What gifts are you bringing back to your home country?

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1. I’m not really planning on bringing much back (if I ever go back), but there is one small thing I got for a family member. This isn’t a vacation, so I feel no obligation to give anything to anyone other than myself. And I guess I’ve got a few good souvenirs from my trips around Japan, but other than the ones I bought for myself, I have already given them away to friends in Japan.

   Why would you bring back an ema? That’s a weird thing compared to charms, because ema have to be used at the shines, whereas a charm can be used anywhere.

2. Really only binging stuff back for my parents (A shirt for my dad, a hat for my mum and some of those Z-rank convenience store lottery prizes of the Dragon Ball sketches for my brother) along with some snacks, a scent and music box for my blind grandfather, not sure yet what to get my grandmother, but I’m honestly thinking of getting one of those anime girl crane-game figures that’s in a traditional style dress. Other than that, some small things for friends back home like lil plushies, something for the kids in the family (little dinosaur plush, Ema, shrine charm) and as much daiso candy as I can stuff inside my case and not be over the weight limit.

3. An easy to pack and relatively cheap omiyage are clear files. Even if the people you’re buying for aren’t into anime, there’s tons of non nerd designs out there.

4. I usually take back some snacks to share around. Tea/matcha for my mum and grandma. Sake/umeshu/Japanese whiskey for my dad and granddad. Also cosmetics for my sister and teenage cousins.

   My mum has got really into cooking Japanese food over the pandemic but there’s some ingredients she can’t find or are expensive in the UK, so this year I’m going to take some stuff like instant dashi powder, dried seaweeds, shiso paste, yuzukosho, umeboshi etc. And I’m thinking above getting some cooking knives for my dad this time.

   Other gifts I’ve given include: omamori, imabari towels, a windchime, fancy tenugui, a hakata doll, the small handtowels, a fan, a shogi set, and traditional pottery.
   I like to try and get things from independent crafts people, instead of buying the mass produced tourist tat. It’s a more expensive, but a lot more special and supports local people and dying traditions.

5. I’ve got knives I’m bringing back since my prefecture has some cool hand forged kitchen knives.

   They’re decently priced so it’s counting as a birthday/xmas present

6. I live near a military base and sometimes run errands for my friends on the other side when they need to send souvenirs back home.

   The most popular items are (in no particular ranking):

   Wood/ceramic Japanese bowls from Daiso.

   Anything remotely samurai/ninja-looking.

   Fans.

   Kitkats.

   Cup noodles.

   Chopsticks.

   Stamps and postcards.

   Charms.

   Inkan (Daiso or specialty ones with foreign names you can get at tourist traps)

7. I’m bringing back the little onsen bath salt packs. They’re super cheap and an easy thing to give to a bunch on people. For my folks who don’t like baths (only a couple) I’m getting more personalized gifts based off their interests. i.e. my uncle rides motorcycles, so I got him a sticker from a Japanese brand, my uncle likes alcohol so I got him a mini bottle of local whisky.

8. One item I get asked to bring is the wood barrel fermented soy sauce – it’s quite a bit nicer than the mass produced sauces available.

9. Those tall skinny packs of green tea leaves that they sell at grocery stores. They look neat and are only like 300-400 yen, so you can grab a bunch and not break the bank.

   Daiso has some cool, good-quality plates/dishes/cups that in my experience have been popular. And often with a nice “Made in Japan” sticker. And it’s not like most relatives know what Daiso is so no need to worry about looking cheap.