J-list Blog

Kanji DS Dictionary

Here's a fascinating way to use your Nintendo DS to learn Japanese more effectively: the Kanji Sonomama Dictionary, which turns any Nintendo DS into a very useful tool for learning Japanese. There are four dictionaries -- English-Japanese, Japanese-English, Kokugo (Japanese-Japanese, the best way to learn) and Kanji, with 240,000 entries at your fingertips. While you can input words with the optional on-screen keyboard, the best way to enter words is using the stylus, which can accurately read...

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.

My wife is having a challenging time right now. Our daughter starts the sixth grade in April, and by unwritten tradition parents are expected to join the school's PTA leadership for a year and do various things for the school and the community at large. These include organizing the kids walking to school into groups (called han) and choosing a group leader (called hancho, where we get the word Head Honcho from) who will be responsible for the group, especially the new crop of first graders who will walk to school with the bigger kids. The PTA also signs up neighborhood parents into "flag waving brigades," who position themselves at street corners along the routes the kids walk to school and make sure the children get to school safely each morning. My wife is in charge of creating materials to be distributed to all parents of elementary school kids in our part of the city, which involves compiling Excel documents with the names of new teachers so parents can have information on the changes for the new school year. She has several assistants, but they're not much help: as a rule, many Japanese are often happy with lower levels of technical skill than you'd generally find in the U.S., and none of the housewives in the group has a computer or knows what Excel is, making a lot of extra work for her.

The Season of the Sakura has come to Japan, and all throughout the country cherry trees are exploding like beautiful fireworks. One of my favorite Japanese traditions is hanami or flower viewing, which usually involves spreading a tarp under the cherry trees and having a party with your friends, drinking lots of beer and sake while the petals fall all around you. Flower viewing has been popular in Japan since the beginning of its written history, with the first hanami recorded in the Nara period (710-784), although the word initially applied to viewing of ume or plum flowers, which are also pretty. (Flower viewing is also mentioned in the Tale of Genji.) Because the window for cherry blossom season is so narrow -- in another week the sakura will have been scattered to the four winds -- it can be difficult for people living outside Japan to plan a visit, as unseasonably colder or warmer weather can move cherry blossom viewing season up or down in the calendar. Fortunately, Japan is oriented quite vertically, so if the cherry blossom season has ended in the Tokyo area, for example, you can travel farther north and catch the flowers at their best in some other part of the country. If you're not lucky enough to be in Japan during this time of year, maybe you can still enjoy Japanese cherry blossoms, as many cities (Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Vancouver) have great spots for viewing sakura, too.

The two major political parties in Japan are the ruling Liberal Democrat Party, which is conservative and friendly to big business as well as the millions of the country's small farmers; and the Democratic Party of Japan, the primary opposition group, which might be called the "anti-LDP" since they seem to exist primarily to oppose anything the ruling party puts forth, whether it's a good idea for the country or not. Now the DPJ has -- for the first time since I came to Japan as far as I can recall -- done something meaningful in the political stage, which may result in a break at the pump for drivers here. Unable to to change the law that requires that 100% of automobile and gasoline taxes be used for building of roads, regardless of whether or not more roads are needed, they were at least able to block a law renewing the "temporary" higher gasoline tax that's been in place for 30+ years. The result is that the price of gasoline may be dropping by around 25 cents a liter, from its current price of around $1.50 per liter (or $5.80 a gallon, ack). The Japanese economy is quite addicted to public works, though, and a lot of politicians are voicing concerns that the economies of rural areas will suffer if the gas tax rate isn't reinstated, so the LDP plans to return the tax rate at the end of April using its two-thirds majority, meaning that our lower gas prices might only last a month. It's funny that at no time does the subject of increasing the efficiency of government or finding ways to do a little more with a little less, enter the political debate. It's considered sho ga nai -- "it can't be helped" -- that the government will waste a certain amount of public resources and build a certain amount of roads that no one will use, and no one can do anything about it.

Toppo -- Baked Chocolate Snack

One of the most delicious and popular snack treats in all Japan, this is Lotte Toppo (like Pocky, but inverted), a wonderful baked pretzel stick filled with chocolate, crunchy and delicious. One of our all-time favorites, each box of Toppo includes two individually wrapped packages of approx. 12 sticks each, for a great and unique taste.

Melancholy of Suzumiya Hiharu 240 MIN Special

A wild and wacky sex parody of the world of Haruhi Suzumiya comes to you in this "Best of" production courtesy of iFrit. Taking on evil alter egos of the various characters from the now famous anime series, you witness first hand the sexual antics of Hiharu Suzumiya, Kurumi Asahina, and Yuuki Nagato. An excellent cosplay themed with sailor seifuku, one piece bathing suits, maid outfits, and of course anime cosplay of the characters getting down and dirty with hardcore sex as you've always...

Delivery Lesbian Girls 2

In today's hustle and bustle of corporate Japan, salarymen have a variety of ways to let loose and relax, some of which opt for the company of a beautiful woman at the underground world of the fuzoku. But what about the hardworking Office Ladies? How do they find their way to relax? In this eye opening production, Big Morkal introduces a unique service that caters specifically to the female clientele, where a beautiful woman sells her services (and her body) to curious OL's who desire a little...

Studio Ghibli Collection Keychain Set of 6 -- (Mushroom, Large Totoro, Blue Totoro, Sho Totoro, Neko bus, Tokage)

This is the ultimate set of Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki character keychain sets yet. Featuring six different characters from different movies that stand approximately 4 cm (2.75 inches) tall. Made of a soft stitched, durable, stuffed cloth, they are incredibly detailed and beautiful, even down to the eyes, body marking. This is the ultimate set of Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki character keychain sets yet. Featuring six different characters from different movies that stand approximately 4 cm...

Comp Hs vol. 9 ~ Comp Heroine 9

Another wonderful addition to the line up of Japan's Otaku and bishoujo culture, this is Comp Heroines aka Comp Hs (pronounced Comp Ecchies in Japanese) , a publication dedicated to the female anime characters that you've grown to love. Bringing you endless content of brand new images to drool over, they also pay focus to the people that make the characters come to life, the voice actresses (this month's seiyu interview is with Yuko Goto and Shizuka Itou from Kimiaru, that are just as cute as...