Omiyage お土産 is the Japanese custom of giving gifts when returning from a journey. In Japan, there is a large and lucrative industry to support this custom. There are shops devoted entirely to omiyage and they can be found at all train and bus stations, airports and tourist hotspots. They mainly sell boxes of individually wrapped confectionaries that can be seen as a souvenir of the location at which they were bought. Consequently, omiyage is a very easy process. When Japanese people go on business trips, they will bring back omiyage to give to their colleagues. It is a very simple procedure. They simply go to the omiyage shop and buy as many boxes as needed to cover giving a sweet to each colleague. Then, on their return, they walk around the office, giving a sweet to each colleague or placing one on their desk. That’s it. It is a very normal and easy procedure that Japanese people do not worry about, and everyone enjoys receiving something special on a dreary November afternoon in the office, especially around 3 o’clock when you start to get hungry. New JET participants often worry about the custom of omiyage and this is quite understandable. Everyone wants to start off on the right foot and make a good impression with their new colleagues, many of whom will eventually become our good friends. At the same time, we all want to try to fit in culturally and avoid forgetting something or offending anyone and we don’t want to end up with our foot in our mouth, or worse, in someone else’s. JETs worry over what to bring, how much to bring, who to give it to, and when to give it. In truth, only your predecessor can tell you how much omiyage to bring (because every situation is different), but here are a few tips that might help you out with the whole omiyage conundrum. What should I bring?
Given the lack of a specific omiyage industry in JET participants’ countries (it is after all, a Japanese thing), new JETs will often visit a souvenir shop before their departure. This is a very good idea. You can buy a large number of small, light, cheap items that don’t break the bank, can fit into your luggage in large quantities and won’t weigh too much. It also means that you can buy enough so that you actually have a surplus, handy for when you’re invited to someone’s house, when you might want to give your hosts something from your home country. Such items can include chocolates, sweets, postcards, pens, badges, flags, mugs, towels, stickers and the like, as well as anything more specific to your home countrytown. Also remember that omiyage in Japan is usually food and so if you can find food that you can easily pack, bring and distribute without it going stale, that could also work really well. Miniature bottles of spirits from your home country, such as Scotch, Irish or American Whiskey, or London Dry Gin work pretty well too, assuming your principal isn’t a reformed alcoholic. Remember that smaller is better and that you have to pack stuff for at least a year, so don’t go overboard with the omiyage. Who do I give it to and how much should I bring? It is not necessary to try to ‘cover everyone’, especially as ALTs can often work in up to 6 or 7 different schools (which is why small and cheap is good), which could mean a very large amount of omiyage. Start with the basics. You have to give something to your supervisor. She is the person who will help you out more than anyone so you might consider giving them something a little special. After that, you’ll need to give something to whoever is considered your boss. This could mean your principal at your base school or the head of your office. Then, there is also the deputy at your office or your vice principal who will also do a lot for you. That’s three people. From there, you need to think about the Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) you might work with or the staff at your main office. This could mean a few people or quite a lot (small and cheap, yeah? – the gifts, not the people), but these are the essential people at your new workplace(s) and if you can get this information from your predecessor, you’ll have a good idea of how much to bring. After that, if money and space in your luggage permit, you can give something to other people if you wish, perhaps your neighbours. It’s a good idea to bring a surplus of small items as they will come in handy at some point. You need not bring omiyage for students, but things like postcards and stickers can make useful prizes in your self-introduction lessons. When should I give it? It’s best to give out omiyage as soon as possible, the main reason being that you need not worry about it after that and its out of the way.
A good idea is sometime after you’ve given something to your supervisor, ask for their help to distribute omiyage to the other people. They are an old hand at it and will be able to help you very easily. In some offices, it is common practice for a designated person to distribute the omiyage on behalf of others. If you work in an office, try to get it out of the way on the first day. It is a very good way to introduce yourself to everyone. If you work at a school, a meeting with your JTEs is also a good time, although you may find yourself not really meeting anyone in the summer in which case the first day of school is good. You can give it out all at once (and don’t be afraid to just put it on peoples’ desks – they’ll know who the tacky pen plastered with the South African flag or the mini boomerang is from) or one by one to each person. However you do it, it is not something you should worry about too much and, being a foreigner, is not necessarily expected of you, though it will be appreciated. Just making the effort says a lot. And remember, you can’t make a mistake when what you are doing is giving something to someone – they’ll love it. It’s really easy; ask your predecessor.|