BTW- *Never* trust a salesman at *any* Best Buy. They are trained to deceive you, and that is in no way an overexaggeration.
boo to best buy.
...But yay for Shinjuku!
I agree with your "penetration of Japan into America" hypothesis. However, I see it more as a fad than anything else. People may think it's cool, but most will never have anything more than a rudimentary misunderstanding of cliches and media.