Thoughts on television in Japan, April and "newly harvested rice," and that cultural question, what color is the sun?

Television (which turns 80 today) in Japan can be quite entertaining, and sometimes its fun to sit back on the sofa and see what Japan's TV networks have for me. While there are some variety shows in which they do odd things like seeing how many seconds a sexy bikini idol can stay on a mechanical bull or submerge her body in protru- sion-inducing freezing water, these types of programs are in the minority. One show I caught the other day took a simpler approach: a camera crew started at one end of the Inokashira train line that runs from Shibuya to Kichijoji, famous for its large (for Tokyo) park and drinking area, and went to each station, introducing a unique business located in the area. These included a man selling refurbished American motorcycles from the 1930's, a Japanese couple who fell in love with the unique taste of Korean food found in Los Angeles' Korea Town and now operate a restaurant that aims to recreate that taste, and a store that sells nothing but mimikaki, those traditional Japanese "ear picks." Another staple of Japanese television takes several "talents" -- a catch-all word meaning any television personality -- and sends them off through the Japanese countryside, bathing in exotic hot springs and enjoying delicious meals at Japanese ryokan inns while the camera follows them from place to place. It's hard to understand, but watching this kind of "feel good" show can have a real calming effect on a person, and I'm sure a lot of other viewers here would agree with me.

It's April in Japan, and that means two things: beautiful sakura blooming everywhere and ichinen-sei (一年生、 first graders). April is the start of the Japanese school year, and throughout the country millions of parents will be watching with teary eyes through the video finder as little Taro or Hanako start Elementary School, with cherry blossoms falling all around them. Japan's "back to school" season is a busy one for mothers, who must rush to get all the school supplies for the new school year -- if you've noticed a lot of notebooks, pencil cases and erasers on J-List lately, you know it's because that's the season here. Mothers are going to get even busier, though: they're given a list of things they must hand-make for their kids to use, including a quilted bag to put art supplies in, a "shoes bag" (sic) for carrying shoes around inside the school, and a clean towel with the child's name sewn into it for daily desk-cleaning. In addition to being the start of school, April is when new employees officially enter the work force, and somewhere in Japan right now there are a few hundred new hires at a Company Entrance Ceremony enduring a long speech from the chairman. These new employees are often referred to as first-graders or shin-mai (新米, newly harvested rice). What color is the sun? You might answer that it's yellow, or orange, or white. However, when asked this question, though, many Japanese are likely to answer "red." This seems to be a differences in cultural perception -- the red circle in the Japanese flag is called hi-no-maru or circle-of-the-sun -- and the color red does seem to have a special place in the hearts of the Japanese. Red is the color of celebration, something the Japanese imported from China, and when you attend a Japanese wedding you always leave with a bag of gifts which include sekihan, red rice that's cooked with beans in it. There are many words that incorporate the color in them, such as aka no tanin (a "red" or complete stranger), or one that took me a while to get used to, akachan (a baby), which comes from the supposed red coloring of a newborn infant, although I can't really see it. Japan's perception of color often causes confusion among foreigners, such as their use of the word "blue" to refer to the deep green of a forest and -- most confusingly -- for the color of a green traffic signal. Karoshi means death from overwork, and it's a reality in Japan, where companies demand long hours of their employees. You don't have to live in Japan to be overworked, and we've got a great new Japanese T-shirt that shows a famous symbol of tired "salarymen" returning home on the train after working through an exhausting day, with two men visible inside the train so that they form a face. The words at the top of the train say "Karoshi" and below the train is written Otsukare-sama deshita (oh-TSA-rey-sah-mah DESH-ta), which is the phrase you say to someone who's finishing his day's work, corresponding to "Thanks for working hard today." Great new T-shirt printed in Army Green. Don't work too hard! J-List stocks region free DVD players that are great for enjoying DVDs from any part of the world. Our low-cost DVD players play discs from any country out of the box, are fully compatible with NTSC and PAL TVs, come with international power supplies, and are fully warranted by the manufacturer. Best of all, they feature the ability to play DIVX and AVI format movies, in incredibly convenient feature since 4-5 movies can be put onto a single disc. We've gotten fresh stock of our high-end DVD-7050 player in stock today -- check it out now! Remember that now is a great time to pick up that delicious Sakura or Ichigo Kit Kat, some yummy Green Tea Pocky or Meltykiss, or other chocolate products that we sell. In the summer months, which are not far off now, we're unfortunately forced to remove all chocolate products from J-List since they melt like crazy. When we take our chocolate snacks off the site we always get emails from customers wondering why they can't get their favorite Crunky. So check our snack pages 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.

	Shoko Let Mikanne -- Shoko Nakagawa. Dynamite photobook featuring Shoko Nakagawa!
	Y -- Yoko Mitsuya. Before Yuko Ogura, before Maichy, there was Yoko Mitsuya, who debuted back in the late 1990s as a very pretty idol. Now she's all grown up and looks better than ever.
	Cos Mania #1. Get your cosplay fix with this 4 hour release, excellent!
	Famous Prima Ballerina Orgy -- Yoshika Kimura (region 2). A real ballerina makes a bold career change for her fans.
	Comp Ace vol. 013. Great new issue of this popular bishoujo manga + game magazine for you, loaded with free stuff.
	Lum (Urusei Yastura) 1/6 Pure Style Doll *Action Figure. If it weren't for this show, Urusei Yatsura, none of us anime fans would be here.
	MItsuru Kirijou 1/7 PVC Figure *Persona3*. Positively beautiful anime figure in stock soon -- you can preorder it now.
	Dengeki Layers vol. 12 Apr 2007. The ultimate guide to cosplay culture, with 500+ pictures of great costumes!
	Hisoka na Oshigoto 2 ~ Secret Work 2. Great manga by Setsuna, an artist I just love the art of, due to her really subtle pictures and beautiful characters.
	Shadowing ~ Let's Speak Japanese! -- Nihongo wo Hanaso! ~ Begginer to Intermediate Edition. Great situation-based Japanese study -- a super idea!
	Aikido Basics. An excellent introduction to Aikido, the Way of Putting your Spirit Together With Someone Else. Hmm, maybe I'm trying too hard with that translation.
	Japanese T-Shirt - Tired Salaryman. Great new T-shirt, for overworked salarymen like you and me.
	Chirimen Mini Tissue Case - Blue. Nifty holder for your pocket tissue -- a great idea, and we've even got the tissue for you!
	Washi - Traditional Japanese Paper *White with Leaves*. We've gottenin some authentic washi paper, useful for many crafts.
	J-List Tissue Set (12 packs). J-List gives you free pocket tissue with each order, unless it's impossible due to the shape of your order. You can also buy them in this set of 12, in case you've got a really big thing for Japanese tissue.
	Deluxe Pentel Fude Brush Pen -- Roman Brush & Hard - XGFW50. Write like you were using a Chinese calligraphy brush!

The origins of Japan's cult of "studying," more warm weather for Tokyo, and the latest in Otaku Culture from Japan

Japan is a very seasonal place, with specific things done only during the appropriate times of year. August is when you wear a yukata (cotton kimono) and hit the summer festivals, and if you want to enjoy tsukimi or sitting outdoors and taking in the beauty of the full moon, October is the time for that. Right now it's "desk season," when furniture retailers throughout Japan display high-quality study desks for the new crop of first graders who start school in April. Japan is very much a meritocracy, and the way to get ahead in life is benkyo (studying), and so kids are taught from a very early age that hitting the books is a good way to show your thanks to your parents for bringing you into the world. The desks themselves are really very well designed, made of higher quality wood than the desk I have at J-List, featuring built-in bright lights for reading and many small drawers for kids to organize their study materials. They're also designed to grow with the user, with cute plastic mats with anime character art that can be removed when the child gets older. Buying a study desk is event in every child's school life, and it's a cold-hearted parent or grandparent who can resist buying the best for little Taro or Hanako. Is $700 a lot for a study desk for a first grader? I've lived in Japan so long I'm really not sure.

Speaking of seasons, Japan's warmest winter in living memory continues, with many a balmy afternoon -- I was even able to put the top down on my Miata a few times last month, usually unthinkable in February. It's been so warm that the kaika or first blooming of the sakura trees, which is reported on as a point of national pride by the news media here, happened a full month earlier than usual. Except for the strong winds called kara-kaze that blow down from the Japan Alps every few days -- which sound so similar to the F/A-18 jets that race over our house in San Diego from the former "Top Gun" airbase that I sometimes forget whether I'm in Japan or the States -- it's been really turn-off-the-computer-and-go-play-catch-with-my-son weather. As Japan's general fascination with otaku culture continues to grow, one word you hear a lot is Akiba-kei, which literally means "related to Akihabara," the region of Tokyo traditionally known for its electronics stores but increasingly coming to serve as a center for anime, manga and cosplay culture. There are dozens of "Maid Cafe" establishments where you can go and have cake and coffee served to you by a beautiful girl in a maid outfit, and this category is always morphing into sub-genres, such as Imoto Cafe where all the girls pretend to be your younger sister and call you Oniichan, and Tsundere Cafe where the girls act like stereotypical bitchy-but-cute characters found in most every anime series these days. The latest potential boom in Akihabara might be the Mimikaki Cafe, where a beautiful woman will lay your weary head on her lap and spend thirty minutes with a traditional bamboo ear pick, gently scraping the ear wax out and taking all your cares away. If you're not lucky enough to be in the Akihabara area this week, we've got some substitutes available at J-List that might help you experience this fun side of Japan. J-List carries PC dating-sim games, fun anime games, all carefully translated into English and compatible with English Windows computers, with stories for all tastes and genres. Today we're happy to announce that the latest title from Hirameki International, Pieces of Wonder, is in stock and shipping. A bold and interesting game in which you must guide three girls -- Amane, Syouko and Taki -- as they battle an alien race intent on taking over our world. A great RPG+ADV with real combat as well as adventures to resolve with each of the girls. Get it now! This month's Japanese adult video actress is the delicious Arisa Kanno, the elegant and stylish actress performing exclusively with Soft on Demand and their related companies. Arisa-chan was born December 9, 1984, in Tokyo. She's 160 (5'2"), and her "three sizes" are 82 (B), 56 (W) and 82 (H), making for a fabulous hourglass shape that's incidentally called kubire (koo-BI-reh) in Japanese. Her hobbies are running and playing volleyball, her favorite type of man is the strong, self-confident type, and her dream is to run in the Honolulu Marathon someday and study abroad in America. Also, we've picked the new "H-Game of the Month" and it's a really fun title, Gibo: Stepmother's Sin, a dark exploration of some great themes from Guilty and Peach Princess. You grew up a happy boy, until the day you came home and found your mother in the arms of a man who wasn't your father. Her unfaithfulness destroyed your happy home, and now you are mistrustful of the very word "mother." But one day your father announces that he's getting remarried, but instead of being old, your new stepmother is young and beautiful. How will you test her to see if she's any different from the rest? Available this month only at a special price! 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).Hi, unfortunately we don't sell the from-Japan items wholesale at all. Japan is a great place, but it's not very flexible when it comes to the flow of goods, and there's no way we could sell these items in such a way that would be profitable for you or for us. Products can usually be ordered once, and never reordered. Discounts are terrible, and don't get better by buying more product. Shipping is difficult, to say the least. I do hope we can serve you at our PCR Distributing website, which is 100% wholesale. Check out PCR at http://www.pcrdist.com To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Bejean + DVD vol. 156 Oct 2006. New issue of Bejean, the most beautiful magazine of nude photography from Japan.
	The Kiichi no Nuri-e Book Kimono Ver.. More coloring books for grown-ups on the site. Man, this is such a popular category at J-List.
	Egg Feb 2007 vol. 124. New issue of Egg is on the site, great for following kogal fashion culture.
	Love Letter ~ Koibumi -- Aya Kiguchi. Truly beautiful photography in this new offering from Aya Kiguchi.
	Piece of Wonder. New bishoujo game, alright! This is one I've been wanting to play myself. A great game for all ages.
	You are Suffocated by Unknown Big Boobs ~ Chi Chi Kano. An ero manga that you won't soon forget, I can promise you.
	Japan's Cultural Code Words. I have to say, Boye Lafayette De Mente is da man. Came to Japan in 1947 and has written dozens of amazing books that I love to read. We've just gotten in two new ones.
	MIni Furikake Assortmant Packs *10 Packs. Cute furikake for your bento or dinner.
	Hello Kitty Letter Case Set. Hello Kitty fans, this is an origami and letter case set, so cute!
	Sakura Bento Bag and Box Set. New bento box set, with sakura themes. Comes with bento box, chopsticks and very nice bag!
	DX Kiki's Delivery Service Phone Strap ~ Jiji. We've gotten in some rare straps that have limited stock (just one of each), so snare them if you are in the market for a very nice phone strap.
	Knyacki Pink Keychain Mascot. Not sure what this is -- it started out as a child's anime without any words and have really exploded in Japan.
	Oreo Chocolate Snack. Delicious Oreo snack from Japan, mmm.
	Chelsea -- Green Tea Milk. Wow, I have to try some of these! Green Tea Butterscotch, something that could only come from Japan!
	TAKE ON ME. One of the top selling ero manga in recent history, back in stock today.
	Traditional Keychain -- Jitte *Goyou*. Super cool miniature ninja weapon for your keychain.
	Sushi Light Keychain -- Ebi ~ Shrimp. My favorite sushi, re-imagined as an LED light.
	Japanese Bamboo Ear Pick - Mimikaki. If you're interested in getting you ears cleaned in traditional Japanese fashion, this is what you need. And if you don't have the girlfriend, we've got that in stock, too.

Moseying around the kids' desks while shopping for a new chair for myself. A cute little girl came up to me and said "Hello!" then ran back to her parents. This desk is for little fans of One Piece.

Here's a Super Mario desk for studious gamers.

This being Japan, there's silly English all over the place.

When my son was smaller, he was a Mushi King type, definitely. In case you don't know it, all Japanese kids just love beetles of all types.

What, want more maid pictures? Here's the welcoming lap of a woman about to clean your ears.

The tools she will use. If you don't know about Japan's incredible mimikaki, you're missing out.

Wow, she's really all set up to get your ears really clean.

Um, a maid with a gun. It's just an air gun, but the image is still surprising.

The history of Valentine's Day in Japan, thoughts on why the Japanese are so harmonious, and a really cute picture of the Yamato

You probably know that they do Valentine's Day a little differently in Japan than in the West. Here, Feb. 14th is a day for women and girls to give chocolate to men and boys, and all throughout Japan, millions of fathers, husbands, boyfriends and would-be-boyfriends look forward to scoring some chocolatey goodness. In Japan, you never receive a gift without giving one in return, called o-kaeshi, and March 14 has been designated as "White Day" when males give something back to females who gave them chocolate the month before. (In South Korea they've taken this a step further with "Black Day" on April 14th, a day when single males who didn't receive chocolate bitterly eat black noodles, wallowing in their single-ness.) My son and I were looking forward to some delicious handmade chocolate today but we're out of luck, as both my wife and daughter are bedridden with this year's bout of influenza that's going around. Zan-nen! (ZAHN-nehn, meaning "what a bummer!") In case you'd like to know the history of Valentine's Day in Japan, I'll tell you. The first Valentine's Day advertisement in Japan appeared in Showa 11 (1936), when a chocolate shop in Kobe called Morozoff promoted its wares as being perfect for lovers to enjoy together. World War II got in the way, and it wasn't until after the war that people could think about anything as frivolous as chocolate. In 1958, the manager of the Isetan department store in Shinjuku got the idea of having a Western-style Valentine's Day chocolate sale, but it was a total flop -- they sold just five boxes of chocolates! Attempts to raise awareness of the day continued with poor results, but in the 1970s, chocolate maker Morinaga hit on the idea to promote Valentine's Day as a day for women to give chocolate to boys and confess their love, and the rest is history. Currently, 60% of females in Japan report giving chocolate to someone, which makes for a lot of happy fathers, husbands, boyfriends and would-be-boyfriends.

I've talked before about what the Japanese call kokumin-sei (koh-ku-meen- SAY), a kind of "national personality" that's basically the essence of what makes Koreans so Korean and the French so very French. One of my favorite aspects of the Japanese is their dislike of confrontation and general willingness to get along with each other on a daily basis. By and large, you won't find yourself being hassled much in Japan, and even some of the scarier people you might encounter, like yakuza in the public bath with their full-body tattoos, are quite polite as long as you're polite to them. This harmonious attitude extends to the legal system, too, making lawsuits extremely rare. When there's an automobile accident, for example, the two insurance companies work it out between themselves, weighing the various factors before coming to an agreement on how to divide fault between the two parties, and it's virtually unheard of to have issues decided in a courtroom. There are quite a few identifiable mechanisms that help the Japanese get through the day harmoniously, like the mantra sho ga nai" which means it can't be helped," and the basic golden rule of society that you should never cause meiwaku (inconvenience) to others. There are some possible theories about why the Japanese are so good at getting along. Perhaps it comes from having to learn to live in a small country with many people around, or maybe it has to do with Japan's decision to become a peaceful country after their defeat in World War II, or just maybe it's a by-product of the long period of absolute rule by the Shogunate during the feudal Edo Period. My own theory comes from the ethnic name of the Japanese people, the Yamato, which is also Japan's first name for its own country, dating back to the 4th Century. The characters literally mean either "Great Peace" or "Great Harmony," and it seems natural to me that a country with such a name would value getting along with one another in a peaceful way. Remember that you can get all the great anime, manga, toy/hobby, fashion, and other magazines in Japan sent to you each month, thanks to J-List's popular Reserve Subscription service. Here's how it works: for most items, you have the option of either paying month-to-month or paying for a full year in advance. If you choose the former option, we'll reserve the current issue of the magazine(s) you want each month, charging them to a credit card on file if like, or else by check/money order or Paypal. The amount charged is the same every month, e.g. $8.50 each issue of Newtype Japan, plus the shipping. If you want to choose the annual payment option, you can pay for all the issues and SAL shipping together and get a discount. The annual option is great for anyone who wants to pre-pay for the issues (including libraries and universities who use our services), and our convenient month-to-month option is recommended for anyone who wants the flexibility to stop or change subscriptions at any time. 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.

	Sabra Magazine 002 Feb 2007. New issue of Sabra, featuring the gorgeous Jun Natsukawa , born by a river in the summer during the month of June (okay, I just made that part up).
	Kagura Japon -- Megumi Kagurazaka. Fabulous photobook featuring thee lovely Megumi-chan!
	Oui, Mon Amour -- Rika Ishikawa. Rika Ishikawa shines in her photobook, too. I've always loved this girl, even more than Gomaki, and that's saying something.
	Origami Treasure Chest. Lots of origami information here, and unlike some of the items we sell, it's not in Japanese.
	60's Infamous Fancy Shop. Wow! Another reason why I like Japanese AV! This is a fantastic 60s themed collection of performances, with the producers really going all our to make the settings and costumes look perfect. Is there this much innovation in the U.S.?
	*Gashapon* New Super Mario Soundrop -- Full Set ~ Set of 8. Killer new item for Mario fans -- Soundrop keychains that make cute Super Mario sounds when you press the buttons. Full sets are in stock, but I have to warn you that this is so popular in Japan we couldn't get our initial order filled, so we're way understocked.
	Dengeki Layers vol. 11. FABULOUS issue of this great magazine. The Rozen Maiden cosplay was enough to pay for the whole book.
	Tachikoma Soft Vinyl Figure. Wow! This giant Tachikoma soft vinyl figure is positively to die for -- get yours now!
	Coffee Beat. Enjoy these coffee bean-shaped chocolates, which are fun to eat.
	Rubber Sole Setta Black Hanao. Cool new sandals for larger feet. These are very stylish.
	Miniture Ohina-Sama on Peach Tree. Lots of really cute little decorations for the coming Hina Matsuri (March 3) are on the site now.
	Frog Healing Eye Mask. You can be healed through the amazing power of this, er, frog mask?
	Kodansha's Furigana Japanese Dictionary ~ Japanese-English, English-Japanese. A killer dictionary for gaijin like you and me. Furigana are the hiragana characters written over kanji to show you how they're ready (my textbook made a really awful joke to the effect that they were called "hurrygana" since you were in a hurry and didn't have time to look up the kanji).
	Suprise Wild Swan. It takes a real man to put an inflatable swan between his legs.
	Domo-Kun Deluxe Character Strap Keychain - DOMOKUN TV. Just a remiinder that all but a few of our Domo-kun items are nearly sold out, and that if you want to score some cool Domo-kun items you should buy quickly.
	Lotte "No Time" Gum. It's hard to describe the 'natsukashii' feeling I have about this gum, which I chewed when I first came to Japan. It brushes your teeth for you.
	digi KISHIN -- Chiaki Kuriyama. Ah, Chiaki, you beautiful latent anime otaku you, I love you so much...

Some friends of ours just built a new house (on top of a restaurant), and invited us over. It was built by our friend Mr. K.

Is this not cool? It's like a showroom for Pier 1 Imports, but in a good way.

Like many in Japan, they had only a little room to work with, so their tatami room is only a 4-jo. You measure rooms in Japan using tatami mats, e.g. this room is quite big, it must be a 20-tatami (jo) room, and so on.

Picture from in front of our favorite soba noodle restaurant. This is the same racoon-dog thing as in the Ghibli film Raccoon Wars.

My, he is happy to see us! This is just one of the many ways Japan can confusing poor gaijin. Supposedly the testicles on these raccoon statues are good luck, although I couldn't comment on the penis.

The warmest winter ever in Japan, all about the Japanese kanji character 'ki' and excitement at my son's school

We've been watching the extra-cold winter dumping lots of snow on the U.S. this year and feeling more than a little guilty, what with Japan experiencing the warmest winter its had in decades and all. The previous 1960 record for the latest snowfall in the Tokyo area has already been smashed, and with the bizarre T-shirt weather continuing, there's talk that this might be the first snowless winter since they started keeping records back in 1876. One of the most enjoyable times to be in Japan is sakura season, when the cherry blossoms bloom with exploding fireworks of beauty, but it's been so warm this year that everyone is sure the sakura will bloom at least a full month earlier. There's also a lot of concern that with such mild weather this year, there'll be less snow in snowpacks in the mountains, leading to water shortages in the summer.

Sometimes part of the fun of studying a language like Japanese is "surfing" the linguistic elements that are totally different from anything found in one's native language. One of the most common kanji characters is ki (気）, a rather all-purpose concept for expressing abstract ideas (read chi in Chinese). Although it can be translated as spirit, soul, nature, heart, mood, feeling, or atmosphere, it mainly deals with (spiritual) energy and a person's awareness. The character is found in some elementary words that students of the language encounter right away, such as genki (happy, energetic), tenki (weather) or kuki (air). The word can express intention (seppuku suru ki = the intention to commit ritual suicide, wish I could think of a better example ^_^), and feelings or emotion (kimochi ii = that feels good). In anime series like Dragonball Z, when a character gets so filled with energy that he literally glows with fire, the word for that fire would be ki. The concept is also used in martial arts and yoga, which seek to focus the mind's ki in beneficial ways -- it also pops up in words like kiai, the verbal yell you release when focusing your strength on a task. The word can be found in several Japanese idioms that are used quite often, such as ki wo tsukete (be careful; literally "fix your body's energy and attention on the task at hand"), or ki wo tsukau (to be considerate of; literally "to use your ki on behalf of another person"). One of the most popular "talents" (an all-purpose word meaning singer/actor/ comedian/whatever) in Japan is Takuya Kimura, a member of the popular group SMAP, the male idol band that dominates much of Japan's music scene. Takuya, who plays the voice of Howl in Howl's Moving Castle, has been called both the "sexiest man in Japan" as well as the domestic version of Brad Pitt, mainly because Levi's hired "Kim-Taku" for their jeans commercials to counter Edwin's successful line of commercials featuring "Bra-Pii." Although they started out as a Backstreet Boys-like group, SMAP has utterly woven itself into the fabric of Japan's pop culture, and you really can't turn the TV on without seeing one or more members of the group hosting a variety show or doing their gourmet cooking competition thing or pulling some gag on the air, like when George Lucas came to Japan and they presented him with a beautiful Japanese sword, which turned out to be a cheap plastic light saber. Recently there's a rumor going around that Takuya and his wife, former singer Shizuka Kudo, are going to put their daughter in my son's special English elementary school this April, which has set the hearts of the school mothers all aflutter with thoughts of Japan's sexiest man attending parents' day with them. J-List sells a unique line of original T-shirts, hoodies and embroidered hats featuring funny and wacky kanji messages, and today we've gotten in a cool new design for you. Every once in a while you hear of a Japanese man who wasn't able to resist his own particular urges, and who got in trouble peeking at pretty girls. Our new wacky T-shirt warns people who see it to beware of nozoki -- peeping toms, who like to watch women secretly -- with a hilarious new design. Check it out on the site, now! Remember that J-List carries hard-to-find artbooks and manga of great Japanese artists, including Shirow Masamune, Satoshi Urushihara, Range Murata, Hidenori Matsubara, Toshiyuki Tanaka, Katsuya Terada, Shunya Yamashita and more. We also carry books that help you learn how to draw, including the popular How To Draw Manga series, Comickers, Character Design Bible and more. Why not browse our excellent selection of artbooks and see what strikes your fancy? 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.

	Nu Beau ~ Special Nude Collection -- Kaho Kasumi, Shinju Murasaki with DVD. Fabulous nude pictures of Kaho-chan and Shinju-chan -- the latter's name means "Pearl." Vague reference to Dec. 7, 1941?
	First Photobook -- Miwa Asao. Beach Volleyball is big in Japan now, and now you can buy the photobook of the most popular "volleyball idol."
	Triptych Trading Figure -- Set of 7 *Full Set + Rare Item*. Fabulously detailed sexy figures, some of which are nude. Those Japanese are so inventive...
	Japanese T-shirt - Beware of Men Peeking (Men's standard). Wacky new Japanese T-shirt with a zany kanji message.
	Dengeki Comic Gao Mar 2007. I love the new look of Gao, and since it features the Miina manga from Densha Otoko, it's even better. This i ssue comes with a free figure -- don't miss it!
	Shiba Wanko Figure -- Full Set *Set of 5*. Aww, cute little Shiba Dogs dressed in traditional Japanese fashion.
	Sister Anthology Comics. Nice manga about, er, sisters and related nun themes.
	RPG ~ Roll Playing Girl. I love the art and video game premise of this manga. And the girl with glasses isn't bad either.
	Passage to Eternity ~ Yoshino and Omine -- Tenkai no Michi. Beautiful images of the spirituality -- Shinto and Buddhism -- of Japan.
	Pocky Decore ~ Peach. Delicious new flavor of the most deluxe Pocky ever.
	Tomica 117 -- Mitsubishi *i*. Wacky car offering from Mitsubishi, available in tiny form.
	Sakura Tea Leaf Container. Store all your loose tea with this.
	Tenori Mamegoma -- Shiro Goma *White*. Super cute plush baby seal from San-X.
	Tenori Mamegoma -- Kuro Goma *Black*. And here's his twin.
	Totoro Magnet Hook. This is cool. Hang your coat in style with a Totoro magnet hook.
	Authentic Leather and Snake Skin Setta. These are cool, authentic leather setta sandals with tops made of friggin' snake skin. They are so nice to the touch.
	Xylitol Sugarless Sunset Ruby Gum. Delicious gum. I'm chewing it right now ,believe it or not.
	Hello Kitty Toilet Paper -- green. This is really the perfect gift. I mean, whether the person you give this to loves or hates Hello Kitty, you've scored a real hit.
	Hana Fuda -- Yozakura ~ Kyoto Shogun Do. Cool card game practiced with the blessings of the ancients for thousands of yahrens. Oops, I'm channelling 1978 Battlestar Galactica again.
	Lucky Cat 2 Tier Bento Box -- Red. We've been out of bento boxes big time, but got a bunch in today. Sorry if you were waiting for one.
	Fuwarinka Gum -- Rose Flavor. This wouldn't be a product I'd think would sell a huge number, rose flavored gum and all, yet we've moved 1000 packs since we posted them. The mind reals...

Heh, I'll tell you my own favorite game. All those newfangled video games are okay, but I'm still loyal to the original Unreal Tourmanent, released in, I think, 1999. I'm using it on my Intel MacBook Pro, and the fact that it plays so nicely (even with 300 bots, see below) in Rosetta is really an amazing thing.

The reason it's so fun is that there's a nuke you can use to kill your enemies.

Of course, that's not fun enough, so here's what I do. Load the game, type SUMMON WARHEADLAUNCHER unless I'm on a level that has the nuke, get the warhead, then type ALLAMMO. Then instead of having one pansy nuke you have 999 of them. Muhahaha! LOADED is another fun command that gives you all weapons in the game.

You can then addbots if you like so that you have 100, 200 or more enemies to kill rather than the default of 16. Note that adding too many bots at once can overload the machine since most of the bots appear at the same few spawning spots which causes them to explode, and the computer has to draw 100 x 300 bits of expanding flesh on your screen.

This lets you discover a new kind of game, where basically everyone is trying to kill you but you've got a nuke. You can do fun game of trying to kill everyone else (up to 300 bots) without using any weapons other than the nuke. This means you need to shoot and duck behind obstacles, or shoot at the ceiling to take out someone before they get too close. It's quite a challenge. Another fun thing is to slow the game down so you can set up extra beautiful kills.

There's something about running down the hallway in the contrail of a tactical nuke you've just shot that's so much fun. Incidentally I've played this game so much in the past my eyes actually got infected. That's not good, is it?

Ah, beautiful stress relief... I realize my love of cheating at games goes back to my Captain Kirk complex, since I look up to him as the father I didn't have (Captain Kirk, Carl Sagan and Ernest Hemingway). I guess using NOCLIP or god mode in a game is just my own answer to the Kobayashi Maru test.

Understanding world culture through Japanese hip hop music, thinking about thinking in a foreign language, and out with devils!

It's funny how culture criss-crosses the globe, never stopping at such laughable things as national borders as it flows to any place it can find a home in peoples' minds. You wouldn't think that a country as far removed from the West both physically and culturally as Japan is would have its own burgeoning hip hop and reggae music sub-culture, or that what's playing in clubs in Jamaica is being closely followed from Japan, but the world is an amazing place. Just as Americans and Europeans are interested in the unique ideas and general "otherness" found in anime, manga, JPOP and other forms of contemporary Japanese culture, people here are open to taking in music from outside Japan and remixing it into something unique that's all their own. A quick glance into any fashion magazine shows that Japanese are keen to embrace hip fashion from the West, too, to the point where it might be difficult to identify where one influence ends and another begins. Sometimes the Japanese embracing of American fashions can get a little ridiculous -- some years ago, the red and blue bandanas worn by the Crips and Bloods became all the rage in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district. That's taking things just a little too far...

One of the more interesting occurrences when learning a foreign language is becoming able to "think" in that language, when ideas or answers to questions come out directly as opposed to first being converted from English, a process that takes time and makes participating in quick-flowing conversations impossible. The brain is very much like a computer, but one that's capable of re-wiring itself as needed. Learning a language can cause some pretty interesting changes to take place on the old wet-ware, and there are times when you can almost feel that process at work. Another landmark is when you dream in your second language for the first time. I remember my first dream in Japanese very well: it was during finals week at SDSU and I was stressing out over informal verbs (Japanese has lots of verb forms, formal, informal, passive, suggestive, and so on). In my dream I was in a tall building, running up some stairs. I kept meeting Japanese people along the way, and I conversed with them in rapid nihongo despite the fact that I'd taken less than a year of Japanese at the time. I had no idea what I was saying, of course, but in the dream-world I was nevertheless able to communicate freely about any subject I cared to talk about. It was pretty cool, but of course it had to end when it was time to wake up. Saturday is Setsubun, a fun day for anyone with kids in Japan. Originally falling on New Year's Eve of the old Lunar Calendar that Japan used until 1868, it's a day when oni (devils) will be symbolically chased out of the house so that happiness can reign during the New Year. The father of the house will assume the role of a devil, wearing a paper mask that makes him look scary. When the devil attacks, the children pelt him with baked soybeans and chase him off, shouting Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi! ("Out with devils, in with happiness!"). When the devils are sufficiently vanquished, everyone is supposed to eat their age in soybeans to help guarantee good health in the coming year. This is easy for a child of eight or so to do, but quite a bit harder for parents getting up there in years, since 38 soybeans is quite a lot to crunch down. Another tradition of Setsubun is to eat maki-zushi, or roll sushi, so that the long roll of sushi can point the way to happiness for that year, or something like that. 2007 Japanese Calendar Season was a big success for J-List, and we sold more great anime, JPOP, cute idol, traditional photography and other calendars than ever before. We've gone through and removed some pending orders that hadn't been paid for, which means that several previously "sold out" 2007 calendars are -- incredibly -- available once again. This is really, really your last chance to pick up that cool JPOP, anime, cute idol or other calendar, so browse our selection now! This month's "Game of the Month" is one of my own favorites, Figures of Happiness, a great dating-sim in English. Minamo is in love with the handsome Satoru, but when she's killed in a car accident before confessing her feelings, she turns in spirit form to Ryo and asks for help -- she needs to use his 'life energy' to return to the land of the living and find her own love...but things aren't going to work out as she plans. And so the wheels of fate turn, winding the destinies of everyone together: dead Minamo and her reluctant helper Ryo; the pure Mio and her carefree twin sister Mao; the competitive Kokoro, who won't give up Satoru without a fight; the lonely spirit Izumi; and the perplexing Soul Collector. The longest and most complex game ever released by G-Collections available at a great price this month only, via both shrinkwrapped CD-ROM and download. 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.

	More and More -- Honoka. I love books like this from Japan -- very elegantly done nude photobooks that capture the beauty of the female form, without a lot of unnecessary ero stuff.
	Sabra DVD Mook ~ YukoReal -- Yuko Ogura. A new Sabra special featuring *nothiing* but Yuko Ogura. Have I died and gone to heaven?
	Naho Ozawa Retirement Special. Naho-chan is retiring, and you can enjoy 150 minutes of her best works before she goes.
	Jewel -- Kana Ishikawa. Beautiful idol in her new photobook. Fabulous glossy printing here.
	Maid of Black Lilly Hotel ~ Maid in Kurosuzurankan. Really nicely done erotic manga about maids.
	Urakan and Lana. Hiroshi Kawamoto has an amazing style that's won him many fans. This is his great new work.
	Dengeki Layers vol. 10. Man, this is a good book, with page after page of amazing cosplay from top cosplayers in Japan.
	Shigekix Aha Brain -- Muscat Flavor. Enrich your brain with the new Shigekix Aha! Brain.
	Puchi Gurumi Strap -- Maneki Neko *Lucky Cat*. Cute phone strap featuring a plush cat's severed head.
	Space Attacker -- Pocket Game Collection *Keychain Type*. Fun LCD game vesion of Space Invaders. Totally old skool -- rock on.
	1/7 SAC 2nd GIG ~ MOTOKO KUSANAGI. Wow, man. Just wow.
	Hello Kitty Print Chopsticks. Hello Kitty chopsticks. Kawaii!
	Howl's Moving Castle Playing Cards You probably don't think of playing cards when you think of J-List, but these are so well made, I go out of my way to use them at home with the kids.

Peter's Unified Theory of Japan meets Great Britain, going to the beach in January, and understanding Japan through its bicycles

Part of Peter's Unified Theory of Japan is that the Land of the Rising Sun has a lot in common with Great Britain. Both are island nations with similar land areas and unique cultures that were able to grow for centuries without outside interference. Both have made expert use of naval technologies to build empires in the past, and both exert a huge amount of cultural influence on the world comparative to their small sizes. Also, neither nation seems to consider itself to be a part of its respective continent, and sometimes it seems that Japan would be happier being part of Europe than of Asia. The strange connection between Japan and Great Britain was not lost on the members of the Iwakura Embassy of 1871, a group of ambassadors from the new Meiji Government who visited Europe and the U.S. to make observations about how Japan should proceed with modernization. Partly as a result of their recommendations, Japan consciously emulated Great Britain in many ways, including adopting a British-style Parliament and Prime Minister system. But as much as Japan secretly wishes it were part of Europe, it's very much an Asian nation, and that means...bicycles. Yes, bicycles are a popular way to get around in Japan, with people from all walks of life using them to get where they want to go, including businessmen in expensive tailored suits, which is always amusing to see. I happened to look at the bicycle section of our local home center the other day, and was interested to see the latest trends in two-wheeled transportation. The basic Japanese bicycle is a rather kakko warui (kah-KOH WAH-ROO-ee; ugly, uncool) design popular with middle-aged women that's affectionately called the "Mama-Chari" (from "mother's chariot," don't ask me why), which sports a large basket for bringing home the day's groceries. There are other types of bicycles too, from mountain bikes to fold-up bikes you can take on a train to electric-assist jobs, but if you want to get something really kakko ii (kah-KOH EE; cool, stylish) you should go for a bicycle with a spiffy corporate logo printed on the side. There are plenty available in stores, including bikes sold under brands like Jeep Wrangler, Jaguar, PT Cruiser and something called "Chevrolet Chevy." Don't want a bicycle with a car logo on it? How about a United Colors of Benetton bicycle, a bike for ladies with the famous "ELLE" logo on it, or...Wimbledon? Yes, there's an official Wimbledon bike, complete with their slogan: "The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club." I was especially partial to the Zippo-branded bicycles I saw, which apparently combine the fine engineering of the world's most popular lighter with fast-switching gears by Shimano. Since I don't smoke but like Zippo lighters, maybe this is a good compromise for me.

Just because we don't live in San Diego doesn't mean we can't catch some waves in January. Over the weekend we took the kids to Caribbean Beach, a massive-scale wave pool that simulates a sandy beach, located about as far from the sea as you can get on Japan's main island of Honshu. Besides the wave pool, there were water slides, several Jacuzzis and a fun "flowing pool" that continuously pushes you in one direction, kind of like an "It's a Small World" attraction that you get to swim in. The facility was built by the city of Kiryu, right next to the municipal garbage incinerator, allowing the energy generated from the burning of garbage to be put to good use heating the various pools and keeping the cost down. Like Japan's Postal Savings Accounts (which effectively form the world's largest bank, in terms of deposits) and its government-run Kampo life insurance system, public projects like this heated pool are one more example of how Japan's government loves to meddle in areas that are generally considered the domain of private industry in most other countries. I'm not complaining about a fun pool to use, of course, but for every well-conceived project like Caribbean Beach there are all too many failures. For example, high in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture there's a beautiful resort hotel that was built with money from Postal Savings Accounts, which people can stay at cheaply. Not only did the coming of the hotel depress the commercial hotels in the area with unfair competition, though, it's also nearly always empty, a sprawling resort with no guests despite the staggering cost to build it. Valentine's Day is not far off, so we're posting a reminder in case you wanted to do February 14 Japanese-style this year. Valentine's Day in Japan is a day when women give chocolate to boyfriends, husbands or fathers to show their love or say "thank you" for their hard work and support. Often women will go to great lengths to make hand-made chocolates, and stores stock many types of chocolate molds, decorations and other tools to help them in their goal. In addition to a selection of chocolate molds that we've posted today, J-List is loaded to the gills with great chocolate snacks from Japan, the perfect way to show your feelings this year. Why not browse our great snack section now? Remember that J-List stocks hundreds of rare and wonderful plush toys, anime figures, gashapon capsule toys and other items from Japan. We love the Pinky Street (also written Pinky:ST.) figures, super-stylish figures with contemporary Japanese clothes. Changes clothes by popping the head off your Pinky Street figure and putting it on another outfit -- nothing could be simpler! We also have an extensive line of unbelievably cool Pinky Street figures designed by Japanese illustrator Range Murata. 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." To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	More and More -- Tsukasa Minami. it's great to look at Tsukasa Minami in the new issue of More and More.
	U2 2006 Sum ~ Foxeye. Heh, wacky doujinshi from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya here.
	Fighting Girls Mania ~ The Kakuto Ryojyoku 2007. Love this great collection of Fighting Girls "H" manga, which includes art by Grofon and Linda (!).
	En -- Mariko Masu. Gorgeous photobook of Mariko Masu, former beauty contest queen.
	Hiragana Times No. 234 Apr 2006. New issue of the J-E bilingual Hiragana Times.
	Cosplay Lesbian Kiss. Great DVD in the spirit of SOD's "Deep Kiss" series, featuring nothing but beautiful girls wearing anime costumes and, well, kissing.
	Queen's Slave -- Yuri Hazuki. Wacky offering featuring a Zelda parody?
	New Super Mario Sound Block -- Full Set *Set of 3*. Cool new Super Mario item that makes sounds from the game when you press down.
	Fruits No. 110 Sep 2006. New issue of Fruits, for those who want to follow Tokyo's hip street fashion culture.
	Caren Hortensia 1/8 Scale Figure -- Fate Hollow Ataraxia. Gorgeous prepainted anime figure from Fate Hollow Ataraxia.
	Nana Belt Swing -- Full Set *Set of 7* ~ Bandai Gashapon. Really cool series of "neck belts" frin Nana. It will likely get snapped up in no time, like the previous series.
	Kitty Deodorant Sheet. Put Hello Kitty to work removing toilet odors!
	Kitty *Buden* Tote Bag -- Beige ~ Buden High School *Kitty Club*. Hello Kitty "retro" bag that looks like a commercial logo from the Showa era. This one is deep, guys.
	Buddhist Prayer Beads for Women. In case you don't have enough Buddhist prayer beads at home right now/
	Heart Chocolate Mold 4pcs. ~ Medium Size. Show your feelings this Feb. 14.
	Kabaya Engido Cookies w/Japanese Mascot Netsuke. Great to have this back again this year!

This is a silly thing to have on your bike.

This is pretty silly, too.

Do other countries have these? It's a light that runs from the friction of the front wheel. It slows you down so people usually turn them off, making riding at night more dangerous.

Here's the bike I liked, the Zippo bicycle. What will they think of next?

Outside of Cainz Home I encountered a perfect replica of K.I.T.T. I've lived in Japan so long that I'm used to stuff like this, but this is weird, right? I mean, you wouldn't drive Knight Rider's car in the U.S., right?

The front even does the "Cylon" thing.