Tokyo Gift Update

I was in Tokyo the other day, passing a sprawling stand selling various omiyage (OH-me-YAH-gei), or gifts given as souvenirs after a trip. The Japanese are master gift givers, and have many customs related to giving and receiving them, which provides a valuable "social lubrication" that makes all manner or personal and business relationships work more smoothly. Whenever a Japanese person goes somewhere, they will be compelled to spend plenty of money on gifts to give to whoever was left at home, and taking a trip in Japan always includes setting aside some time to see what the gift shops have for sale. In July and December there are two special gift-giving seasons, when people will give gifts to thank teachers or others in the community to thank them for their past assistance. Predictably, these specially made gift boxes containing anything from coffee to cooking oil to laundry detergent are often passed on to others, with some gifts changing hands many times before they're actually used. Incidentally, if you ever come to Japan, it's probably a good idea to bring some items to give out as gifts to people you might encounter here, as it will really make things so more smoothly -- something representative of wherever you're from, or even a carton of cigarettes from your home country, always a popular item. (The smoking staff of J-List says that Newport Menthols are a good brand, since they're not sold here.) Incidentally, remember that J-List now carries a lot of these fun gift-able boxes of snacks, the perfect thing to get the Japanophile on your list this year.

A popular box of gift snacks, Tokyo Banana