Private Import Japan Blog

G Presents Lover's Collection 2013

Casio Computer Co.,Ltd. has released Lover's Collection series this year again. The theme is "LOVE Knot". On a back of the body, "2013", angel, and demon are designed. They released this G-SHOCK in a limited quantity (5000). If you haven't got them, try to search from the link below.

Lover's Collection 2013 Search on Rakuten Market

Mount Fuji, which straddles Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures, was officially registered as a World Heritage site on June 26, 2013. The mount Fuji collaborates with Hello Kitty and they release the collaboration items on Sanrio online store. Looks cute. I wanna put it in my room and spend 2014!

Check Hello Kitty x Mt. Fuji

Japanese online store "Premium Bandai" has released Batmobile iPhone cover. Now they are complying an order and it ends on January 7, 2014. They will ship it out in March, 2014.

Price: 5,775 yen
End: Jan 7, 2014
Shipping: in March, 2014

Dimensions: 142 x 82 x 38 mm (W x D x H)
for iPhone 5, iPhone 5S

Check the item's page!
http://p-bandai.jp/b-boys-shop/cs/crazycase/batmobile/

How does Japanese spend in New Year's Eve?

Talking about New year's Eve in Japan, these words come across my mind.

- Joya no Kane (除夜の鐘)

- Kohaku Uta Gassen (紅白歌合戦)

- Toshikoshi Soba (年越しそば)

All we appreciate this day, look back on this year, and decide next year's resolution. Also, a lot of people go back to their home town and they take their time with their families and enjoy a new year.

Joya no Kane (Midnight Tolling of the Temple Bells)

Joya-no-Kane is one of the event on New year's Eve in Japan. This event is held every year around Japan and the family waits up to hear the Joya-no-Kane, or midnight tooling of the temple bells. They usually strike the bell 108 times and there are various theories as to the 108 strokes. All Japanese thinks it is an important event to close out their current year.

Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Singing Contest)

Kohaku Uta Gassen is an annual music show on New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on television and radio. Kohaku (紅白) means Red and White. In the show, male artists belong to White team and female artists belong to Red team, and they sing their song one after the other. Usually it starts on 7:00 pm and ends on 11:45 pm. As Kohaku ends, it's almost the end of the year. We hear Joya-no-Kane during the song program.

2013 Kohaku Uta Gassen Official Website
http://www1.nhk.or.jp/kouhaku/

Toshikoshi Soba (A bowl of hot soba noodles)

We have the habit of eating Soba noodle in New Year's Eve. Eating it, we watch Kohaku Uta Gassen, and hear Joya-no-Kane. This is an ordinary style in Japan for a long time. Also, this is how to enjoy New year's Eve for us.

Extras
I found Joya-no-Kane APP for iTunes. lol
https://itunes.apple.com/app/joya-no-kane/id299860675?mt=8

Zelda Musou for Wii U will be released in summer in 2014, by Tecmo Koei, Nintendo announced on Dec 18.

Japanese information magazine for Baby & Maternity 'Aka-sugu (released on December 14, 2013) has a collaboration item of "Hello Kitty x Harapeko Aomushi". Hello Kitty will have the 40th anniversary in 2014. Harapeko Aomushi is a picture story book bestselling in the world.

This time, the magazine has a porch put babies' nappy in. Also, the porch includes refresher, so it will be appreciated by mothers. This magazine is available in Japan and the price is 450 yen.

Aka-sugu (2014 January issue)
http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00GCFRP00

How can I buy Japanese products from Japanese online stores?
http://bit.ly/1cjFX81