Konnichiwa! Hello! Hola! Bonjour!
Since childhood, I almost always buy some Omiyage (gift/souvenir) whenever I travel somewhere. What do you usually buy for Omiyage and for whom? I think Japan has a pretty unique Omiyage style. Omiyage here often will be edible something to share with families, friends, classmates, coworkers or/and (!!!) neighbors. Yes, people sometimes buy a lot to share with a large group of people!
The edible Omiyage is usually local specialty products with a particular region. And plus, it is preferred to be in a nice box, and make it more perfect if they were wrapped individually then it makes much easier to share with a bunch of people. Now you see CHA NO KA which I mentioned before is perfect for Omiyage! What do you think about our Omiyage culture in Japan so far?
When my friends and I took a trip to California, my friends were having a very tough time to find the edible Omiyage there even though we went to Disney Land! I think you know what I mean if you know Disney Land in Japan. The gift shops in Japan's Disney Land are always super crowded and of course, they have nice and perfect Omiyage in kawaii (cute) boxes. The Omiyage business in Japan is very big! My friends were very busy looking for Japanese style Omiyage in the US till the last. They were saying like, "One more thing to buy. Just need some edible Omiyage in a nice box!" Luckily, they found a nice box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts... the box said "USA". Yes, it was so funny but my friends were happy that finally they were able to buy boxed Omiyage!
I am not that a big Omiyage shopper compared to others, but I like to buy some for my family, friends and myself. I often swap Omiyage with my friends too. It is fun to imagine the place where you have not been yet! And it is yummy to taste, of course!
Enjoy some Omiyage that I got from my friends now :)
Candy from 鳥取 (Tottori) where a Japanese famous manga (Japanese comics) artist, Shigeru Mizuki is from. So the candy has his character faces on each! How cute!
Specially blended Coffee from 滋賀 (Shiga) where has a famous mascot called ひこにゃん (Hikonyan)!
Kewpie doll from 愛媛 (Ehime) where is famous for 松山城 (Matsuyama castle)!
You can enjoy more Kewpie dolls with tubuko DX :)
