- 26 Feb 2003
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I'm curious what everyone's thoughts on omiyage (souvenirs) are and what some of their fav gifts (either received or given) in the past have been. I've always found I've enjoyed shopping for "just the right thing" in order to give family and friends whether i'm returning to the U.S. or en route back to Japan after heading home for the holidays.
For my mother (who is an avid collector of dolls from around the world) I would always bring her back one or two kokeshi ningyo (a type of hand-carved wooden doll) that were always different from any previous ones I had given her. Small and relatively lightweight (not all the time though), these were the perfect gift for her and she always seemed to enjoy displaying them.
For my friends in Japan it was a little harder to discern what their interests were so I usually ended up giving anywhere from unique food products to coffee books to even articles of clothing depending on where I was coming from. I once gave a sharktooth/alligator skin necklace I bought from a Seminole vendor in Key Largo, FL to the girl I was casually dating at the time. Granted, not the most romantic gift--nevertheless I thought it was cool (*shrugs*). I redeemed myself the next time as I had a friend who worked at Neiman Marcus help me pick out a really nice silk blouse to give. Cost me a bit more than I wanted to spend on an omiyagi (*cough*) but oh well... 8-p
For my students I would usually end up buying a shoebox full of keychains, sticker sheets, candies, etc. etc. that I would dispense to my favorite little troublemakers each and every time I returned from visiting the U.S.
When some dear friends of mine came from Sapporo to visit me the following summer after I had left Japan, they literally brought me a small wooden crate that contained some of the most expensive canned tarabagani (king crab) and suwaigani (snow crab) available from Hokkaido . Knowing my penchant for seafood, I thought this was an ideal gift on their part and needless to say we used some $200 of it up making various dishes during their stay so I guess you could say they benefitted as well, heh.
I've also found small personal music boxes to be a great gift (for both sides) and I remember giving a particularly expensive but really nice one with an Iruka (dolphin) motif I purchased in Otaru from their Orgel (music box) Emporium for my sister-in-law back home. Needless to say, she loved it. On my return trip I bought a matching pair of Mickey and Minnie Mouse music boxes from Orlando's Disneyworld for my two best friends (a young married couple and the same ones who brought me the aforementioned crab) and they really enjoyed that as well.
I cold go on and on, but i'd much rather hear all of your thoughts on the subject.
:emoji_grinning:
For my mother (who is an avid collector of dolls from around the world) I would always bring her back one or two kokeshi ningyo (a type of hand-carved wooden doll) that were always different from any previous ones I had given her. Small and relatively lightweight (not all the time though), these were the perfect gift for her and she always seemed to enjoy displaying them.
For my friends in Japan it was a little harder to discern what their interests were so I usually ended up giving anywhere from unique food products to coffee books to even articles of clothing depending on where I was coming from. I once gave a sharktooth/alligator skin necklace I bought from a Seminole vendor in Key Largo, FL to the girl I was casually dating at the time. Granted, not the most romantic gift--nevertheless I thought it was cool (*shrugs*). I redeemed myself the next time as I had a friend who worked at Neiman Marcus help me pick out a really nice silk blouse to give. Cost me a bit more than I wanted to spend on an omiyagi (*cough*) but oh well... 8-p
For my students I would usually end up buying a shoebox full of keychains, sticker sheets, candies, etc. etc. that I would dispense to my favorite little troublemakers each and every time I returned from visiting the U.S.
When some dear friends of mine came from Sapporo to visit me the following summer after I had left Japan, they literally brought me a small wooden crate that contained some of the most expensive canned tarabagani (king crab) and suwaigani (snow crab) available from Hokkaido . Knowing my penchant for seafood, I thought this was an ideal gift on their part and needless to say we used some $200 of it up making various dishes during their stay so I guess you could say they benefitted as well, heh.
I've also found small personal music boxes to be a great gift (for both sides) and I remember giving a particularly expensive but really nice one with an Iruka (dolphin) motif I purchased in Otaru from their Orgel (music box) Emporium for my sister-in-law back home. Needless to say, she loved it. On my return trip I bought a matching pair of Mickey and Minnie Mouse music boxes from Orlando's Disneyworld for my two best friends (a young married couple and the same ones who brought me the aforementioned crab) and they really enjoyed that as well.
I cold go on and on, but i'd much rather hear all of your thoughts on the subject.
:emoji_grinning:
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