Hello from Japan where kissing up to a superior is known as “grinding up the sesame seeds” (goma suri).
First of all, the J-List site was broken for about 10 hours on Sunday, Japan time. The site itself displayed more less normally, but the search and shopping cart functions were dead. Everything is working now — we’re very sorry for any inconvenience!
I took Saturday off and went skiing for the first time in eight years or so. It was great fun, although my body aches all over for it. Skiing is a huge pasttime in Japan, and despite the lackluster Japanese economy, millions of Japanese ski regularly each season. Japanese are kind of funny though: they’re always the most stylish skiiers you’ve ever seen, with name brand skis, ski wear that’s endorsed by the Swiss Olympic ski team, and so on. One of my favorite entries in the “You’ve been in Japan too long when…” list on my personal homepage (www.peterpayne.net) is “You’ve been in Japan too long when you appear for your first skiing lesson with brand new Rossignol high performance racing skis and an aerodynamic racing suit with color matched goggles…and then snowplow down.”
I’ve been asked about homeless in Japan. If you’ve ever spent some time in any Japanese city, you’ve probably seen that Japan, for all that it seemed like a perfect place back in the 1980’s, does indeed have a homeless problem. Besides people who are unfortunately mentally unstable or addicted to alcohol, changes in Japan’s society and business culture over the past twenty years has forced some people onto the street. Tokyo’s Shinjuku area used to be the capital of homelessness in Japan, with a sprawling cardboard city at Shinjuku Station’s west entrance. Some years ago, a a fire broke out, killing several people and forcing police to break up the homeless community and force the homeless elsewhere. Many homeless men in Tokyo earn money by digging magazines and comics out of the trash, cleaning them up, and selling them for 100 yen on the street.
One unique side of Japan are the “love hotels” that pop up here and there throughout the country, especially in rural areas. Because Japanese young people usually live with their parents into their 20s (or indefinitely, if they’re the oldest son or daughter), it can be difficult for couples to find time for privacy. So they go to a love hotel, where they can enjoy “rest” (2 hours of privacy) or “stay” (all night). Formerly known as “motels,” which causes some confusion when Japanese go to the U.S. and see motels there, the rooms inside love hotels have everything couples might need — exotic baths, toothbrushes, even a condom on the pillow (although Tomo says it’s dangerous to use this condom, as couples who used the room before might have poked a small hole in it for the next couple, as a joke). Many love hotels are organized around a theme, such as the Queen Elizabath (a giant hotel that looks like a ship) that happens to sit in the middle of our own city, or rooms that look like the Forbidden City in Beijing. The most famous love hotel in Gunma is called The Rock, and everything in the rooms is based on Alcatraz — but it’s so popular, you have to wait outside for hours to get in. Since couples going to a hotel want privacy, the hotels make sure they never need to see anyone — at some places, you can check out by phone, and put your money in a tube that will be delivered to the front desk.
For the new update, we’ve got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
- First, for those who find this winter especially cold, we’ve gotten in stock of great new super-soft Japanese blankets for fans of incredibly cute Japanese hamster characters — they’re very soft and great for keeping warm (also great for kids and babies)
- For Hello Kitty fans, we’ve got more only-available-in-Japan items, including a cute Kitty gift bag, Kitty “jewelry sticker,” and fresh stock of many popular Kitty items
- For Star Wars collectors, we’ve got more of the popular Star Wars light-up necklaces — very cool!
- Also, for Yamato/Star Blazers lovers, very limited stock of the die-cast Yamato model that is so cool!
- For Fist of the North Star, run, don’t walk, to pick up the new *full color* deluxe Fist manga that comes with a super-detailed figure of Raoh
- We’ve got a dynamite music box for Studio Ghibli fans, featuring the Kodamas from Princess Mononoke — very cool!
- Also, a great music box/plush for Snoopy fans that’s made of leather — really rare and cool!
- We’ve got great items for Hot Wheels fans, including a new Kamen Rider figure only sold in Japan, and fresh stock of the too-hot-to-keep-in-stock Airwolf helicopter
- For fans of our unique Japanese snack foods, enjoy chocolate covered spicy rice crackers (yum), delicious Japanese teas, cute Hayashi Rice for Hamtaro fans, and more
- Also, fresh stock of many popular items, including Black Black Caffeine Gum, Japanese Salt Candy and other classic Japanese sweets
- Also for Hamtaro fans, fresh stock of the Hamtaro Mini House figure toys which are very popular
- We’ve restocked a popular item, the Japanese emergency exit signs and other wacky items
- We’ve restocked our popular Japanese “loose socks,” wonderful large socks worn by all the most fashionable high school girls in Japan
- For fans of Japanese film, we’ve got Kikujiro, a film on DVD by director Takeshi Kitano
- Finally, look for super picture frames and a cute Japanese drinking cup for kids, fresh stock of popular bento boxes, beautiful Japanese decorations, and more!
For our adult customers, we’ve got many new 18+ products. They include:
- For fans of dynamite Japanese “kogals” and stylish erotic photography, we have the new Urecco Gal for you, and it is really lovely
- Also enjoy new amateur and love hotel magazines in stock for you, as well as the new Best Video Super Document, which includes the most lovely AV idols being photographed while on the job and in the studio
- For Japanese photobook fans, several great offerings, including Kaede Matsushima’s beautiful “first hair nude pictorial,” a beautiful “too sexy for nude” photobook by Mika Motosugi, as well as something warm and moist from Koharu Tohno
- Also, for fans of Japan’s unique “kimono fetish,” we’ve got a dynamite Japanese-themed photobook in stock for you
- For doujinshi fans, we’ve also got another round of excellent books for you, all brand new releases from Japan’s best doujinshi circles
- Also, we’ve got some excellent hentai manga in stock, including the beautiful anthology manga Colors, with lots of tentacle sex (always popular), as well as fresh stock of many popular hentai art book items
- Also, for fans of Japan’s unique yaoi comics (homosexual love stories) we’ve got a new volume of the Trans 8
- We’ve got very limited stock (exactly two) of the beautul Terra’s Cover Girls, by Katsuya Terada, something you don’t want to miss
- For fans of Japanese adult toys, we have a great “Micro Finger” vibrator that has many innovative uses — and it comes with a great video
- Also, fresh stock of the popular Japan Rotors, super cute pink vibrators used in Japanese adult films
- For DVD lovers, we’ve got a huge volley of very cool items for you, starting with a 200 minute collection of the best AV of Shy (region free)
- See give beautiful girls from Yokohama in a new Yokohama Girls Map, just beautiful (region free)
- We’re postively in love with Ran Asakawa, and we’ve got a great new offering for her fans from Dogma and director Tohjiro (region free)
- See the beautiful huge breasts of Chika Kawamura in “The Big Breasts Terrorist,” a sizzling DVD for fans of huge, beautiful breasts (region free)
- For those turned on by the prospect of women being touched in trains, enjoy the new Amateur Chikan DVD from SOD
- Enjoy the super-erotic Hip and Vagina of Rei Kuraishi in a super erotic “virtual date private time” from Wanz Factory (region 2)
- For fans of Japanese film, a great new movie by Takeshi Kitano (mentioned above)
- Finally, remember that our 25% off January DVD sale will be ending soon, so look through the 300+ items included in our sale and find something fast! (You can search for “January sale” to bring up just those items on our site).
Remember that J-List stocks dozens of English translated love-sim games, allowing you to choose from all the best companies, Peach Princess, G-Collections, JAST USA, Hobibox Europe and Himeya Soft. Many games are available for preorder, such as the upcoming Brave Soul or X-Change 2. Preorder these great games and get free shipping on them when they are ready!
Also, J-List has great Japanese snacks and candy available for you to buy, with over a hundred items in stock at all times. On most items, you can get 15% off if you buy 10 or more of the same item (discount applied at checkout). Many of the items we stock are seasonal and aren’t available all the time. One such item is the delicious Melty Kiss, a scrumptious fudge that’s only sold in the winter here.
The J-Mate site (http://www.jmate.com) has been updated again, this time with a great English translated interview with one of our favorite lovelies, Hikari Kisugi. You can also read reviews (with plenty of screenshots) from popular DVDs, games and other items that we sell.
