Greetings from J-List March 14, 2000

Greetings from Japan, the country with the highest per-capita number of vending machines in the world.

Well, March 14 and White Day are upon us. White Day is the counterpoint to Valentine’s Day here in Japan, when men give return presents (usually white chocolate) to women who gave them chocolate on Valentine’s Day. It’s not a day that many take seriously of course (except convenience stores, who deck their shelves out with White Day decorations), but Japan is a country that runs on giri — obligation — and if you have an obligation to a coworker or acquaintance who gave you something on Valentine’s Day, it’s just good manners to get them something in return.

While on one of my late-night sessions of videotaped American television, I happened across the famed Chinpokomon episode of South Park, which pokes more than a little fun at the worldwide Pokemon craze. Watching the layers of ridiculous black jokes while the Asahi Super Dry and dried, shredded squid began to take effect made me reflect on the last decade and how much Japan has been a part of it. It was almost an out of body experience — seeing the “anime” Colonel Sanders commercials for the first time brought on a similar eerie feeling. Incidentally, chinpoko is a kid’s word for “penis” in case you wanted to know.

Tonight’s update features many great new items, including: