| 11:02am | Other Stuff: Onigiri & Conventions | | | | Onigiri (also called omusubi) are the "soul food" of Japan, rice balls that are eaten almost daily here, very similar to sandwiches in the West. Usually triangle shaped, they can in fact come in just about any shape you like, and the staff of J-List loves to find fun items that help you make, say, Pikachu... |
| 11:01am | The Golden Rule of Japanese Society | | | | If there's a Golden Rule to Japanese society, it's this: don't cause meiwaku (may-wah-ku), meaning inconvenience or bother, to others. Whether it's trying to keep from making too much noise and annoying your neighbors or avoiding using a cell phone on a crowded train, most Japanese do strive to avoid... |
| 11:00am | Takarazuka: Girls Who Look Like Boys | | | | It seems that every time I notice a really attractive Japanese actress on TV, like the talented Hitomi Kuroki, my wife tells me, "Yes, she was a Takarazuka performer, that's why she has a kind of power about her." Takarazuka is an all-female theatre troupe founded in 1914 that's kind of the female answer... |
| 10:59am | Japan's General Motors: JAL | | | | The General Motors of Japan, meaning the company that's come to represent the recession more than any other, is Japan Airlines (JAL), currently struggling with a massive debt and lagging operations as the weak economy keeps people from flying. Because the company is partially state-owned, it's going... |
| 10:57am | Cool Products Friday, September 18, 2009 | | | | 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... | | |
| 5:25am | Additional Info on Tolls | | | | I got some feedback on the free road post from a reader and thought I'd throw out some more information for any who are interested.Basically, everyone dislikes having to pay to use the freeways, of course. Spending $25 to drive down to Tokyo is no fun, and spending $150 to go all the way up to Aomori... |
| 11:45am | 2010 Anime, J-POP and Art Calendars from Japan | | | | J-List sells many unique products from Japan, and one of our favorite product category are the large-format calendars we offer every year. Made for the Japanese market and difficult to find outside of Japan, these calendars are interesting because they reflect what's popular inside Japan for that year.... |
| 11:45am | Long and Short Vowels in Japanese | | | | What a difference an elongated vowel can make. Japanese is quite different from English, having had a totally unique developmental history -- it's supposedly related to Mongolian, Basque, Turkish and possibly Hungarian, don't ask me how -- and it sport linguistic concepts that are strange to English... |
| 11:44am | Politics Update from Japan | | | | Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) leader Yukio Hatoyama is all over the news these days as he prepares to take over administration of the government after his party's landslide victory last month, creating what will be only the third cabinet not led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 1955. It... |
| 11:44am | Harajuku for Old Folks: Sugamo | | | | The combination of one of the lowest birthrates in the world coupled with the lack of an inflow of new blood in the form of immigration threatens to start taking its toll in Japanese society, and already you can see signs of the country's graying. Like the time I went to go to a toy store that I'd been... | | |
| 11:43am | Cool Products Wednesday, September 16, 2009 | | | | 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... | | |
| 11:01am | More Bento Love | | | | We continue to enjoy the love-fest for bento boxes that's been sweeping the Internet, discussing how eating your lunch in bento form is not only economical but also healthy, thanks to the built-in portion control. Bento got its start in the Heian Period (794-1185), when people would pack rice that had... |
| 11:00am | Learning to "Think" in Japanese | | | | I try to promote study of Japanese on J-List because it's been such a satisfying journey for me. One challenge for anyone learning a new language is the elusive goal of "thinking" in that language, of having ideas and expressing emotions without your brain using its native tongue first and converting... |
| 10:59am | Japan and England | | | | Being an American in Japan has been a good opportunity to learn more aboutEngland. Yes, Japan has always had a special affinity for the British Isles, and some aspects of Japan that can seem strange to us Yanks actually come from Great Britain. When I got to Japan I wondered at the way some trains were... |
| 10:59am | Ohaguro: Black Teeth in Japan | | | | Perhaps it's because I come from a country without a very long history, but I really love walking in old places like Kyoto, strolling down streets that have been used for 1500 years or more. You can almost see the beautiful women of the Edo Period and earlier, wearing elegant kimono and flashing a smile... |
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