Benefits of Being Male in Japan

In a lot of ways, Japan is a "men's paradise" where males are able to enjoy certain benefits that would probably be hard to find in the States, even beyond receiving Valentine's Day chocolate from females on February 14. For example, sometimes when we're having a family argument about something, my wife will tell the kids, "Everyone stop arguing. Your father has spoken, and we'll all do what he says because his word is law in this house." I have to say, it's kind of nice: like living in the Father-knows-best 1950s, but with high speed Internet. But although I may be the daikoku-bashira or the "big black pillar" that holds up the family, I'm more than happy to follow the standard Japanese custom of allowing my wife to control the family finances, including managing our savings, planning for long-term goals, and so on. This is accepted as joshiki (common sense) in Japan, that women are better at managing money.

I've done this for so long, though, that I don't know if it sounds odd to people not living here. Is it really rare for the wife to handle the family's financial situation?

My wife is smarter than me, so I don't mind letting her handle our daily finances.

One Glass or Two?

Japanese is a complex language, with a lot of information that's not openly stated since Japanese people are usually good at communicating things indirectly. The other day my family went out for miso ramen and I ordered a beer, since that restaurant had Yebisu, my favorite brand. The serving girl who was taking our order asked, "How many glasses should I bring with the beer?" and since I was going to drink and let my wife drive home, I told her to just bring one. A minute later I realized she hadn't asked about how many glasses we wanted at all: instead she was gently reminding us to avoid drinking and driving, just in case I'd planned on having my beer then driving home myself. The new policy of restaurants taking a more proactive approach to customers ordering alcohol without a designated driver started a few years ago, with new policies put in place by the National Police Force, including a new rule that a passenger who lets another person drive drunk or the person that served the alcohol can be charged with a crime. The new policy has born fruit, with the announcement that deaths from traffic accidents numbered just 5155 in 2008, the eighth year of decline and a huge improvement over 1970, when the number of traffic deaths was more than 16,000.

New social pressures against drinking and driving are having a positive effect on the accident rate.

Warm Winter

When you're coming from sunny San Diego, where it's often above 70° Fahrenheit/20° Celsius in the winter, just about any other part of the world is going to feel chilly. Japan's winters are usually very hard on me, thanks to the combination of cold temperatures, the biting kara-kaze winds that blow down from the Japanese Alps, and homes that aren't well constructed because you're expected to tear it down and build a new one in 15 years anyway. But this winter has been an incredibly warm one, with temperatures more like March or April than February, and I haven't needed to put on multiple pairs of long underwear to keep from freezing to death even once. Every year in our prefecture there's an ice fishing event held on Mt. Haruna, when the lake at the top freezes, but yesterday it was announced that the event would be cancelled this year due to the warm temperatures keeping the lake from freezing completely. The warm summer is even affecting the Sapporo Snow Festival going on in Hokkaido right now, where hundreds of beautiful snow sculptures are displayed. The warmest winter temperatures in 18 years have made the snow watery and difficult to work with, which forced the city to truck in extra snow for the event.

Beautiful snow sculptures in Sapporo

Cool Items Friday, February 6, 2009

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	The Sneaker Feb 2009 Here's a great new magazine with a huge perfect bound back and 300+ pages of interesting content for you, including "light novel" content inside with easy to read kanji (and hiragana beside the more difficult characters). Comes with great Haruhi stories, and a fantastic Haruhi artbook inside!
	Animedia Jan 2009 Super new issue of Animedia, the magazine all about the best anime on TV in Japan today. Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Bleach, Code Geass, Evangelion and much more, inside.
	FRUITS Dec 2007 No. 125 Then, enjoy Tokyo's fashionable street culture with the new issue of FRUiTs, which is loaded with full page shots of real people in really fashionable getups, walking around Harajuku now. No ads, either!
	S Cawaii Jan 2009 Since we carry so darned many cool fashion magazines, we've created a new page to hold them all. Click to view the revolving monthly subscriptions and in-stock issues of magazines like S Cawaii, KERA, and Egg.
	Nagi 1/7 Figure by Kotobukiya ~ Kannagi Kannagi, aka Crazy Shrine Maidens, is a popular anime about a Shinto goddess accidentally given life. Enjoy this great figure which is in stock today, although as usual it mostly sold out as preorder, so hurry if you want to get one.
	Kaito Nendoroid Figure ~Vocaloid Then we've got a really nice Nendoroid for you from Good Smile Company, this is Kaito, the original Vocaloid character advertising Yamaha's ground-breaking voice synthesizing software.
	New Japanese Snacks Today's awesome new J-Snacks include the new Kiwi Fruit Pocky, with real bits of fruit and delicious chocolate covering the pretzel sticks, followed by Yogurt Choco Ball and Curl snack sticks in White Gratin flavor.
	Traditional 'Dagashi' Snacks Remember that we carry awesome candy items that have been enjoyed in Japan for decades, from the delicious Mochi chewy candies in ramune and other flavors to the recently posted (and almost sold out) Neri Ame candy and more. Best of all, these items are incredibly cheap, so you can buy a bunch and mix and match.
	Cinnamoroll Plush Keychains We love Sanrio's super-cute character around here, and have gotten some wonderful plush keychains that we think you'll love, very soft and fun to attach to your bag, keys or anywhere.
	Cinnamoroll First Kanji Book Another fantastic book to help you learn to write Japanese, thanks to grooves in the pages that teaches you hand to write correctly. Highly recommended item!
	Petit Copain Bowl Shaped Bento Box Set This is a great bento set that features two separate bento boxes, one for your rice and the other for meat, vegetables and other good stuff you want to eat for lunch. Comes with a drawstring bag to old everything together.
	SAKURA Mini Handy Water Bottle Here's a cool item from Prime Nakamura, a thermos water bottle that will keep your favorite beverage hot or cold for hours. Easy push button operation, with a lid that can be used as a cup, and beautiful cherry blossoms on the outside!
	Restocked Hello Kitty Bento One of my favorite bento boxes we offer is the Wagara Hello Kitty bento sets, which comes with everything you need for a really delicious Japanese boxed lunch. Comes complete with traditional imagery on the outside.
	Black Lacquered MAIKO Geta Then see these great traditional Japanese geta shoes for women, which would look great whether you're wearing a kimono or jeans.
	Japanese 'Hachimaki' Headbands Then see restocked Japanese headbands that are fun to wear -- several are back in stock today. Show your ki-ai, or your dedication and fighting spirit, with one of these awesome items! (I used to wear one while studying Japanese.)
	Fundoshi -- White ~ Traditional Men's Underwear Fundoshi (pronounced foon-DOH-shi) is the traditional underwear worn by the samurai, and in modern times, by people in Japanese shrines. These fun items are back in stock.
	Japanese Study Materials The #1 Japanese study item on J-List is the Genki series of textbooks, workbooks and listening CDs, and today we're restocking several of these items, including the Genki I and II textbooks and the Teacher Answer Keys.
	Studying Japanese With Manga Learning Japanese through manga comics is a great idea. We've gotten in more stock of Japanese in Mangaland and Kanji de Manga, both of which help you learn Japanese visually, which is great fun!
	Lucky Cat Tea Pot Like I always say, if you're going to have a tea pot, it might as well be shaped like Lucky Cat. This popular item, with a removable head for a lid and a tea spout shaped like a paw waving good luck into your life, is back in stock.
	Restocked Traditional Items Then, got some other really excellent traditional items, including the Daruma Otoshi ("knock over the Daruma") game, a keychain that looks like a jitte, the defensive weapon of a ninja designed to block an opponent's sword, our Dragon Yukata, and the Tokugawa Crest Case.
	Trading Figures from Japan Trading figures are the inexpensive smaller figure that are so popular from Japan, and we've stocked some great ones for you, from the super-sexy Ikki Tousen figure series to the ultra-wacky Hip Parade "trading torso" line.
	Polo Shirts - Domo-kun, Kanji In addition to our popular T-shirts and hoodies, J-List carries professionally embroidered polo shirt with our great designs, which allow you to keep your geek cred even while at work. I wear my Domo-kun polo shirt all the time, and laugh when people think I work for NHK.
	Restocked Japanese Snack Gift Sets Hot on the heels of the Lucky Star Snack Boxes we restocked last time, we've gotten the amazing Asakusa Kaminari-Okoshi rice snacks and delightful Strawberry Chocolate Daifuku back in stock. Usually given as gifts, but we won't tell if you keep them all to yourself.
	Mikuru Asahina 1/8 Figure Adult ver. *Preorder* Mikuru is a time-traveling girl who has come to observe the Galactic Anomaly that is Haruhi Suzumiya, and this is my favorite version of her: "Future" Mikuru. Preorder this figure now.
	Evangelion Entry Plug ~ Shinji, Rei *Preorder* This is one of the coolest Eva items ever made: a detailed 20 inch long replica of the "entry plug" from the show, holding Shinji or Rei inside. Feature totally detailed interior compartments that even light up. What awesome items! Both are available for preorder now.
	Healing Mechanical Pencils See fresh stock of the mechanical pencil with aromatic leads, which creates a healing aroma as you write with it. Both leads and pencil included, so you'll get years of use out of each set.
	Other Restocked Japanese Snacks Finally, a bunch of good restocked snacks, including Choco Ball Strawberry, Morinaga Strawberry Milk Pudding Caramel (doesn't that name sound great?), Fujiya Torokero (soft) Milky Candy, Tyrant Habanero, and the last Wasabi Cheetos we'll ever have.
	A Day of Princess Life ~ Hime no Ichinichi This is a gorgeous photobook featuring the daily life of a beautiful Japanese girl. It's a fabulous photobook showing this girl living au naturale, but it's also a super item for artists who want to visualize angles when they draw.
	Restocked Manga Then, see a boatload of restocked manga volumes including the Hatsu Inu (First Dog) series, Milk of a Woman, I'll Tell You About the Real "H" Experience I Had, Read Me! and several fantastic Futanarikko works.
	Bible Black One of the most famous "H" games in history, this is Bible Black, the outstanding game that was so popular in Japan, it inspired the famous ero anime series. We've restocked this title in San Diego, after many weeks of the popular game being sold out. Order a copy now!
	Download Games, Too In addition to shrink-wrapped CD-ROM versions, J-List's interactive PC dating-sim games are available through convenient download, allowing you to enjoy the convenience and privacy that only the Internet can offer. Click to view the top-selling download games right now.

On Economics and CEO Hair

As of last November, Japan is officially in a recession. It's an especially bad situation for the country since they're so dependent on exports, from automobiles to semiconductors to many other manufactured items. As they've done in past recessions, the Japanese news media is going out of their way to shed light on the new economic challenges being faced, looking at the business situation from many angles to help their viewers understand what's going on and adapt accordingly. One of my favorite TV shows is called The Dawn of Gaia, a hardcore news program that delves into difficult issues of the day, from the falling birth rate to the coming lack of sufficiently trained medical staff in Japanese hospitals. The other day they did a fascinating story about the difficulties faced by the American automobile makers and what they were doing to change their businesses, with comparisons to what the companies in Japan were doing, and it was very interesting to see the Japanese take on the situation. It may be the lack of 24-hour cable news lowering the signal-to-noise ratio, but my perception of the news media in Japan that they hold themselves to a higher standard of professionalism than what I usually see in the U.S., with less endless interviewing of "talking heads" who frequently say nothing and more meaningful reporting. Between programs like Gaia and Live TV Til Morning, a show in which top politicians are put in a studio to debate various public issues from midnight til 6 am while viewers watch, I generally think that Japanese TV viewers have access to higher quality news with less political bias than in the U.S.

During the show about the American automakers they interviewed G. Richard Wagoner, Jr., president of General Motors, and I remarked to my wife that he certainly had the proper head of "CEO hair" that you'd expect from the president of a large company. "What's that?" she asked. "Company presidents have special hair in America?" Apparently this particular perception didn't apply in Japan, although there are some things the Japanese believe about a person's body that are quite interesting. First, it's thought that a person with large ears will become wealthy, since the ears are so big money can't help but "fall in." If your middle toe is longer than your big toe (called ashi no oya-yubi or "the parent toe of your foot"), it's said you'll go farther in life than your parents did. And men, if you've got a large nose, you're in luck: it's commonly thought that the size of a man's nose corresponds to another part of his body. Hope you enjoyed today's edition of useless information from Japan!

The president of GM and his "CEO hair" (source)

Gaijin Envy

"You've been in Japan too long when the foreigner sitting across from you breaks the wa inside the train car, but somehow your own presence does not." The psychology of foreign expats in Japan can be quite complex, and I'm sure you could write a Ph.D. thesis or two exploring what's going on inside our minds. One odd phenomenon I've observed is the tendency for foreigners here to get a negative impression of other gaijin for one reason or another, a silly reaction that I've worked hard to outgrow. One of the most famous Americans in Japan is Dave Spector, who can be seen on the morning "wide show" (a news and gossip program covering a wide range of topics) reporting on what's happening in the entertainment world in fluent Japanese. He's frequently hated by foreigners living in Japan, who complain about him speaking "American-accented" Japanese on purpose and dying his black hair blonde to better conform to the image of foreigners that Japanese have, and of course we dislike him for speaking better Japanese than us in the first place (that bastard). More than a few foreigners have improved their language skills by learning to sing enka songs at the karaoke machine, myself included, but when Jero became the first "black" professional enka singer in Japan, I noticed more than a few negative comments on message boards by non-Japanese who couldn't contain their jealousy. These days the only foreigners I get a negative impression of are those who don't make the slightest effort to fit in with the society around them, or who are purposely loud and/or rude with their Japanese hosts. Happily, these kinds of people are quite rare.

Dave Spector and Jero are two of the most famous gaijin in Japan

Cool Items Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Fraulein Revoltech Suzumiya Haruhi Bunny Girl Just when you think you won't see another awesome Haruhi Figma toy, they go and release something even better. This is an awesome figure that can be placed in any pose you can imagine. Get yours now!
	Limit Gunz 1/6 Figure Mine Yoshizaki For fans of prepainted figures, the gorgeous large 1/6 scale Limit Gunz figure, created by a design from Mine Yoshizaki, is in stock. Large 1/6 size, super detail -- her body is one giant gun!
	Tachikoma's All Memory ~ Shokun This is the ultimate item for fans of the Tachikoma, the sentient robot things from the Ghost in the Shell universe. A treasure trove of information for fans!
	Megami Magazine Super Deluxe *Preorder* This is a very special issue of Megami Deluxe, which shows you some of the best illustrations from the history of the most awesome anime magazine in history. A large number of pages and a huge number of gorgeous full-page pictures make this Megami the best ever. Note: our order for this will probably be shorted by the publisher, so please get your preorder in as quickly as possible, if you want a copy.
	Myojo Jan 2009 Myojo is the magazine for all fans of "Johnny's-kei" men, referring to stars attached to the legendary Johnny's Entertainment talent agency. See Hey! Say! Jump, Kinki Kids, Kat-Tun, Eiji Wentz and much more. Why not consider a revolving subscription so you never miss an issue?
	Speed-Up Train Gum Then, for all "Densha otaku" out there, this is a series that gives you realistic models of Japanese Shinkansen trains, for playing with or displaying. All the most famous trains are part of the series.
	New Japanese Snacks See one of my all-time favorite snacks, Ottoto, which are delicious salted crackers that are shaped like creatures from the sea, for some reason that I cannot fathom. Also, Meiji's highest-grade chocolate in winter mikan (orange) flavor.
	Lucky Star Strawberry Cake, Cornet Cookies J-List customers love our new gift-box snacks, which you can normally only buy in tourist spots like Akihabara or Asakusa, Tokyo. Today we're restocking both the Lucky Star Strawberry Cake as well as the amazing Lucky Star Cornet Cookies.
	Share the Love With iTunes Japan Music Cards J-List sells the prepaid cards for the iTunes Japan online store, the only way to buy great JPOP music from Japan without a credit card here. Here's a very special really cool mix of the best JPOP songs for lovers that's great for Valentine's Day.
	Neri Ame - Traditional Liquid Candy w/ Chopsticks This is a very cool traditional candy often eaten at festivals called neri ame (kneading candy), or alternately mizu-ame (water candy). Put the sticky candy on the end of the included chopsticks and knead them together until the candy turns white and soft. It's delicious!
	Neko Nabe Figure (Hot Pot Cat) Figures To the Japanese, there's nothing cuter than a cat that has curled up to sleep in a nabe (nah-beh), or a pot used for cooking things like sukiyaki, which is the perfect shape for a sleepy cat. See two great detailed figures that are fabulous!
	Rilakkuma Salt & Pepper Shakers Bring a touch of kawaii to your table with these salt and pepper shakers featuring Rilakkuma, aka Relax Bear, the #1 character from San-X these days. Restocked today!
	To Love-ru Cuties! ~ Anime Illustration Book To Love-ru is a great anime that's a play on the word "trouble" and "to love." It's the story of an alien who wants to marry a boy from Japan, but he's in love with his childhood friend who lives next door. This is the official artbook from the animation, and it's really a nice book for collectors.
	Japanese Anime Figure Magazines Another item we can highly recommend is Figure Maniacs, the very special perfect-bound magazine that document the very best anime figures being released in Japan. We've got the current and back issues in stock, so browse our selection now.
	Cute Picture Bento Book This is one of the coolest bento books we've seen, filled with great ideas for your next Japanese boxed lunch creation. All in Japanese, but the photos are large and easy to understand.
	UKIYOE Chopsticks, Other Kitchen Items Then enjoy some great items for your kitchen, including a set of traditional chopsticks with beautiful art on them, as well as our Happy Tanuki Sake Set, Sakura Onigiri Case, and more.
	Round Totoro 2-Tier Bento Box Our Totoro bento boxes are among our most popular items, and we love the quality and the organic feel of them. Today we've restocked this popular 2-tier lunchbox that holds a lot of rice and other good stuff.
	Hello Kitty Bento Accessories See fresh stock of some of our most popular items, including the Hello Kitty Onigiri Decorate Set, with everything you need to make kawaii rice balls, plus the Hello Kitty Vegetable Cutter and Boiled Egg Shaper.
	3D Chirimen Maiko Kinchaku bag This is a great handbag called a kinchaku (drawstring) bag, carried traditionally by women when they wear kimonos. Use it to hold all your stuff.
	Restocked Samurai Ear Cleaners, More About the other thing cooler than a Japanese mimikaki traditional ear cleaner is one that looks like a miniature samurai sword. We've restocked several, along with our Lucky Frog Japanese Display and "Magatama" amulet in a wooden box.
	Fitted Girl's T-Shirts J-List has a great line-up of fitted T-shirts just for our female customers, including Domo-kun, Totoro, and many wacky kanji designs, like "I Love Yaoi" or "I'm Looking for a Japanese Boyfriend." Shirts by American Apparel!
	No-Smoking Helper -- Mint Replacement Cigarette Our wacky tool to help you stop smoking is back in stock. A fake plastic cigarette for you to hold, it comes with minty "cartridges" that give you a cool sensation when you suck in. A very popular item.
	Hiragana Times Jan 2009 Ah, another issue of my favorite nihongo study magazine, great for students of all levels because of the interesting articles in easy Japanese and English. You can also get a revolving subscription, too.
	Study Items Restocked See fresh stock of several items to help you study Japanese effectively, including the Genki Workbooks, the Illustrated Dictionary of Japanese Onomatopoetic Expressions, flashcards for memorizing vocabulary and kanji, a Cinnamoroll Kanji Practice Notebook, and more!
	Animamundi - Dark Alchimist Then, whether you're playing them for enjoyment or using them to expose yourself to spoken Japanese, J-List carries all the best interactive anime games available in English. This gothic game is fully translated to English and runs on Mac and Windows. Make sure you get your copy before it goes out of print!
	Fraulein Revoltech Mikuru Asasina Maid *Preorder*i I am so in love with this figure, the super cute time-travelling high school student Mikuru, dressed in her maid costume. Comes with parts to allow her to perform any pose, including Mikuru Beam. Preorder her right now!
	Kureha Nendoroid Figure -- Shining Wind *Preorder* Then, one of the most highly anticipated figures in Japan is Nendoroid of Kureha from Shining Wind. So cute, and she comes with a ton of parts to enable her to show you other poses. Preorder now and we'll send her to you when she drops in May.
	Transfomers Wrist Watch Then, perhaps the ultimate item for Transformers fans: a pair of high-quality wristwatches made of die-cast metal that actually transform for you. They're pricey, but a more geek-worthy than Tag Heuer and a lot cheaper!
	Sabra DVD Mook ~ Secret Face -- Rina Akiyama Awesome new "DVD mook" by the amazing people at Sabra, dedicated to the loveliness of the female form. Enjoy Rina Akiyama, who is sizzling in each glossy photograph. Comes with a DVD, too.
	Restocked Japanese Photobooks Enjoy fresh stock of some great glossy photobooks from Japan, including former Morning Musume lovely Sayumi Michishige, Sayaka Ando's drop-dead gorgeous offering, and more.
	Comic AG Super Manga Anthology vol. 97 Comic AG is the fantastic magazine that brings you 80 pages of the best translated manga from Japan for just $4.99. Enjoy top artists like Tuna Empire (!) in this issue. Available as a single issue, a handy set of five issues at a special price, or a convenient revolving subscription.
	Downhill Night Games Just a reminder that we've got some great PC dating-sim game titles coming soon, including the Downhill Night series, in which you must win thrilling races down Mt. Akina a mountain, in order to win the hearts of the beautiful girls. Preorder all three now!
	Sexy Calendars from Japan J-List stocks calendars featuring the most beautiful Japanese models and AV actresses, too, so browse to see our full selection. The Yulia Nova calendar offering has been restocked, so get yours now!