HerbaGreen Teas Now Available at Japanese-Games-Shop.com!

In April 2007 Japanese-Games-Shop.com affiliated with SFI marketing group and has recently added their range of HerbaGreen Teas to Japanese-Games-Shop.com.



Naturally sweetened with lo han fruit extract--which promotes fat burning and soothes the digestion process - HerbaGreen Teas also contain lotus leaf (rich in isoflavones), kudzu (for promoting circulation), and 100mg of polyphenols, equivalent to at least 15 cups of the strongest brewed green tea.



PLUS - HerbaGreen Teas contain NO calories or caffeine.


Each bottle equals 60 servings.

Choose from among Original flavor, Heavenly Honey Lemon, or Mandarin Mango Swirl. Then, simply add a dropper full to hot, warm, or cold water and stir for a naturally delicious, wonderfully healthy drink!


BENEFITS OF GREEN TEA POLYPHENOLS:
* Maintains healthy cells, cell growth and development.
* Supports a healthy cardiovascular system.
* Promotes healthy weight control by blocking carbohydrate absorption.
* Fights damaging free-radicals, which attack healthy cells and promote aging.
* Supports the immune system.
* Helps the body maintain its toxin-free condition.
* Promotes healthy blood sugar balance.
* Supports dental and optimal gum health.


CONCENTRATED HERBAGREEN TEA VS. "TEA BAGS"

Scientific documentation has shown that the majority of the therapeutic benefits of green tea are due to the polyphenols. Steeping a tea bag in hot water is a very inefficient means of extracting these polyphenols. HerbaGreen Tea contains concentrated extracts, with over 90% polyphenols. One serving provides 115 mg of plyphenols, the equivalent of more than 15 cups of brewed "tea bag" green tea.


Furthermore, a lot of green tea from tea bags contains caffeine, which many people want to avoid. HerbaGreen Tea has only caffeine-free green tea extracts. You get ALL the benefits of green tea polyphenols with HerbaGreen Tea!


Finally, each small bottle of HerbaGreen Tea is a much more convenient source of healthful antioxidants for a busy lifestyle. Just add a single dropper into your water bottle and enjoy while working out, walking, or on the go... or add some tea into your water while dining out.

Shipping Costs of Pilot Pens Fixed $5! - No Matter How Many You Buy!!

Yes folks, its true!

I've been meaning to do it...

I've been promising myself to do it...

I've never quite got around to doing it...

Well, I had some free time today and you know what? -

I FINALLY BLOOMING WELL DID IT!!

From May 2007 you can buy as many pens as you like and just pay $5 shipping and handling! Buy one Pilot pen, or one hundred, and you'll pay the same fixed $5 for ALL shipping and handling, Paypal and packaging, sweat-of-the-brow and shoeleather charges!

Oh, and I also fixed the "turning Japanese" Paypal order form phenomenon - or at least it looks good from where I'm sitting here in Hiroshima right bang smack in the middle of Golden Week.

Thanks to J. J. from San Francisco for the feedback that finally spurred me into action. Free pens will be winging their way to you with your next order!

Happy Golden Week!

DH

Hand-Carved Shogi Pieces in a Dynamic New Style

The very best Japanese chess pieces ("shogi koma") are hand carved by craftsmen who each has his own particular style.

Styles vary in elaboration and cursive style as well as in the depth and thickness of the cut.

Apparently one of the craftsman who specializes in carving the deep-cut (fukabori) style pieces has changed his style and also now only works with the finest Japanese boxwood (tsuge). Japanese boxwood is the most prestigious of all the different types of wood used to make shogi pieces.

The new style is quite stunning, more dynamically cursive than the old. These two photos show the old style (left) and the new style (right). The old style is more angular and carved on Siamese boxwood.

Japanese boxwood is warmer in tone and with a finer grain (especially noticable on the rear edge of each piece). When you place a Japanese and a Siamese piece side by side the Siamese piece, beautiful though it is, pales in comparison with the warm lustre of the Japanese boxwood.

The old Fukabori Koma were priced at $280 a set but are no longer available. The new Fukabori Koma, carved on the most prestigious Japanese tsuge wood in a new dynamic style will be priced at $320.

However, I'd like to make it available for the month of May at the same price as the old set - $280 (plus shipping and handling) to readers of this blog.

So if you would like to own a unique piece of Japanese craftsmanship, something that will last a lifetime and retain its lustre for future generations, act now! Go to

http://hirohurl.net/horikoma.html

and order via the "Matsu Fukabori, Siamese Tsuge, $280" Paypal button. I will upgrade the order to a "Matsu Fukabori, Japanese Tsuge, $320" set for no extra charge.

Hand Made Ceramics by Two Master Craftsmen from Hiroshima.

A section dealing with Japanese arts and crafts has recently been added to Japanese-Games-Shop.com. The first page to be uploaded introduces the works of two noted Hiroshima ceramics craftsmen.

Every item they produce is hand made.

The father, Nishimoto Eisen, works in the traditional style of the Jomon era, producing ceramics reminiscent of those of pre-historic Japan.

Nishimoto Eisen's son, Nishimoto Naofumi, works in a contemporary style to produce ceramic vessels for everyday use as well as vases and more abstract ornamental pieces.

Both potters have received several prizes for their ceramics in Japan and on the international stage.

Samples of their works can be viewed at: http://www.japanese-games-shop.com/geijutsu/nishimoto.html

Nintendo's Yakuman "New Ivory" Mahjong Set now available at Hirohurl!

Nintendo's deluxe Yakuman "New Ivory" mahjong set must surely be the best modern Japanese mahjong set on the market today.

Most modern mahjong tiles are made using some sort of nylon or plastic polymer, but the difference in quality between the cheapest and the most expensive sets is immense.

When looking for a quality mahjong set careful consideration should be given to the tiles. How substantial do they feel in the hand? Usually, the more substantial the tiles feel, the better their value. Cheap tiles have a light toy-like feel to them.

Colour quality is another important consideration. Good quality mahjong sets do not have a the bright sheen of cheap plastics. Good tiles tend to be creamier of hue rather than gloss white. Standard mahjong sets recreate the ivory-and-bamboo combination of antique sets through the use of white or cream plastic for the main body of the tile and a bamboo colour for the back. More expensive sets reproduce the off-white shade of ivory. The very best sets, such as Nintendo's "New Ivory" set, shown above, recreate the striations that run through ivory. It goes without saying that to achieve this effect on, or in, a plastic tile while at the same time reproducing the tile character on top is a complex procedure.

Another key point is the design of the characters on the face of the tiles. How clearly delineated are they? How accurately has the paint or dye been applied? Many of the more exclusive sets also use original designs. If you are familiar with standard Japanese mahjong sets you may notice a certain amount of effort has been put into giving the Nintendo sets featured on my website a certain distinctive style - such work is usually most evident in the cursive quality of the Character suit.

Some mid-range sets go in for quite flashy detailing to point up their uniqueness. The Nintendo sets occupy a classier cachet; the detail on the tiles is distinctive but understated.

To find out more about the Nintendo Yakuman "New Ivory" set as well as the other Japanese mahjong sets now in stock at the Hirohurl Jshop, click here. You can view close up photos of the "New Ivory" set here.

Backlog Cleared! Mahjong Shop Expanded!

Backlog
Good news folks! The backlog that accumulated while I was away for a couple of weeks has now been cleared. The last big batch went out this afternoon...

Mahjong Shop
I have just added several Japanese mahjong sets to the range over at http://japanese-mahjong.com/mjgoods.html.

So now, as well as the classy "all black" mahjong set, the quirky "Sushi mahjong" set and the popular "bog-standard" Japanese set there is also a range of premium and deluxe mahjong sets to choose from.

The new sets are all made in Japan to Japanese specifications and a variety of styles.

Here is a selection of what is on offer:

• "Family" Mahjong Set - a well-finished standard set.
  
• "Bara" Black-Backed Mahjong Set - a set with black backs and white faces.
  
• "Yamato" Mahjong Set - a classic mid-range set
  
• "Hikari" Mahjong Set - a stylish green-backed set with a special "diamond bonus" tile.
  
• "Ran" Mahjong Set - a deluxe set with a high quality finish in a special calligraphic style.
  
• Two deluxe sets in baize cases by NINTENDO.
  
• Big Tile Mahjong Set.
  

Back from my hols...

I have just got back to Japan after spending a couple of weeks on holiday in England. Inevitably, another backlog of orders has accumulated and I shall spend the rest of this week clearing it...

If you have purchased anything from the shop in February...

Taihen omataseshimashita! (Sorry to have kept you waiting!)

Then, in March, hirohurl.net is set to expand, with new products being added to the existing range and also a couple of new sections which will take us into uncharted territory!

Among other things, the existing range of Japanese games and gaming accessories will be expanded to include:

• a series of exclusive high-quality Japanese mahjong sets.
  
• more shogi sets.
  
• cloth and leatherette roll-up shogi boards.
  

Two new sections are to be added to hirohurl.net. They will feature original works of Japanese art and craftsmanship:

• Japanese pottery: traditional and modern handmade items from the workshop of Eisen Nishimoto and Eisen Naofumi.
  
• Original Japanese woodblock prints.
  

As well as those projects, I am hoping to be able to add several other items to the existing range of products, so keep your eyes glued to hirohurl.net for the new and exciting developments in spring 2007 folks!

Kodansha Bilingual Manga Updates

The Japanese publisher Kodansha offers a range of bilingual (Japanese and English) titles of famous Japanese manga and from time to time I have offered them on the manga page of my website, particularly "Ribbon no Kishi" and "Genji Monogatari"...

Ribbon no Kishi
I temporarily removed the manga series "Ribbon no Kishi" (or "Princess Knight" in English) from my site as it had disappeared from the shelves, but now I am pleased to be able to announce that Princess Knight is back and available once again at http://www.japanese-games-shop.com/manga.html!


Genji Monogatari
Kodansha used to publish a four-volume "Tale of Genji" manga series that made Murasaki Shikibu's famous Japanese classic accessible to English speaking readers. That series disappeared from suppliers' shelves recently. However, spurred on by a customer I went out and discovered that Kodansha reissued the manga in a new two-volume edition in July of this year and so I have just updated the manga page of my website to offer this new edition.

A Note on the Kodansha Bilingual Editions Offered on My Site
The Kodansha Bilingual series offered on my website are all purchased NEW. I do not keep a stock of these manga but order each one as orders come in.

This "special order service" requires a slightly higher "shipping and handling" price than for the other volumes on offer on my site, but if you compare it to what is on offer on the second-hand market on Amazon.com, for example, you will see that you are actually getting better value for money. For example, a second hand copy of Kodansha's Princess Knight is currently available for the "low price" of $51.92 plus postage!

Japanese Mahjong Yakitori Tiles - New!! "Sweating Sparrow"

If you play the Japanese version of mahjong you may be accustomed to the familiar site of a tile with a picture of a skewered sparrow on it! It is a flat tile, similar in size to the Wind Marker and it sits to the right of each player until he has completed a hand. Any player who fails to complete a hand through the course of a game is said to be "Yakitori" - skewered and grilled sparrow!

I offer a couple of styles of Yakitori tile on the Japanese mahjong goods section of my site. Just recently I have been able to add a third design to my range of tiles. This one is a sweating sparrow. A set of four costs just $15 (plus S&H) and can be purchased via Paypal at Japanese-Games-Shop.com.

Ultraman Hanafuda is Back too!!

The unique Ultraman Hanafuda deck disappeared from the shelves of Japanese-Games-Shop.com some time ago never to be seen again - or so we thought!

HOWEVER, I think I have just located a new source of this hard-to-get hanafuda set so as of today I am once again making it available. Go to http://japanese-games-shop.com/ultrahana.html and this is what you will see:



You'll find Ultraman or one of the other characters from the animation either fully represented on each hanafuda card or lurking somewhere in the background!

This collector's set is made by Bandai.