Konichiwa, Baby!

August 15, 2008 3:30 PM

Kid that I watched grow up is having a baby. My daughter is in Japan. What cool gift could daughter ship me from Japan that would say "Japanese baby thing" and is not available in the US.

Possibly pertinent information:
Baby shower is on September 21 (daughter is in Japan until November, so she can't bring it to me). Daughter will be in Sendai, Yokohama and Fukuroa between now and the last possible shipping date. Trying not to spend much more than $50 including shipping. Doesn't need to be fancy or impressive, as the impressive part is the international coordination and the "it came all the way from Japan!" part. If it's available on the web, that's okay, but I want something that daughter can actually buy there, because I'm old fashioned and I think that's cooler. Baby is a girl.

posted by nax to Shopping (8 answers total)

A koi fish windsock. Traditional for boys.
posted by Gungho at 3:56 PM on August 15, 2008

Doh! Must read complete text before answering...
posted by Gungho at 3:57 PM on August 15, 2008

Best answer: Maybe a bit too cliché and probably not impossible to find in certain areas of the US, but still... what about a baby yukata?
posted by (alice) at 4:17 PM on August 15, 2008

Not necessarily that creative, but simply going to a Japanese toy store and picking out some "exotic looking" (ugh, for lack of a better term at the moment) plush toys might be kind of cool. Something different from all the stuffed bears and whatnot. Not Hello Kitty, being so ubiquitous in the states, but along those lines.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 4:47 PM on August 15, 2008

Best answer: Well, in the same vein as the koinobori that Gungho suggested, if the baby is a girl, it's the tradition here to get her a set of hina ningyo. They look like these, and although the "proper" ones cost a small fortune, you can get Hello Kitty versions or Disney versions, or more affordable dolls for a price within your budget. Here's the Wikipedia explanation of the festival, which is celebrated on March 3 every year.
posted by misozaki at 5:01 PM on August 15, 2008

Best answer: uniqlo japan have some pretty cute little girl yukata too.

Also if she can find a store like Akachan Honpo then these little cotton wraps are very Japanese - but also great to use as pajamas for babies.
posted by gomichild at 5:22 PM on August 15, 2008

Gomichild's "little cotton wraps" are ￥1100 which is just shy of $10, so not only would they be useful and cute and ethnic, but within your budget you could afford to buy several.
posted by Class Goat at 5:39 PM on August 15, 2008

I can't point you at any links, but as I have a one year old daughter, I can send you lots of slightly-used Japanese baby clothes! Okay, my actual suggestion is to have her get baby clothes with Japan-only characters like Doraemon or Anpanman on them, or with crazy stuff in messed-up English written on them. There's lots of even more obscure and ridiculous Japanese characters you could go for. Once you have a baby, you start to notice that they sell cute baby clothes in every other store around here.

When my parents were over here from America, and my daughter was 3 months old, they were really impressed by the infant clothes that they have here; they're light and airy and tie under the armpits instead of pulling over the head or having snaps. They're really nice; my parents seemed to think they are much more convenient and comfortable than the ones in the States.
posted by donkeymon at 7:12 AM on August 16, 2008 [1 favorite]