お土産(omiyage) translates to “souvenir,” but it doesn’t mean quite the same thing. It is more of a mandatory gift given
to your coworkers after a trip. Since you are new you don’t need to bring an omiyage, but it will make a good first impression and show that you know about Japanese culture. Once you meet your new coworkers and friends, you will have an easier time of shopping for omiyage based on their tastes. However, as it will be your first time meeting everyone, it can be a little stressful shopping for your initial omiyage to bring. Here I’m going to give you some examples and tips!
Who is omiyage for? Omiyage is mainly for your coworkers and friends. Often, omiyage is put out in a bowl on your desk. You can even put out a little sign saying way it is. When you are first arriving, this can be a great way to meet the teachers and administrators you will be working with.
Omiyage is not really for your neighbors, but when you first arrive you may want to walk around and give out some snacks and introduce yourself. It is a great ice breaker and if your neighbors know you, they will be more willing to help you out when you have questions about your apartment or neighborhood!
SNACKS: Sweets are the most common omiyage and can go to pretty much anyone. Candy is probably what you should give to your cooperating teacher and the other teachers in your school. Setting out a bowl of candy on your desk is a great way for other teachers to come up socialize with There are some things you’ll need to make sure of when you get sweets as an omiyage.
First, every candy should be individually wrapped. Fun size candy bars, small boxes of jelly beans, maple candy, and butterscotch hard candy are some popular choices. If you are having trouble finding individually wrapped candy, go to a party store. Every party store I’ve been to has bins of small candies that are between 3 and 15 for $1.00. This is a great way to get all kinds of candy in a small, individual package for really cheap! Keep in mind you will have to take whatever you buy on the airplane with you and some candy might melt. Chocolate and taffy are the two things I’ve heard often melt during the trip.
Mostly likely you will not know exactly how many omiyage you will need. I would suggest getting a little more than what you think you might need of something you like. That way you will be sure to have enough to give out and a treat for yourself when you get homesick. I don’t want to give a number because everyone’s school will be different. It also depends on how many schools you are going to be in. If you are having trouble estimating, ask your predecessor. Your predecessor may not be able to give you an exact number, but can give you a good ballpark.
As far as packing candy for the plane, I would suggest checking it and sending it directly to your placement city. You won’t need them in Tokyo orientation and you will get your bag back before you will need to give them out, probably at your initial introduction. This way you don’t have to take up space in your carry on. (And you won’t be tempted to eat them on the long flight over!)
One last thing to know is that Japanese candy is not very sweet. It is fine to bring sugary candy, but it might be good to suggest they eat it with their tea.
SPECIAL GIFT: You may want to get a few nicer gifts for the higher ups in your school. You will only need maybe five of these gifts if you decide to get them. They should still be fairly small and inexpensive. I’m going to bring a few Red Sox key chains. It does not need to be a key chain, but something to represent where you’re coming (state or country) is nice. I’m choosing a Red Sox key chain instead of a general Boston or other sport key chain because I know baseball is very popular in Japan and many of the big US team logos are known in Japan. This gift is up to your discretion, get whatever you think would make sense for where you are coming from. Getting your principle and adviser something other than the candy is not really necessary. So if you can’t think of any trinkets or just don’t want to spend the extra money, don’t worry, the same candy will be fine.
Other omiyage you can bring for your principle are soaps, coffee, regional jelly/jam/syrup, or tea.
IMPORTED ALCOHOL: This was suggested during my orientation and is not a bad idea, but it is something to be careful with. Alcohol is pretty big in Japan and imports are very expensive there, so a nip bottle of something cheap in the States can be a great gift. A nip is usually around 50 mL and I would not go much bigger than that. Be cautious, though, your principle or supervisor might not drink. Only get alcohol if you know for sure that the recipient of the gift drinks. This would be a gift you give to the higher ups and you would only need a few bottles. It would be in place of the key chain or trinket.
PENS/PENCILS: This might sound silly, but pens or pencils can be a great gift or just something good to have for a classroom. Getting a bunch of cheap pencils with the American flag (or the flag of your country if you are not coming from America) can go a long way. They are so cheap here and as a teacher you will need more pencils and pens than you realize.
DO:
- Get something edible and individually wrapped
- Bring enough for all your colleges
- Bring something representative of you, your state, and/or your country
- Be prepared to answer lots of questions about your omiyage if it is not something found in Japan
- Use your omiyage as a conversation starter!
DON'T:
- Get something inedible (unless it is a special gift for your principle and vice principle)
- Set out unwrapped snacks
- Bring less than you think you'll need
- Bring something that
