“Here’s a little something I got…” is a phrase that we commonly hear from people who’ve taken time to share with us a small part of their trips in the form of trinkets, food items, or novelty goods. These gift items are also usually accompanied by stories of how they found the items or why they picked the specific gift over the others that they could have gotten.
 |
| Image Source: omiyageblogs.ca |
While I can’t give my readers physical gifts, I’d like to share some tidbits of what I got from my travels to Asia. This time, given that we’ve just recently celebrated the enduring friendship between Japan and the US with the National Cherry Blossom Festival, and since I’m on the topic of souvenir giving, I think I should share what little I know about the Japanese way of giving souvenirs.
The Japanese use the term Omiyage for both the gifts that you give to friends after the trip and for the obligatory gift (as a matter of politeness) that you give to the people you’re visiting at your destination. The souvenir items are, of course, what you can get and what you can give, that’s fine. For the latter kind of omiyage, however, there’s a certain set of considerations to follow.
 |
| Image Source: morethingsjapanese.com |
For the best choice of presents for one’s hosts, something consumable is recommended. It’s hard to find space for gifts in many cases, so gifts that don’t need to be stored for too long are best. Otherwise, something expensive, like a tie or scarf from a popular brand, is a good alternative.
Now, as a non-Japanese guest, one isn’t really expected to bring omiyage. If you really want to impress your hosts, though, then this may serve as a little reminder of what you should think of bringing.
 |
| Image Source: ehow.com |
Louis Habash shares more tidbits of information about travel and culture on this Twitter page.
No comments:
Post a Comment