I know most would probably get a better gift (omiyage) for the higher faculty member but my JTE is helping me look for apartments, speaking with agencies, overall doing a lot of the heavy lifting for me. I will also be driven by him to my BOE when we get to ibaraki so…would it be a bad thing if he got a more thoughtful gift than anyone else (just gonna bring candy for them). Will it be seen as disrespectful? If it’s ok, what kind of thing should I get my JTE? Wine? A souvenir from California? Something edible?
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The “getting a better gift for the higher-ups” is kind of an outdated/old school mindset. 20 years ago that may have been the norm, but things have become slightly more egalitarian (at least when it comes to omiyage). My principals/superintendent would all be super uncomfortable if I gave them nicer omiyage than everyone else.
Also just a reminder, no one’s expecting you to give them omiyage when you first arrive. It’s a nice gesture if you want to do it, but shouldn’t be seen as an expectation or requirement. I think you’re idea of candy is a good one
For your JTE who’s helping you out, I would say give them the same omiyage as everyone else. Then after they’ve finished helping you, you can give them an additional thank you gift. Once again, ideally something edible. This could be something from your home town, if you’d like, but it could just as easily be something you pick up from a bakery in town. It’s the sentiment more than the gift itself
If you want to get them something nicer, go ahead! I am sure they will be very appreciative. I would recommend giving them something that is kind of unique to where you live. If your part of California is known for something in particular, that would go over well. A lot of the omiyage you will get from other teachers and staff will be a small treat which that region is known for making. If you lived in Napa, then yeah wine might be a good idea but not everyone likes wine or all varieties of wine so that one is a bit tougher.
Your question of it being disrespectful, no it won’t be. In fact, it could create a really good working relationship between you and your JTE. You could also give it to them when no one else is around if you are still worried about it.
i didn’t give anybody ANYTHING HAHAHA
I mean… you can bring them omiyage when you first arrive, but you might want to just get them all something small from home, and then worry about stuff related to “how much someone has done something for you” after your first trip in Japan. Not only does it mean less space taken up in your luggage, but if you get them something from Japan they’re more likely to… be appreciative. <shrug>
And you can use the time to figure out what your JTE likes. Imagine if they don’t like drinking and you bring them a bottle of wine? Spend some time getting to know people before buying them something more expensive.
There is no cultural expectation for you to bring omiyage for a bunch of people you don’t know and are meeting for the first time. Seriously, this is only a thing when you already know someone and THEN do a vacation. And under no circumstances should you give the VP and P a higher quality gift. Give everyone the same item.
But you should totally get something nice for the person going out of their way to help you. This isn’t omiyage but a regular gift. I would recommend a nice wine if you have room for it.
Try not to overthink it. Small and edible is best imo. If you want to give something more sincere, you can always give it to them in private.
My advice is to simplify the amount of omiyage you bring and who you plan to give it to. I don’t know what’s written about it in the official JET information resources now, but when I was a JET a long, long time ago before everything was online, we received an information and advice manual before we arrived with far too much emphasis on bringing omiyage. Looking back, I’m embarrassed for my naive self randomly handing out useless omiyage to people who were appreciative of the gift (or at least feigned appreciation), but probably slightly confused as to why they were being singled out.
I don’t really think you need to give omiyage to the principal or vice principal. Instead, some kind of shared edible gift for the teaching staff and administration, for example cookies or chocolates, and maybe the same for the office staff at your school, would be a nice gesture but not necessarily expected. As for your supervisor, a personal gift of omiyage to show appreciation for all the help he is giving you would be nice, but I would keep it simple as above, and give it to him in private.
Don’t waste your luggage space on “omiyage”
They’re not even omiyage as you’re not a current hire returning from a trip having taken paid time leave to facilitate said trip. You’re a new hire.
Don’t waste your stuff on omiyage. Get omiyage when you actually travel around Japan (it’s like a thank you for holding down the fort when I was away).
I brought Sees Lolipops (im from Los Angeles) for all the teachers and the top three in the teachers office (vice principal, Kyoto, and Headmaster), but for the JTE’s I brought some Trader Joes Totes (dunno why they are so popular here) and a Military Coin (im ex-military) for the Principal.
edit: I was in the Navy, and the School I teach at teaches Shipbuilding, I was told I was picked for Naval Experience. So the coin was warrented (inb4 ahh military) Also the lolipops, when taken out of the boxes, save a lot of space.
Gifts are always appreciated. But don’t stress over it. I’d personally give them something they can eat or a mug of your university / popular sports team.
Lol just some token gift for them all. Literally do not under any circumstances bring anything significant. Just a nice little token snack. they’ll forget about it after 10 seconds, whatever it is.
I don’t know how the idea that you should give gifts at the beginning got started (in all fairness, I believed this too at first). In my experience, gifts are primarily given:
* when you leave
* after you go on a trip (hence why you should stay quiet whenever you travel)
* if you do something that really “inconveniences” others (I don’t really agree with this one – one time I had a teacher bring omiyage because she needed an extra day to recover from a surgery and took one extra day off, for example)
I agree with others that you should save luggage space, but at the same time I do believe that a little gift for the principal and vice-principal goes a long way. I usually opt for coasters. They’re flat and take up little room, plus everyone drinks coffee/tea, so they’re useful. I gave a fancy coaster to my first principal from a local artist, and two years later he was still proudly showing me that he uses it.
If you feel inclined to buy anyone else a gift, buy something locally like nice chocolates, etc…
You can hand your supervisor the big thank you gift when you get in the car from the BoE to the school and nobody else will even have to know 😀
Carrying glass bottles of wine across the world can end in disaster so I don’t recommend that (personal experience)
I already bought a butt load of stuff for omiyage, unfortunately now reading most of the comments which say screw it lmao. Tbh my country has a similar custom, it’s not a hard rule but we do tend to bring things for others when we travel, regardless whether it’s your first visit or not. I always bring the better stuff for whoever I’m closer to and the rest get similar treats. I’d follow the suggestion of the other comments which say give the better gift in private. I like the idea of breaking the ice and sharing a bit of my culture with my new coworkers. I found a nice set of themed coasters which I’ll give to the vp, principal and my JTE, maybe my predecessor if they’re not gone by the time I get there. I also have boxes of teas. I was planning to give the higher ups coffees since our coffee is really loved there but I might just keep those for myself lol. I have some small baked candy/pastries, I got those last. If I hadn’t gotten ahead of myself I would have just stuck to sharing those with everyone regardless of rank. Again, I might just end up keeping some for myself as treats when the homesickness kicks in.