I thought this would be fun for everybody to chime in… So if you've been to Japan, list your side quests of things that you buy when you go to Japan that you love bringing back to home!
I'll start!
To buy:
Any major train station grocery stores, basement level:
* Teas – matcha, gaba, roasted green tea
* Spices
* Sesame seed grinder
* Cool soy sauce dispenser
* Shinkansen chop sticks
In Nara:
* Sake lees
* Sake
* Deer horn chopsticks
In Nikko:
* Sansho
* Yuba (soy) sheets to fry into chips at home
* Find the "golden arrow" at the furthest and highest temple, $20, hottest gift I've given lol.
In Kanazawa:
* Japanese whiskey, at some local liquor store, just pay the duty and bring back as much as you can, you'll find bottles that are $200-$400 in the US for $30-50
* A wood turned rice bowl/matcha bowl
* Find the old man who makes crickets out of bamboo, bring him a gift to exchange
Any drug store:
* Kikiyu effervescent bath beads – seriously! $3 in Japan, $30 on Amazon
Don-Q:
* Matcha lip balm from Melty Kiss – $3, $30 on eBay in the US
* Any lip balm from Melty Kiss
* Cheap set of kitchen knives (just keep sharpening them, that was a tip from a 5-star steak house in Kobe)
Flea markets and antique shops
(The furthest away from tourist areas the better, especially in small towns):
* Tea bowls
* Ceramics
* Masks
* Odd gifts that were at one time someone's gift at work (paperweights, odds and ends)
* Obi
* Yukata and obi
To do – there's too much so I'll keep it short and include my highlights:
- In Tokyo stay at remm roppongi, go to TeamLab
Go to the gardens and castle in Himeji, even if you spend just one night, the sushi place under the train station at the north end is incredible.
In Hiroshima the tsukamen place in the train station is great, atomic bomb Park and museum, hike the top of miyajima
Visit Koyasan, stay at a temple
Visit Nikko and stay at Kozuchi No Yado, splurge on a room with private Ones
Nara is worth it.
by BBFLG