I’m a an Argentinian living in Virginia (35F) and I have a Japanese friend (45M) living in Tokyo. We are like pen pals and the relationship is strictly platonic. We are both obsessed with Pokémon and he was kind enough to send me a gorgeous limited edition Pikachu plushies from the Pokémon Center in Tokyo. You can’t even get these online. He got them for me and refused to accept me sending him money, he wanted to gift these to me. I received them and I thought I would surprise him by sending him something he might like from the US.
From all the Abroad in Japan videos I’ve seen, seems like the Japanese are not into buying a lot of “things” as they do in America bc of spacing issues.
I need suggestions on things Japanese people love that are found in the US.
I’m thinking a specific candy they can’t get there, or something that’s really expensive over there and very cheap here. I was also thinking of Yerba Mate as I know he likes tea. It doesn’t have to be a food item, it can be anything else. My budget is $250 tops (not including shipping).
I want my gift to be unique and useful to him and above all something he wouldn’t be able to get in Japan.
What suggestions do y’all have?
AND is it something I can ship over to Japan? Shipping recommendations?
10 comments
Bourbon
Tokyo has basically all the generic cheap American stuff somewhere. Japanese (and Asians generally) are into locally-made, locally-grown things/foods which are reputable or famous in whatever area they travel to. Send whatever that is, and explain why it’s special. Or send something Argentinian if you don’t think VA stuff is special.
One tip is there isn’t a huge South/Central American population so all those foods are rare (e.g, Mexican food generally sucks)
Does he drink? Suggest putting Chex mix and Lays BBQ as cushioning material, those go so good with Beer and you can’t get them in Japan.
If they like spicy food- a bottle of some American hot sauce can be nice?
I’ve also brought gin from a local brewery.
Non-consumables are a lot harder.
Ya fue, mandale un dulce de leche
Of course everyone has their own preferences, but Japanese people are most likely to appreciate something really stereotypically associated with the region it’s from. I remember reading years ago about a Texas winemaker really struggling to land with a Japanese audience because, you know, Texas is supposed to be about cowboy boots and whisky or whatever. In that sense yerba mate doesn’t sound like a bad choice.
Real maple syrup. That stuff is supposed to be like gold in japan
I would recommend any kind of regional specialty that can stand up to shipping. For example, I live in upstate NY, so last fall I sent a friend in FL some maple candy, a jar of apple butter, and a bar of goats milk soap from a nearby farm. Gifts that get used up are definitely preferable–who needs another mug or some trinket cluttering up their space? With things like food or other consumables, once they’ve used it up, there’s nothing to store so you aren’t giving them a burden for later.
Pop-rocks do not exist in Japan. I brought some over when I was a foreign-exchange student and they thought it was the craziest candy ever. Mallow Cups, Rolos, Zero bars also don’t exist over there either.
Be cognizant of when you send any meltable candy/food–especially since it will definitely melt in the mid spring/summer over there.
Things that I send my friend and her family every Christmas are BBQ sauces, salsas, spices for burgers/bbq, Sazon. Popcorn is up-and-coming, but they have specialty popcorn–never saw the microwaveable kind in the grocery stores so I send that too sometimes.
Be careful if you send toothpaste. There’s only specific kinds of toothpaste they’re allowed to have. IIRC, you can send Crest, but not Colgate.
One thing I’ve noticed during my time here is the focus on “limited edition” anything and everything. If you can, find something that’s considered “rare” or hard to find. Some people mentioned the South American angle, that’d be great. I’m not sure if there’re any strictly American Poke’mon things, but that’d be an awesome idea (and give you an excuse to go to a US pokemon center!)
If all else fails, look for local Virginia stuff.