J-List

When I was in my Bento phase I discovered a shop in Japan (J-List, via the web) for some of my supplies. They started sending me a regular email (hate this, usually) called "You Have a Friend in Japan" which, of course, I ignored until a few weeks ago. Now that I've started reading it I'm actually happy when it arrives. Take a look...

"Japan has many interesting cold remedies. I've been feeling a bit under the weather over the past few days, apparently having caught my daughter's cold. After testing the Japanese joshiki -- the near-supernatural "common sense" that most every Japanese person seems to possess -- about sick people not taking baths by taking one with no ill effects, I partook of my large stock of American cold remedies like Nyquil and Alka-Seltzer Plus and went to bed. Nothing is less fun than being sick and not having access to medicine brands you know and trust, and while there are many cold medicines here in Japan, they just don't seem to work well on my giant gaijin body. Incidentally, the Japanese have some pretty interesting folk remedies they turn to when they're sick. To break a high fever, put a raw egg in a glass with sake and a bit of sugar and swallow it rapidly, then wrap a spring onion (e.g. a leek, like the one Miku Hatsune is always holding) around your neck and hit the sack."

So every few days I learn a little more about Japanese popular culture.