Greetings from J-List

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

I often get mail from people planning a trip to Tokyo, asking me to recommend some sightseeing spots. While there is a ton of fun stuff to see in and around Tokyo, the reality is that the Kansai Region is the better place to visit, with fabulous destinations like Kyoto and Nara and a thousand more years of history than the Kanto area. If you are Tokyo-bound, though, I'll do my best to offer some suggestions. Of course Akihabara is fun to visit, but if you want to really drink in the totality of otaku culture, try to be there on a Sunday after payday (which is the 25th of the month), when everyone is power-shopping and giddy with excess energy. If you like 8-bit gaming culture, hit a store called Super Potato, which has more classic console game stuff than you can shake a stick at. If you drink, make sure to go pub-crawling in Shinjuku's east side near Kabuki-cho, the only place in Japan that can be considered dangerous (so use good judgment). If you need to get across the bay to Odaiba for any reason, go out of your way to ride Himiko, the "water bus" designed by Space Battleship Yamato creator Leiji Matsumoto. Another fun water-related experience you might try is an evening cruise on a yakata-bune, essentially an old-style Japanese izakaya restaurant-bar on a boat that cruises around Tokyo bay while you eat and drink. Of course one spot you must visit if coming to Tokyo is the famous Hachiko statue in Shibuya, erected by local residents to honor the dog who waited faithfully for his master to return, even after the man died. Incidentally, we've posted a new T-shirt that's a tribute to Faithful Dog Hachiko -- check it out now.

The Himiko looks like it jumped out of a Leiji Matsumoto anime; make sure to visit the "Japanese Soul Dog" Hachiko while in Tokyo, too.

People who study marketing know that competitions often come down to two companies, like Coke and Pepsi for carbonated sugar water or Mac and Windows for consumer operating systems. And for old school anime fans like me, I think Gundam and Macross fill a similar duality. Gundam is the "Star Trek" of the anime world, the groundbreaking franchise without which nothing after could have come, which tells a reasonably realistic story about mankind colonizing space, developing mecha suits called mobile suits and evolving into Newtypes. Macross is the series that throws realism out the window, instead telling a more emotional story with impossible transforming mecha and interstellar wars whose outcomes are invariably determined by a song. Ever since my son was small, we've had fun being Gundam fans together, watching the various series and doing father-and-son stuff like building model kits. When he borrowed my copy of the Macross Ultimate Frontier for the PSP, he played through all the levels then asked to see the show, so now we're having fun viewing the major Macross series together starting with Macross Frontier. And I've borrowed his copy of Gundam Battle Universe, a fabulous game made by the same staff in which you play through every battle from the One Year War to Char's Counterattack. Anime has really brought us together.

You've been in Japan too long when you see a sign for a "mansion gallery" and know immediately that it's a building built to allow prospective buyers of high-rise condominiums (called "mansions" here) to see what the insides are like before making a purchase. Like every country, the Japanese take words and change them to fit their needs, so that sometimes a native speaker might not know what the original meaning was. One interesting use the Japanese have come up with for the letter "W" is to represent the concept of "double," and advertisers might put a "W" in their product's name to imply that it's twice as effective as the leading brand. With the arrival of the Internet the letter "W" has taken on a new meaning, indicating laughter, since the word for "to laugh" in Japanese is warau but that's too hard to type quickly. Some other versions of words you hear quite frequently in Japan include "morning call" (what a wake-up call is here), "health meter" (what they call a scale to measure your weight) and "freeter" (someone who works part-time jobs but isn't interested in a career).

J-List carries a huge selection of fun Lucky Cat products, called maneki neko or "inviting cat" in Japanese. He "invites" good luck into your home or business and is a wonderful image of Japan. Some products that are popular with our customers including the basic Lucky Cat coin bank, the awesome Lucky Cat Tea Cups we stock, fun Lucky Cat straps you can attach to your phone, and today, a Christmas Lucky Cat display we're posting.

Today's New Items
Kera Oct 2009 KERA is a fresh and fun fashion magazine from the streets of Tokyo. Covering a variety of themes, from punk to Harajuku grunge to Goth-Loli, with lots of current and up-to-date fashion information from Shibuya. View Product	Japanese T-Shirt - Japanese Soul Dog Speaking of Shibuya, J-List has a new T-shirt for you: the official T-shirt of Hachiko, the "faithful dog" who waited for his master to return outside Shibuya Station. The shirt, which is available in khaki or white, shows Japan's most beloved canine with the words, "Japanese Soul Dog." View Product
2010 Kyoani Calendars *Preorder* J-List has hundreds of awesome 2010 calendars for you, and today we've got a treat" very limited stock of the Kyoani calendars are posted for preorder. If you're a fan of Haruhi, Clannad, K-On! Or Lucky Star, then run, don't walk to preorder yours. View Product	Gorgeous 2010 Idol, JPOP and Other Calendars We've recently restocked some really amazing 2010 calendars featuring the most popular Japanese idols and actresses, including the charming Maki Horikita, the button-cute Nozomi Sasaki, and popular idol Yuko Ogura. Click to browse now. View Product
Gundam Battle Universe I've been having fun playing the Macross Ultimate Frontier game on PSP, and decided we should stop this title, too, made by the same staff. It's simply the best Gundam game ever made, and there's nothing like playing the One Year War missions with decked-out mechs from the Char's Counterattack era. View Product	Haro Alarm Clock ~ Gundam Speaking of Gundam the Haro alarm clock has come in, and it's mighty awesome. Haro flaps his ears and talks to you when it's time to get up. You even can shout Ikimasu! as you get out of bed if yo like. View Product
Klan Klang DX Figure ~ Macross F Then for Macross fans, we've got Klan, the Zentraedi warrior who, due to a quirk of her DNA, turns into a cute girl when she's micronized. Yak deculture! View Product	Anime 4 GB USB Memory USB memory sticks are more fun when they're shaped like anime characters, and we've got some awesome high-speed USB flash drives shaped like Konata from Lucky Star, Ranka Lee and more. View Product
Afternoon Sep 2009 Then, I'm a huge fan of Afternoon, the elegant and super thick monthly magazine that is so cool, Oguie from Genshiken wants to draw manga for it. Super 20th Anniversary of Ah My Goddess. View Product	Awesome Anime Artbooks See a bunch of restocked anime artbooks on the site, including the Louise "photobook" from Zero no Tsukaima, the great Otome Hime/Mai Hime photobook, En Ciel RENA and the Polyphonica Fan Book. View Product
Cute Japanese Hand Warmers -- Rabbit and Panda Japan has these really cool hand warmers which keep you toasty for hours, called kairo, which opens the door for bad jokes about, "Why is it so warm in Egypt?" We're stocking two incredibly cute hand warmers in the shape of a rabbit and panda. View Product	Hello Kitty Kinchaku Snack Set Or check out this Hello Kitty Snack Set, which is a drawstring (kinchaku)) bag that's really cute. It is filled with Hello Kitty snacks, but you can use the bag long after the snacks are eaten. View Product
Lucky Cat & Tree Happy Christmas Display Here's something special: a ceramic Lucky Cat display that will become a treasure in your family. A wonderful creation that's made in Japan. View Product	Japan iTunes Cards, iTunes/iPod/iPhone Compatible It's fun to browse the iTunes Japan store and see what fun and wacky music you can discover, like the Exit Trance Presents with dance-able music made popular by Japan's Nico Video community, the latest songs by Miku Hatsune, or browse the top singles charts to see what's popular in Japan this week. View Product
Evangelion, Clannad Cosplay Restocked J-List loves anime costumes, and stocks a whole bunch of different complete cosplay outfits for you. See fresh stock of the Evangelion and Clannad school uniforms today. View Product	cos a ~ Cosplayers Archive Also, see additional stock of Cosplayers Archive, a dynamite book for costumers which shows awesome costumes for use as reference, or just to gaze at. Other magazines that can help you make your cosplay dreams come true are COSmode and Dengeki Layers. View Product
Awesome Chocolate from Japan It's the best time to browse J-List for rare and delicious new chocolate snacks from Japan. Today we're posting Morinaga's Choco Ball in Caramel and Milk Pudding flavor, plus Glico's chocolate covered almonds and macadamia -- yum. View Product	Cherry Boy, Sapporo Beer, Akihabara Drops Then see fresh stock of the wildly popular Traditional Japanese Food Drops candy with the strange name, Cherry Boy, plus Sapporo Beer and Akihabara Limited Drops candies. View Product
DX Men's Bento Set ~ Stainless Rice Container Looking for a really special bento box that provides a professional-looking style plus large containers for rice and the rest of your lunch? I am amazed how awesome this new bento set is. View Product	J-List's Most Popular Bento Boxes Restocked Then see fresh stock of what has to be one of the best bargains in the bento world. The "TENMARI" blue and red bento set, which give you everything you need for a fun Japanese boxed lunch. View Product
ONIGIRI Makers Restocked Onigiri are the (usually) triangle-shaped Japanese rice balls that are the rough equivalent to sandwiches in Japan: super convenient to grab and eat on the run. We've restocked several excellent onigiri shapers, including the classic triangle and cube. View Product	Restocked Bento Accessories Then see other bento related items, including those fish-shaped soy sauce bottles for bento, plus sausage shapers that turn boring wieners into interesting shapes. View Product
J-List [hearts] Totoro Bento J-List carries hundreds of Totoro and bento products, so it's natural that Totoro bento boxes would be a popular item with our customers. The deluxe Totoro Theral Bento Box Set is back in stock, ready for you to take it into the forest for a great adventure. View Product	Restocked Totoro Catbus Plush Then see fresh stock of not one but two cute Totoro catbus plush toys, including the largest one ever made. View Product
Kawaii Onigiri Kitchen Sponge We never know what will become popular at J-List, but our customers can't get enough of our cute onigiri-shaped sponge with a happy faces in them. Fresh stock uploaded today. View Product	R2-D2 Soy Sauce Bottle, Pepper Mill For fans of J-List cool soy sauce bottle subculture, or for people who just like Star Wars, we've restocked the R2-D2 soy sauce bottle, as well as the matching fresh pepper mill. These will be popular this Christmas so get your order in soon. View Product
Lucky DAIBUTSU Key Met Japan is having a "Buddha boom" right now, and we're adding some funky products to our lineup. This is a key cover that will turn a normal key into a cool Buddha key. Based on the Daibutsu statue in Nara. View Product	New Back Ground Catalog 2 -- Showa Tokyo This is a series of photobooks that shows you background photos of famous Japanese scenery, useful for artists but also for anyone who wants to enjoy beautiful scenes from Japan. View Product
More DS Study Items There are only 31 days until the Japanese Language Proficiency Test -- are you getting enough studying in? Today we've posted stock of the DS Kanji Dictionary (the best electronic dictionary solution, hands down), plus Let's Play in Japanese and Japanese Literature 100 Works. View Product	Nihongo Journal One tool I used to help myself study Japanese effectively was Nihongo Journal, a monthly magazine with various lessons at different levels, allowing you to back to previous issues and do new lessons that might have been too hard the first time through. Click to view J-List's stock of this useful tool now -- with reduced prices, too! View Product
Super Sonico Oppai 3D Mouse Pad *Preorder* J-List is happy to be working with Nitroplus, one of the most awesome companies on the planet, with the upcoming game Demonbane. See a fabulous Oppai Mouse pad featuring their headphones-clad character Sonico -- kawaii! View Product	Kaito Vocaloid Plush *Preorder* If you're a Vocaloid fan I hope you'll consider this great plush toy. The Miku Hatsune in the same series is extremely large and well-made, and great for displaying or just hugging. View Product
Restocked Pilot Gel Ink Pens, Study Flashcards See several restocked pens, including the Pilot Hi-Tec-C Gel Ink Pen in different nip sizes, plus the DX Long Study Flashcards for memorizing any information. View Product	Restocked Japanese Snacks Finally, some great restocked J-snacks just in time for the weekend. We have Lotte Fusen no Mi gum (which means "fruit of the bubble" and you're supposed to think of bubblegum growing on trees), UHA Puccho World, traditional Barley Sugar candy, Van Houten Dear Cacao chocolates, plus the all-time favorite Pocari Sweat sports drink (note, contains no sweat). View Product