I have only 10 minutes before my flight, however I have not found any souvenirs for my friends. It is a painful time. However usually it is fun to choose souvenirs for friends and family. In Japan, not only on long journeys, but on short business trips, we get something for others, usually a box of sweets, and hand out single pieces to co-workers at our job. It is quite a usual practice. So, each train station or airport has souvenir shops and they sell their local specialty. For example, this is Shiroi Koibito chocolate of Hokkaido, here is Sasadango of Nagano pref. These are very popular sweets to give as souvenirs. I love Gomasuri Dango(JP) of Iwate. It's a Sesame cream with soft rice cake, very yummy. I never miss to buy when I visit Tohoku. This is the online souvenir shop(JP) of Tokyo Station. They sell Tokyo special sweets mainly. I would like this "Sazae-san cake"; it has a little retro package with a small mascot toy.
Sweets souvenir is nice for co-workers, but in private I want to make all kinds of efforts for choice. I will tell you my idea for Souvenirs of Tokyo. "If I bring something to foreign friends..."- this is that type of selection. I won't choose Ichiban T-shirt or Hissho Hachimaki, ha ha. But of course, Tokyo-style or Japanese taste are important. Choosing souvenirs is difficult and fun!
For A Family With Some Children
For family, I would choose natural, healthy Japanese sweets, but small kids may dislike sweet beans, a typical ingreident in Japanese sweets. So how about this?
[Imo Yokan] : Funawa.
Imo-Yokan(JP) is sweet jelly made from beans and sweet potato. Very natural and healthy sweets.
[Tokyo Banana] : Tokyo Banana(JP) is basically a fresher, fluffier Twinkie, with banana creme and a piece of banana inside.
I had never visited Tokyo Tower until I had to be guide for my American friend. And I still haven't eaten Tokyo Banana yet because we don't eat such a typical Tokyo souvenir. :-) Anyway, this popular sweets make mistakes on their packaging.
[Giant Pretz Edo Murasaki] : Glico
I have never eaten Giant Pretz Edo Murasaki. I can get regular "pretz" easily, but this Edo version is sold only in airport or big train station terminals. Hmm. This is a simple "pretz" product with Tsukudani taste. Sounds weird?? No, I would guess that this is very tasty. This might be unique souvenir.
[JR Train Cookies] : Cookies in JR train can. This is pretty nice for a sweets-keeper. I have a "Double Decker" can which I got in London a long time ago.
This is the 10 best Tokyo sweets, according to a souvenir shop. The #1 choice is Tokyo Banana. Hmm I should try it at least once.
For A Ladies
[Ukiyoe Stamp] : This Ukiyoe stamp that is sold at the Tokyo National Museum. They have nice stationery and other goods. I use toto bag printed "Hyaku monogatari" by Kuniyoshi Utagawa
[Small Paper Bag] : We call this "pochi bukuro," and use it for Otoshidama (On New Year's Day we have the custom of giving a bit of money to kids ) or tips in Japanese-style hotels (Ryokan). You can make it with some nice print paper, here is "how to make".
[Japanese Towel] : One my my favorite shop Kamanau has beautiful Japanese towel. They have nice season motif. I think you can display it as a tapestry. This is one with an autumn design refering TSUKIMI. This daisy (November) looks cool. I can't pick just one.
[Chopstick Rest] : There are countless designs, materials, and shapes for chopstick rests. To choose just one would be difficult. :-). I like simple ones like this.
[Incense Stand] : I don't use aroma candles because I don't like the smell of wax. I like to use incense stick instead. Shoyeido has a variety of incense stick stands. They are small, but the design is great.
[Kubrick] : The name "Kubrick" comes from "cube," and the name of the director Kubrick. It is one ofMediacom toy products. They make various character from a simple 6-square cube. It's a sort of parody on popular icons. The premier and rare kubric costs over 10000yen. I remember that an rock band attached their original kubrick to their CD. You can buy it online shops. But hwne you come to Japan, please check the real shop in Shibuya.
[Akira Yamaguchi Goods] : Akira Yamaguchi is an traditional Japanese painting artist. So at a glance, his paintings look like authentic traditional works. But the detail is quite different - in the previous image, the horse is half-motorcycle, and the trees have robotic connections and cables. His exquisite miniatures have a lot of contemporary elements. I am very sorry I couldn't find a high-quality painting of his on the Internet. By the way, you can get mouse pads, T-shirts, or note paper with this design at Roppongi Hills original item shop.
For Young Girls
[Nail Tips and Hair Clips] : It would be nice to giveJapanese-motif nail tips; the golden fish or Kimono designs are very pretty. The hair clips are similar, there are nice Asian motifs.
[Hysteric Glamour] : I heard thatHysteric Glamour is very popular fashion brand in France, how about in North America? If you check their site, you'll get to know their crazy-but-cool sense.
Get Something For Free!!
[Get Something At Events] : At Makuhari Messe or Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba, everyday some events or exhibitions are held. Usually the entrance fee is 1000yen or so, and sometimes free. For example, Makuhari Messe will hold the Tokyo Game Show, and Tokyo Big Sight says they've been having a beauty and diet fair since Sept 13. When you walk around the center, you can get many samples or PR items. When I went to a karaoke machine show on business, I got a good foot massager, a beach mat, etc. At an IT show, I of course received a mouse pad, cell phone strap, ballpoint pen, etc. I can't guarantee anything, as it will be different at each event, but you can enjoy the show and hopefully get something, too.
[Flyers/Ad Cards] : In HMV or Tower record shops, you can find free flyers (ad cards). Most of them are cool designs that I think they would be good enough for souvenirs. For example, this and this, a production design flyer. I have some their cards.
Comments