May 9th, 2008

Domokun Mimobot USB 2.0 Flash Drive ~ Normal 2 GB


Domokun Mimobot USB 2.0 Flash Drive ~ Normal 2 GB


If you want a flash drive with style, look no further! This fun flash drive from mimobot, comes to you ready for use at a moment's notice. This sleek design features Domo-kun with an easy pop open cover to protect your USB connector, all the while still remaining cute for all the girls to swoon over. Measures approximately 2 inches tall and is both Mac and Windows compatible. As a special welcome to the United States, this USB 2.0 flash drive comes preloaded with exclusive Domo kun content such...

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Domokun Mimobot USB 2.0 Flash Drive ~ Normal 2 GB


Domokun Mimobot USB 2.0 Flash Drive ~ Normal 2 GB


If you want a flash drive with style, look no further! This fun flash drive from mimobot, comes to you ready for use at a moment's notice. This sleek design features Domo-kun with an easy pop open cover to protect your USB connector, all the while still remaining cute for all the girls to swoon over. Measures approximately 2 inches tall and is both Mac and Windows compatible. As a special welcome to the United States, this USB 2.0 flash drive comes preloaded with exclusive Domo kun content such...

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One of My Favorite Foods: Wasabi!

There are many strange and new tastes that await a foreigner who comes to live in Japan. Some, like pickled plums, chicken cartilage or the fermented soybeans called natto don't sit too well with me, although I've come to enjoy many other foods, including all manner of fish and other good things from the sea. (At my house, we regularly eat tako salad, which is fresh salad with octopus meat, served with a tangy vinaigrette). Another food I've really come to like is wasabi, an extremely spicy flavoring that adds so much to sushi and sashimi as well as soba and udon noodles. Similar to horseradish, wasabi has a very long history in Japan, and there are documents dating from the year 718 that mention it as a medicinal herb, which is interesting since wasabi is known to naturally fight infections and act as an antibiotic, for example killing the bacteria that cause ulcers. At J-List we have many interesting wasabi products, including the hit snack of the season, Wasabi Doritos, real wasabi in a tube, and a treat I personally love to much on, spicy rice crackers and peanuts called Kaki no Tane, which means "persimmon seeds" because of the shape of the rice crackers. Check them out!

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Japanese Social Engine: the Eyes of Others

Last time I talked about what makes the Japanese the way they are, putting forth the theory that the strict Junior High School system is a major factor in shaping children into the adult citizens they'll become. Another of the social engines at work in Japan is called hito no me (hee-toh no meh), meaning the "eyes of others," essentially the ever-present invisible gaze of people around you. A friend of mine just built a house in Nagano, and he's enjoying having cleaner air and less people around him than when he was in Tokyo. His new neighborhood has a strict rule, however: trash must be deposited in the appropriate pick-up area between 6 and 6:30 in the morning, which means he has to get up extra early every day to put the trash out. If he were to break this rule by, say, putting his trash out the night before, he'd find himself the subject of the disapproving stares of the other people in the neighborhood, which is a lot harder to deal with than the threat of a monetary fine would be. This sensitivity to how you appear in the eyes of others is probably the primary reason Japan seems so harmonious when viewed from the outside, as gaijin see it. My sixth-grade daughter is half-Japanese, and she somehow managed to inherit my easy-going American personality. When my wife went to my daughter's class for parent participation day last week, my daughter threw her arms around her mother, to the shock of everyone in the classroom. Hugging your mother isn't really done in Japan, and certainly not in the middle of classroom full of the "eyes of others."

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Earthquakes and Japan

Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, a fact that I was reminded of on Thursday morning when the Kanto region (where Tokyo and Gunma are located) got a big 6.7 magnitude shake that seemed to go on for two minutes or more. A staggering 20% of all earthquakes in the world occur in Japan, a chain of islands that sits astride four different tectonic plates, and one of the major challenges to the country has been how to apply its unique engineering skills to make sure buildings and people are safe. It's a tribute to those skills that Thursday's quake resulted in only a few injuries and no deaths, although it doesn't always work out so well. The Great Hanshin Earthquake (Hanshin means "Osaka-Kobe") of 1995 occurred in a region of Japan where strong quakes were less common, and as a result of lower building standards, a staggering 6400 people lost their lives. One of the features homebuilders tout on TV commercials in Japan is how well engineered their houses are, with special spring joints that allow the homes to rock back and forth flexibly in the event of shaking.

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Cool Items - Friday, May 9, 2008

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

Sharon 1/8 Scale Figure  Quiz Magic Academy
Sharon 1/8 Scale Figure ~ Quiz Magic Academy. Cute character from the anime Quiz Magic Academy, rendered in pre-painted PVC loveliness for you. How do they get the anime hair to look this good in three dimensions?
Eika Ichijo Hug Pillow Case  Sky Girls
Eika Ichijo Hug Pillow Case ~ Sky Girls. The anime Sky Girls by Mecha Musume creator Fumikane Shimada is a great one, about beautiful girls who defend the Earth using advanced mecha. Now you can sleep with the cute lead character Eika with this new "hug pillow" (aka dakimakura). So cute and fun!
Newtype Japan April 2008
Newtype Japan April 2008. Another new of Newtype, the Moving Pictures Magazine, which is usually only available through our popular revolving magazine subscription service, but we got some extra copies in. Each issue is loaded with free stuff for you.
S Cawaii May 2008
S Cawaii May 2008. J-List also carries dozens of great anime, manga, toy and magazines for men via our "reserve subscription" service. We also have many outstanding fashion magazines from Japan which are fascinating to look through. This is S Cawaii ("Super Cute"), normally only available as a subscription, but we have some individual issues in today.
Exodus Guilty vol. 1-3 Set
Exodus Guilty vol. 1-3 Set. J-List carries the outstanding interactive anime games from Hirameki International, all-ages games that everyone can enjoy. We're reducing the price of their Exodus Guilty trilogy of interactive DVD games which are played in any standard DVD player -- you can pick up the whole set for a great price now!
Wasabi 'Kaki no Tane' Rice Crackers w/ Peanuts 6 Packs
Wasabi "Kaki no Tane" Rice Crackers w/ Peanuts 6 Packs. Then, the Official Japanese Snack of Peter, this is the amazing rice cracker + peanut treat Kaki no Tane, which means "persimmon seeds" due to the shape of the rice crackers. These are coated with super spicy *real* wasabi, which will clear out your sinuses for you, we can tell you. Highly recommended snack item.
DX Tatami Setta with Leather Sole  L size
DX Tatami Setta with Leather Sole ~ L size. J-List loves to bring you cool traditional items from Japan. Here is another pair of really well made setta sandals, which we call tatami sandals since they're made from the same materials. Great for guys or girls.
Mugen Puchi Puchi -- Endless Pop Pop - Pink
Mugen Puchi Puchi -- Endless Pop Pop - Pink & Blue. See more of those popular "bubble popping" electronic keychains that make a pop, pop, pop sound when you press the buttons. Pink and blue are restocked today.
80's Hello Kitty Microwave-free Tight Bento Box
80's Hello Kitty Microwavable Tight Bento Box. For bento enthusiasts, here's a cute Hello Kitty lunchbox that's got removable sections allowing your rice to be separate from the rest of your lunch Great Sanrio item from Japan.
Traditional Keychain   Jitte *Goyou* / Red
Ninja Weapon Keychain ~ Jitte *Goyou* / Red. The jitte (JI-teh) is a unique weapon designed to stop a sword attack, used for centuries by ninja and samurai. We've restocked our jitte keychains in case you find yourself being attacked by small swordsmen and need to repel them.
Edo Style Handy Accessory Pouch -- Grass
Edo Style Handy Accessory Pouch. Also: this is a cool cloth pouch you can use to keep your money, credit card and other important things in. It's modeled after string-tied pouches used in the Edo Period.
Hiragana Times 258 Apr 2008
Hiragana Times 258 Apr 2008. Hiragana Times is an outstanding magazine that gives you articles both in English and Japanese each month which are very interesting. Great both for students of Japanese as well as anyone who wants to keep up with current events here!
Howl's Moving Castle (region 2)
Restocked Studio Ghibli DVDs. J-List carries the official English-subtitled and dubbed DVD releases of the films of Hayao Miyazaki from Studio Ghibli, and today we're restocking Howl's Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro. We also sell great upscaling region-free DVD players with HDMI outputs to watch them on, if you're interested in one.
Magic Ink Set  Multi School Marker with Retro Design / 8 colors
Magic Ink Set ~ Multi School Marker with Retro Design / 8 colors. Here's a set of really cool "magic" marker pens that are as colorful as their retro package design is cool. For making broad, thick permanent lines in any color, this pen set is highly recommended.
Hoshino Aki Clone  Bomb Special Edition -- Aki Hoshino
Hoshino Aki Clone ~ Bomb Special Edition -- Aki Hoshino. Unforgettable ero ero glossy photobook filled with Aki Hoshino's gorgeous pictures. Comes with a Windows DVD-ROM game that lets you touch Aki!
b-chiku distance manga
New Ero Manga. Legendary manga-ka (manga artist) Distance is back again with a new offering, B-Chiku, and it's really a winner. Next, Takushi Fukada has a super collection of fantastic stories from this popular artist.
Mellona Scale Cast-off Figure Excellent Model CORE  Queen's Blade *Preorder*
Mellona Scale Cast-off Figure Excellent Model CORE ~ Queen's Blade *Preorder* Another fantastic Queen's Blade figure, this is Mellona, the mysterious shape-shifter who has telepathically-controlled appendages that she uses to attack enemies as well as cover up her more delicate parts.
Queen's Blade vol. 15  Mellona
Queen's Blade Artbooks. And we've gotten even more Queen's Blade artbooks. In addition to Mellona, we're posting the books for Claudette the Lightning General with her excellent lightning sword, Reina, created by the character designer for Mai-Hime, and the super sexy Claudette.
Maritan Concentrated Drill  Navy 3rd Year Ver.
Maritan Concentrated Drill ~ Navy 3rd Year Ver. Here's a brand new book that teaches you English with the super cute character Maritan (which is Mari-chan said as if a child were speaking). The, uh, English is the rudest slang you'd ever hear a sailor utter, which makes this book so precious and hilarious to read.

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Exodus Guilty vol. 1-3 Set


Exodus Guilty vol. 1-3 Set


Title: Exodus Guilty vol. 1-3 Set Language: English with Japanese voices OS: DVD (works in any DVD player or DVD software in your computer) Region: Region free (viewable on DVD players around the world) Get all three volumes of this great DVD-based game at a special price! Now you can order all three volumes of the Exodus Guilty game series for a special price! This is an incredible long epic anime game that's played with a standard DVD player, using the DVD controller to make choices and...

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Exodus Guilty vol. 1-3 Set


Exodus Guilty vol. 1-3 Set


Title: Exodus Guilty vol. 1-3 Set Language: English with Japanese voices OS: DVD (works in any DVD player or DVD software in your computer) Region: Region free (viewable on DVD players around the world) Get all three volumes of this great DVD-based game at a special price! Now you can order all three volumes of the Exodus Guilty game series for a special price! This is an incredible long epic anime game that's played with a standard DVD player, using the DVD controller to make choices and...

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