Hello from Japan, where you order french fries in restaurants by asking for “potato.”
Japan’s electronics industry is a very competitive place, and companies are always trying to come up with new products to capture market share away from their competitors. Every few months, it seems some company comes up with a new twist on an existing product — like a refrigerator that emits “minus ions” (negatively charged ions) to make your room feel fresh and clean, rice cookers with revolutionary cooking features, or combination washer/dryers that wash, then dry, your clothes — a great item to have during Japan’s rainy season, when it’s too humid to hang clothes up to dry. Companies are always trying to create a new category of product that they can lead in — Sharp has done this with their new “water oven,” which cooks food with steam, removing fat and oils to make food healthier. The area where competition is fiercest is probably the digital camera arena, where all the major electronics companies are constantly releasing new models to keep from getting left behind. The battle for market share is so fierce that sales of a new camera drop off after just 1-2 months, since consumers know a newer model is right around the corner.
Some things in Japan just defy explanation. The green lights on traffic signals are “blue” in Japanese (“ao” not “midori”) — although they’re the same color as every other country, the Japanese look at a green light and say it’s blue. When you stop at a convenience store, it’s common to leave your keys in the car with the engine running — even if you’re driving a tricked-out Nissan Fairlady Z. Confusion can arise from names, too. For some reason, most of the people who live near our house in Japan have the same last name as us — Yanai — despite the fact that they’re not related to us in any way. Once, in the “kairanban” (a kind of circular newsletter that goes to everyone in our immediate neighborhood; when one family reads it, the put a check by their name and take it to the next house on the list), I noticed that 11 out of 19 families around us were named Yanai, all of them apparently unrelated to each other. We happen to live next door to the mayor of our city, whose last name is also Yanai. About a kilometer away, there’s a patch of houses with families whose last names are all Hosoi, but they, too, are not related to each other. Japan can be a mysterious place…
There are a lot of words that the Japanese invent that are fun to learn, and one word in particular most fans of anime learn pretty quickly is “H” (the letter H), which when said with a Japanese accent sounds like “ecchi” (also written “etchi”). Probably created by taking the first letter of a word that means “perverted,” the word “H” is basically used as an all-purpose euphemism to describe anything to do with sex. If a person thinks about sex too much, he is “H” (ecchi), and a common euphemism for the sexual act is “ecchi suru” (literally “to do H”). Whatever its origin, the unique letter “H” is a part of Japanese culture and language, be it in anime, manga, television dramas and so on. We’ve got a wacky new Japanese T-shirt for you today, too: a “Rated H” shirt that is perfect for anyone who is just a little too “H.”
For the new update, we’ve got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
- First, we’ve got delicious new snacks from Japan for you, including traditional “Hakka” peppermint candy, great spicy rice crackers, and traditional Japanese coffee candy
- Want something wacky from Japan? We’ve got several maps for you, including a map of Japan and a nice map of Kyoto
- For your bathroom, some gorgeous kanji messages that will add a touch of Japan
- We have some cool traditional “Kinchaku” bags, which are traditionally carried when women wear kimonos (but you can put anything you like in them)
- Then enjoy some delicious “furi-furi” shakes, strawberry and melon Hello Kitty drinks that are fun to make
- Sanrio fans, we’ve got a wacky item for you: Bad Batz Maru chopsticks, so cute!
- Also, a set of three stacking Hello Kitty cups for little ones — these are really great
- Next, we’ve got some great gashapon (capsule toys) based on Steam Boy, the excellent animated film by Katsuhiro Otomo
- We’ve added stock of the popular Character Design Bible, an art book filled with fantastic Japanese character illustrations and artwork
- Ah My Goddess fans, we have a gorgeous vinyl figure of Belldandy in swimsuit bikini, a fabulous pre-painted figure, ready for you to display in your room
- Next, for Kubrick fans, we’ve got the new Be@rbrick series, an incredibly beautiful series of Kubrick bears that must be seen to be believed (full sets are in stock)
- The Japanese are fans of many things — including erasers. We’ve got a wacky new chocolate eraser in stock, as well as a handy non-PVC eraser that’s great for study
- DVD customers, we’ve restocked several popular items, including OH! Mikey vol. 1, the excellent Lupin III movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and more
- Want to make Japanese onigiri (rice balls)? We’ve got some onigiri molds for you that make it easy
- Finally, look for freshly restocked snack and gum products, including Blueberry Gum, Crispy Pizza Pretz (mmm), Okinawan Black Candy Caramels, Sushi Gummi and more!
For our 18+ customers, we’ve got many new products. The new items include:
- For fans of beautiful women from around the world, we have the new Bachelor in stock — features superb new photos of Yulia Nova, too
- Then, we’ve got a new issue of the Very Best of Sabra Girls, featuring Japan’s most gorgeous swimsuit idols (including Yuko Ogura!) — comes with a DVD as well!
- Beautiful photography meets art in the new issue of Hip & Lip, the oddly-named magazine that combines the best of two worlds
- Photobook fans, enjoy the lovely hardcover offering of Aoi Sora, the beautiful angel of Japan’s professional AV world
- Then enjoy Rio Natsume’s delicious hardcover photobook, which comes with a glossy photograph of the sexy model
- Also, look for various restocked photobooks, including Pocket Kaoru and Kaoru Private Collection by Aida Garo
- H manga fans, enjoy several great new items, including an exploration of morality by AV Comics, a dynamite “Excellent” series manga featuring sexy sisters, and a truly excellent compilation manga featuring the works of bold new artists
- Yaoi fans, we’ve got a new work for you too, a beautiful story from Lily Hoshino
- We’ve got more great doujinshi for everyone, including some excellent books — a great Zeta Gundam parody, a new “new half” doujin by the famous Amano-Jack and more
- For our DVD customers, we’ve got some great items for you, starting with a Super Bible of Bunko Kanazawa, featuring some of her great new performances (region free)
- Next, the lovely new Noa shows you her first performance in her debut release from SOD — an amazing, fresh idol! (region free)
- Then, enjoy a massive treat, a 4-in-1 capturing the best moments of the Highest Class Soap Girl series from SOD (region free)
- Next, see girls who perform together for the for the first time ever on camera — a fascinating concept from U&K (region free)
- From Moodyz, enjoy a 2-disc set, featuring the collaboration between Alice Hoshi and Ayami Sakurai, two dynamite JAV starlets with achingly beautiful bodies (region 2)
- Finally, look for some great restocked DVDs, including Tokyo Girls Kiss, Anna Ohura’s dynamite “Super Angle” title, and more!
Remember that J-List carries dozens of interesting PC dating-sim games for Windows computers, a unique category of software from Japan. Also known as H games, these story-based love-sims allow to you experience a unique form of Japanese entertainment in its original form, but with the Japanese text translated faithfully into English. Because there are so many amazing games to choose from, there’s sure to be something for you. Feel free to email us for recommendations, too!
