-Loli bento box is back in stock.
	Asakusa Bag ~ Maiko. This is an amazing item -- a large cloth bag printed with beautiful imagery of Japan.