3 Tips When You Buy Holiday Gifts to Japanese Colleagues | Guidable - Your Guide to a Sustainable, Wellbeing-centred Life in Japan

3 Tips When You Buy Holiday Gifts to Japanese Colleagues

By yuko848 Jun 17, 2017

The Japanese long holiday is already gone! (On the 29th of April (it is called Showa no hi), 3rd of May (Constitution day), 4th (Green day), to 5th (Children’s day)). I assume that many people traveled to various places to enjoy this holiday or just stayed at home to avoid from being in crowded places.

 

When you have a day trip and/or excursion in different places, Japanese people tends to buy gifts to friends, office colleagues, neighbour and so on. This is not mandatory to do, but it is common practice to do in Japan. Everywhere you go, you would probably observe souvenir gift shops in the most of the tourist attraction. Today, I would like to suggest the three tips when you bring gifts back from holiday particular to the office colleagues.

 

1. Food is ideal gift

There is so much diversity in terms of souvenir and gift products. Some people may purchase T-shirts, small decorative figurine or key chain, but it could not be ideal gifts due to the style and individual preference. It is recommended to give something to eat, particularly sweets because it is consumable, but you can probably share the memory of the trip when you give them. Another reason would be that you can have them during the coffee break at the office.

 

2. Subdivided Packaging is better

 

It is important to note that you may eat them in the office. Your office might not have plates and cutlery. Hence, it would be difficult to cut it and serve it. Besides this, it could be troublesome to clean up when it is in busy time. Fortunately or unfortunately (some people may think it is too much wrapping used for Japanese product…), you can purchase sweet gift which is individually packed. This makes you and your colleagues easier to enjoy eating anywhere and anytime. In addition, make sure you buy the enough numbers.

 

3. Choose something unique about the place you visited

Since you go to somewhere special, it would be nice to have particular goods from the place you have visited. Of course, it is also depending on your preference, however it seems a bit boring if you give for instance normal cheesecake that you can probably get it even in Tokyo. The big and local companies have developed and specialized goods in each area. For example, if you visit Nagano, Apple and Nozawana (Mustard Leaves) are very much popular and famous for, then they produce various types of products made with them. It would be more fun to buy locally specialized goods.

 

Murakami

Japan