A word you hear a lot in Japan is jiko shoukai (自己紹介) which just means “self introduction” but which has a special cultural meaning here. In almost any situation where people will be interacting, be it a classroom, a part-time job or the local PTA board, a new member will always stand and make a formal self introduction, telling the others their name (including how to write it in kanji), where they’re from, what their hobbies or other interests are, and so on. Giving this information to the other members of the group allows them to categorize the newcomer properly, and in a country like Japan where factors like age and how long a person has been associated with an organization can determine their position in the senpai/kouhai (senior/junior) system, an official self introduction is important for everything to work properly. The new member of the group will usually use the phrase yoroshiku onegai shimasu, which is often translated as “nice to meet you” but is a lot deeper than that — it carries with it a humble request that the current group members take the new person under their wing and aid them in the future. Jiko shoukai are used in ESL teaching a lot, too, and since formal self introductions are seen as the “most basic” form of human communication in Japan, the first thing a Japanese student of English leans to do is introduce themselves.
Our landlocked prefecture of Gunma is as far from the sea as you can get in Japan, but we love sushi nevertheless, and are always looking for good sushi restaurants. Japanese usually eat their most famous food mawari-zushi style, with plates of sushi moving along a conveyor belt, allowing you to take whatever you feel like eating as it glides by. Over the past half decade or so, Japan has experienced a deflationary spiral, with the prices for several everyday items actually falling. During that time, it seemed that the only sushi restaurants that could flourish were the cheapest ones, which offered plates of sushi for 100 yen or less. My wife and I disliked this trend, since the neta (the fish part of the sushi) at these places always left a lot to be desired, and life is too short to eat bad sushi, after all. Happily, we finally found a place that serves better quality fish at reasonable prices, with delicious red maguro and beautifully shaped ebi and tako, just the way we like it. As I’ve mentioned before, the very best sushi in Japan can be found in Narita City, near the airport. If you’re ever in the area in the evening, take the train to Narita Station and ask any taxi deiver where Edokko sushi is (it’s a three-minute walk from the station).
I took the day off early yesterday to go to a movie with my son. It was the third and final chapter in the Zeta Gundam: A New Translation movie trio, which compiles the 1985 Zeta Gundam anime series into three movies, adding new animation and various scenes in. As a card-carrying old school anime fan, I’ve always liked Zeta Gundam, the proverbial “Empire Strikes Back” of the Gundam world, when everything came together just so. It was great seeing the new designs for the characters as well as the new, improved ending. Being the father of a ten-year-old boy has given me a great excuse to experience a second childhood along with him. Oh, see the trailer here (Quicktime 6 req’d).
The Japan-only Kit Kat flavors have been extreme popular this year, and now we’ve got a new variety: delicious French Bretagne Milk, a white chocolate Kit Kat created by Le Patissier Takagi, who you may know from his appearances on Iron Chef. It’s in stock on the site now! We’ve still got the excellent Green Tea Kit Kat for 2006 in stock, too, although we’ve sold through more than a quarter of our stock in just a week, so we recommend picking yours up sooner rather than later.
Spring is here, and there’s no better way to deal with the constantly-changing weather than with one of our J-List hooded sweatshirts! J-List’s hoodies are soft and warm, made of the best 80-20 blends available. We’ve got wacky messages like “Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend” and “Support the Emperor and Expel the Foreign Barbarians” as well as other aesthetically pleasing kanji. We’re happy to announce reduced shipping on all our hoodies both inside the U.S. and for international customers, making it easy to pick up a hoodie!
