gaijin in Japan.
Being a foreigner in Japan is a bit different from, say, Europe or the U.S., because Westerners always stand out by their mere existence here, though that’s not a bad thing. There are some interesting things that happen to foreigners who live in Japan, like the “Three
Stages of Eye Aversion” we seem seem to go through when encountering other non-Japanese. First, you can’t keep from stealing glances at the strange foreign guy or girl at the gym – their very presence disturbs the glorious harmony of the place, although for some reason yours doesn’t. Then you realize how silly you’re being, so you so hello to them…only to find out that not everyone from France or Brazil or Sri Lanka speaks
English, and you’re so embarrassed that you swear off talking to random gaijin for a while. Foreigners here also tend to react with some jealousy when seeing other foreigners who have been here longer and/or speak better Japanese than they do, like the many “gaijin talents,” actors, comedians and other personalities who appear on TV, often to add flavor to an all-Japanese cast or give an “outsider’s view” on the topics being discussed. I’ve been guilty of this myself, for example feeling jealous of Donald Keene, an American translator who got to hob-knob with all the great postwar Japanese writers like Yasunari Kawabata, Dazai Osamu and Yukio Mishima – the lucky bastard.
There are a lot of unique fashions that are either created or enriched by Japan’s anime subculture world, like the “Absolute Zone” skirt and over-knee socks look, or shimapan, or the recent boom in “open-chest turtleneck sweaters.” Then there’s “twintails,” the kawaii hair style sported by dozens of anime characters and popular Japanese idols these days. According to the Japan Twintail Association (yes, this exists), this unique hairstyle started showing up as a “charm point” for characters in the early 1980s with shows like Himitsu no Akko-chan and Dr. Slump, but really took off with 1992’s iconic Sailor Moon, which officially introduced the concept of moé — characters specifically designed so that viewers couldn’t help but become obsessed with them. Now the twintail look is everywhere, and we couldn’t imagine
characters like Nico from Love Love!, Azusa from K-On!, and Hatsune Miku without their kawaii twintails. Today (February 2) happens to be International Twintail Day, a great day to contemplate your favorite twintail character!
February is upon us, and J-List has decided to start our annual sale on all delicious chocolate products (including Pocky, Japan Kit Kat and Meltykiss) as well as personal stress toys and “dolphin polishers” a few days early. Through the end of February, you can get 3x J-List points on all these great products, whether you’ve got a special date planned for Valentine’s Day or plan a quiet evening alone. Everyone will be happy during February!
