Hello and Happy Monday from all of us in Japan!
Summer has arrived, and that means that one of Japan’s twice-yearly gift-giving seasons is here again. In July and again in December, people all over Japan buy gifts, called Chugen (in the summer) and Oseibo (in the winter), to give to certain people. Students and the parents of students give gifts to teachers to foster goodwill, for example, and companies give gifts to the companies they do business with as a way of saying thanks for the past year of business, and “korekara mo yoroshiku” (a phrase that is difficult to translate, it basically restates the hope that they continue to help you in the future). Selling the boxed gift sets is big money in the downtrodden Japanese economy, and Japanese companies compete to make the most attractive packages of cooking oil, detergent, canned drinks, vacuum-packed hams, to attract consumers’ attention. Starbuck’s Japan has started selling its much-renowned coffee beans in handy Japanese gift sets in its stores, and even HagenDaaz is getting into the act: you can send a box of delicious ice cream to anyone in Japan, and it will be delivered via Yamato Transport Company’s “cool” delivery trucks, which keep the contents at a frosty temperature.
Another aspect of the Japanese “kokumin-sei” (their “national personality”) is the Japanese attitude towards seasons. First, the Japanese are keenly aware that Japan has four very distinct seasons and (as humorist Dave Barry has pointed out) are likely to stop you on the street without warning to tell you about them. The Japanese are finely tuned to their seasons, and naturally know when to dress more or less warmly depending on the weather, unlike the poor gaijin living here, who are always dressing out of season and sticking out. The Japanese only do certain things in certain seasons, too. After August 3st, when summer vacation officially ends, virtually no one goes to the beach because “summer is over.” I remember taking a trip by train to Enoshima, a beach near Yokohama, to take in the waves in early September. For some reason, what I was doing seemed to be crossing some invisible line to the Japanese, and several people tried to stop me from going. In a similar fashion, there is a very narrow window from September to November or so, when really cool anime, JPOP and idol calendars are available in Japan (and through J-List, too). Outside of this very small “calendar season,” it’s nearly impossible to find a calendar for sale in Japan for love or money.
Announcing the J-List Summer DVD Gift Sale! Until the end of the month, or while supplies last, we’ll be giving away free DVD gifts for every $100 in adult DVDs you buy. It’s our way of saying thanks for supporting J-List!
For the new update, we’ve got a bunch of interesting items for you, including:
- First, we have two great new wacky Japanese T-shirts for you, which say “Completely Confident in my Sexual Power” (a great item for guys looking for Japanese girls), and “I Want to be Japanese” (for anyone who secretly wish they were born in Japan) — in stock now!
- We love the beautiful swimsuit models Japan has to offer, and have several new photobook (and a magazine + DVD item!) for fans of Sayaka Uchida, May Iikubo and more
- For anime and toy fans, we’ve got a major restocking of some of our most popular items, including the Totoro tin toy series, all the Love Hina SkyLuv dolls, and the oh-so-popular Japan-only Star Wars items (including the Light Saber)
- Also, a restocking of the popular Love Hina bilingual comics which allow you to read both the English and the Japanese
- We love the series of character goods and plush toys called “The Dog” and do our best to bring these great items to you all. There’s a new line of very nice coffee mug, saucer and spoon sets for dog lovers, in stock
- For Macross fans, stock of the very cool transforming VF-1A Valkyrie from Bandai (Rick Hunter/Hikaru Ichijo Skull-1)
- For lovers of Gamera, we have a nifty “Gamera Special Graphix” book filled with pictures and behind-the-scenes shots of the Gamera films
- Also from Bandai, two really cool female robots from the Mazinger Z (Tranzor Z) universe, with extra-cool breast missiles that really shoot
- Also, we always carry lots of only-found-in-Japan Hello Kitty goods, and we’ve got a cool new series of kimono-clad Hello Kitty stuffed toys that will brighten any room!
- Also, other cool Hello Kitty items for you, including new fork and spoon sets, a cool “holder magnet,” and fresh stock of the very popular Hello Kitty Collector’s Mascot series, featuring little Kitty characters from all over Japan
- Also for fans of My Melody, the popular Sanrio character, we’ve got a suntanned “Hawaiian My-Melo” that’s so cute
- We’ve got new snack items, including new miso soup, fried rice mix, tasty rice crackers, more onigiri, furikake, and more
- Also: fresh stock of delicious mugi tea, the #1 drink of the Japanese during the summer
- For collectors of music boxes or fine Snoopy items from around the world, we’ve got a very rare and special item, a beautiful Snoopy leather music box that is just too cute!
- Finally, look for cool items for your kitchen, a great cloth and wood shopping bag, traditional Japanese green tea cups, and more!
For our adult customers, we’ve got many new 18+ products. The new items include:
- For magazine fans, we have several new items for you, including new amateur items, kogal magazines, and new bargain magazines for you
- For photobook lovers, we have some great new erotic photobooks for you, including the dynamite new Rio Sannomiya release for you, and more
- Also, a unique item for fans of female nude tattoo photography, however stock is limited (if our stock sells out, we’ll be able to order more)
- We’ve been receiving more requests for new manga from Japan, so we’re posted a nice update today, with several new volumes from several different artists and manga studios
- For DVD fans, we’ve got many new items, including the new Deep Kiss and “Would you like a hand job?” DVDs that were accidentally not posted on Friday (sorry about that) (both are region free)
- If you love the sweet face of the new “good girl of Japanese AV,” Hitomi Hayasaka, enjoy her new DVD release (region free)
- By Tohjiro and Dogma, there’s a new White Sexual Desire, a great exploration of bukkake themes by one of Japan’s best indies studios (region free)
- Nao Oikawa goes back to the love hotel where she first lost her virginity to relive those memories again in a great new production from Moodyz (region 2)
- And forfans of the bold and erotic Wanz Factory, there’s a new “Super Angle of Manko” release which is shot almost entirely with a fish-eye lens positioned between Ruu Hoshino’s legs (region 2)
- Finally, various new in stock DVD items posted by Tomo!
J-List customers tell us that the #1 way they hear about J-List is through word-of-mouth. We’re very glad to hear this, and we’re always happy to accept referrals! If you’ve got a friend who might be interested in our unique brand of Japanese pop culture, why not tell them about J-List, or ask them to sign up to our J-List updates? Thanks! Hello and Happy Monday from all of us in Japan!
