Omiyage Culture in Japan

It's an exciting time when you get to go on vacation. In Japan, it's no different. You finally get a break from school and/or work in order to enjoy some time away from everything. But in Japan they have one thing to worry about when on vacation, and that's what to bring back as a souvenir for people. Let's talk about the souvenirs in Japan.

Souvenirs in Japanese are called omiyage. Omiyage culture is very important and is actually more work than you may think. In other cultures it may be optional to bring back price appropriate souvenirs from a vacation. Not only that, but it's usually given to people like your close family and friends. Even if you don't bring back any souvenirs it is still okay to report on how your vacation was.

This is not so in Japan.

Japan has a lot of omiyage rules. These rules are unwritten but are definitely expected to be followed. It is customary to bring back omiyage from any vacation, whether it be an out of the country vacation or just going to another prefecture or city in Japan. This is definite proof that Japan is not all the same. Each prefecture in Japan has it's own uniqueness and offers different experiences you can't get anywhere else. Why else would Japanese people want souvenirs from their own country? For example, Ehime prefecture in Shikoku is famous for their mikan fruit (satsumas). That means any kind of product/item involving mikan would be a fantastic omiyage. Another prefecture in Japan is Aomori, and they're famous for apples (ringo in Japanese). So bringing back something involving apples would be ideal. Maybe you want to bring back a nonfood related item back as omiyage. Something that every prefecture in Japan has is a mascot. Japan loves mascots and don't hesitate to make their mascots a selling point. One of the most famous mascots in Japan is Kumamon of Kumamoto Prefecture. But food is definitely the most popular choice for omiyage, and is sometimes expected.

My latest food omiyage from a friend who came back from Japan: curry rice topping and specialty KitKats

Another rule that may be hard to believe is that omiyage isn't just for family and friends in Japan. You also need to consider getting omiyage for your coworkers and neighbors. Pretty much whoever knows you are leaving to go on vacation, they get an omiyage. If you add all these people up you can now see why omiyage culture in Japan is a bit much to handle, even to native Japanese. It ends up costing a good amount of money. Sometimes you spend more money on omiyage for everyone than for your own self. That's why when Japanese people take vacations their biggest budgeting concern ends up being the costs of omiyage, while we worry about accommodations and transportation.

And last, but not least is presentation. Yes, the presentation of the given omiyage must look like effort and thought was put into it. There are many shops and stores in Japan who will help you with this. Wrapping a purchase is sometimes an added service. Some places will even carry their own personalized wrapping paper to advertise the store. Other places may choose to put your omiyage in a gift bag instead of wrapping it, and this is fine too. If the omiyage didn't come wrapped or bagged in some way, it is highly recommended that you wrap it yourself. The presentation of the omiyage is just as important as what the omiyage actually is. This is easy to see in Japan. When giving your omiyage out to people in Japan you will see that they take special care in opening it. It the omiyage is wrapped in paper Japanese people will typically unwrap the gift carefully, making sure to not rip the paper.

I neatly unwrapped my omiyage of drip bag coffee from Matsue, Japan in Shimane Prefecture.

I hope this helped you understand and appreciate the omiyage culture in Japan. It's very different from what other people may experience in other parts of the world. As expensive as it can get, I still love the enthusiasm they have in giving and receiving omiyage. It can be such a great and rewarding experience.

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