AboutRobert Expertise General questions about tourism/travel and life in Japan, including shopping, visa issues, culture-shock, finding accommodations and employment, proper cultural etiquette, and common problems ex-pats in Japan experience. Bachelors Degree in Japanese Culture and Masters Degree in Marketing.
I am really out of my element here! My son will be travelling to Japan in July and staying with a host family for about 10 days. He will be staying with Michiko(F): Age:60 an English tutor whose interests include chorus, music, reading, movies, cooking, and gardening. She has a daughter 25 and a friend 23 (male, I think) from Ireland who works as an ALT in Imabari and visits often. He would like a really nice host gift - something to suit her interests -that may not be readily available in Japan. Probable price range is $10-25 but you may know better. A gift for the daughter and friend too.
Thanks for your help.
Answer Hi Judy,
Generally you want to bring something that represents
where you are from. Maybe bring a small gift for each
member of the family, and one gift for the family as
a whole. Nothing extremely expensive is necessary.
They will also return the favor and if you give very
expensive gifts it puts the pinch on them to give
something of equal or slightly higher value.
Some small picture books or calendars, posters,
ashtrays, chocolates, fragrant bath salts, t-shirts or
pens/pencils with famous animation characters (except
Mickey Mouse or Snoopy, which they have in abundance),
liquor, US BBQ sauces or salad dressings like Ranch,
pure maple or berry syrups, colognes (they have major
French brands, but no US ones like White Diamonds),
jams or other preserves, baseball caps, coasters, nice
soap or shampoos, lotions, cosmetics, cologne, cornnuts,
air fresheners, large containers of nuts, flavored coffees,
keychains, postcards, etc. would be great.
Even some typical items that are not available in Japan are
good. Japanese take baths every single night, yet there are
no larger bath towels like 3 by 6 feet available at Target or Costco, and they make very nice gifts (as well as good
insulation for bottles and things in your suitcases). There are also great selections of bath salts (but note that Japanese never take bubble baths).
I often bring some tea from a US supermarket - it is cheap,
light, and there are now several varieties of green tea
that Japanese have never tried, such as with mandarin orange
by Celestial Seasonings, or green tea with jasmine,
earl grey, apple, raspberry, lemon, ginseng or mint.
If you are in an isolated area, you can mail order some
from sites like www.celestialseasonings.com or
www.greentea.com
Somewhat less elegant but something quite practical I often
bring for friends in Japan is a large bottle of aspirin,
which costs over 30 times (I am not exaggerating) what it
does in the US.
Be aware though that in Japan 4 and 9 are "unlucky"
numbers, and especially older Japanese tend to be
superstitious, -- avoid giving any sets of 4 or 9.
Also a video of US TV, or MTV, or cassette tapes of Top
40 radio (Japanese radio is just awful) are good. Of
course, where possible, avoiding very fragile and very
heavy objects is desirable. Also note that Japan is in a different DVD zone than the US, so taking a DVD to Japan means you might not be able to enjoy it.
It is very likely that your family will treat your son very
well if not lavishly, especially when he first arrives,
such as taking him to some expensive restaurants, so make
sure to bring something more formal to wear.
July is also the hot season, so be prepared for some
rainy and very muggy weather. A compact umbrella, light clothing, and mosquito repellant would be a good idea.
A few websites with some info well worth reading before
the trip are:
The exchange rate is around 110 yen to the US
dollar at the moment, which makes things
cheaper for you compared to a few years ago.
You will find many if not nearly all things there
to be very expensive, but you do not need to sell
your soul to find a good buy here and there. A good
website to look at is
Price Check Tokyo at http://www.pricechecktokyo.com
You can also see what Japanese money looks like at http://www.geocities.com/ropponmatsu/japanfaq1b.html
Note that you can not use
1 or 5 yen coins in vending machines and phones.
You can also find a Tokyo subway map at http://soli.inav.net/~ceicher/images/TokyoSubways.jpg
and other major city subway maps at http://www.reed.edu/~reyn/transport.html
Tokyo has a subway day pass for around
1000 yen too.
Try and go to at least one hot spring (called onsen)
while you're there. They are all over the country.
See http://dmoz.org/Regional/Asia/Japan/Travel_and_Tourism/Hot_Springs
for more info and guides. They range from free
to very high at hot spring resort hotels.
Regarding money, Japan is still very much a cash based
society - credit cards are taken in larger stores and
hotels, but not much in small shops and restaurants.
But you can go to any Japanese post office and get yen
from a Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Diners Club
credit card, or ATM card in the Plus or Cirrus networks
(look on the back of the card), or debit cards in the
Visa Electron or Maestro Networks.
