クリスマスプレゼント!

December 3, 2007 1:36 AM

Help me come up with some unique Christmas pressies to send to my business contacts in Europe... from Japan.

Dearest Hive Mind,

Earlier this year I decided to finally take the plunge and become a freelance translator, and things have gone swimmingly so far. So well, in fact, that I managed to landed a gig to work on an on-site project in Tokyo for a few months, an opportunity that I gladly accepted.

The only downside is that this required telling my usual clients I would be unavailable to take on any other projects for some time. While they've been happy for me overall (as in: "Yay! Japan! You lucky bastard!"), I do realise that I'm letting them down to a certain extent and that it may be tricky to get their business again once this gig is over.

Knowing that, and since Christmas is almost here, I thought it would be a good idea to send them a little something to both remind them of my existence and express my gratitude for their patience and support. The problem is... what?

Sweets? The parcel will take a while to get there, and most of the really nice Japanese sweets I've seen are fresh and wouldn't survive the trip. Monaka seems to be about the only thing with a long enough shelf life. Any other ideas?

Bottles of sake? I know they would be appreciated, but I'm not sure how to pack them to prevent a disaster. Anyone knows if special mailing boxes for bottles are available in Japan? And what is a good place to buy good quality sake anyway?

Geeky goodies? My clients have close ties with the game industry, so manga and videogame merch is definitely an option. The problem here is mostly one of overwhelming choice and potentially skyrocketing budget.

Further complicating things is the fact that I speak very little Japanese, and that I should sort this out pretty quickly to ensure the parcels get to their destination (mostly UK and Spain) before the holidays. EMS has been pretty fast and reliable so far, but I would like to send everything before the end of this week at the latest.

So, essentially, do you have any suggestions of stuff that would make a good present and would be easy to both buy and send to the Old Continent? Bonus points awarded for presents that the recipients could share with their colleagues and can be found in Shinjuku and surroundings. Extra bonus points if it's something that can really be found only in Japan. My budget is about 5000 ¥ per pressie (not including postage), although I can stretch it a bit if needed.

Thanks in advance, Hive Mind. You're my only hope!

posted by doctorpiorno to shopping (6 comments total)

When I was in Japan I totally geeked out on the cool different notebooks and pens and stickers that they had there

There was also a Japanese version of Lego (good geek toy at least at the gaming software house where I work) that had different kinds of sets than those you'd ever see in traditional Lego.

What did I miss? Canned hot tea from the vending machines(I know, not really shippable) the different flavors of gum (Umi, which seemed to be some sort of cherry blossom flavor and there was a green grape flavor too)


Lots of the guys brought back Cuban cigars but I don't know where else they are banned or if its even acceptable to send smokes as a business gift anymore.
posted by legotech at 2:09 AM on December 3, 2007

- tea!
- sushi set (trays, dishes, chopsticks)
- fun geeky toys - USB drives, weird keychains, desktop toys, cellphone cases, headsets
- as above, fun gum, pens, paper sets, stationary -- you can get beautiful stuff too, depending on the client
- snacks -- cookies, candies, salty bits - you can get them already packaged
posted by barnone at 3:15 AM on December 3, 2007

Pepsi Ice Cucumber(Youtube)
posted by PenDevil at 7:06 AM on December 3, 2007

Traditional Japanese omiyage could be a good option--the boxes of snacks of varying quality that you can find at pretty much any train station or tourist draw anywhere in Japan. They're designed both for easy travel/shipping and to show off a little of the local flair of the region you bought them from. They might not be the greatest eats your clients have ever had, but they're definitely a Japanese cultural institution and would probably be interesting to anyone who proclaimed "you lucky bastard" when you told them you were going to Japan. Bonus: you can always find Hello Kitty omiyage if your clients are into that sort of thing.
posted by that_one_guy at 9:32 AM on December 3, 2007

woodblocks.
posted by misha at 9:37 AM on December 3, 2007

You might want to check out JList to see what they are selling as 'wacky gifts from Japan'. Check out the Top...whatever lists they have on their home page as guidance. You will of course then want to find similar products yourself in Japan (just try the department stores, combini, supermarkets, 100 yen shops, hobby stores, etc.)

If you go with edible stuff, I would not do traditional Japanese sweets like monaka and yohkan because they are well, too traditional for most Westerners. However, Western-style but very Japanese sweets and snacks like Green Tea flavored Kit-Kats and the like go down very well.
posted by derMax at 9:40 AM on December 3, 2007