About Omiyage, or Souvenirs (Part 1 of 2)

お土産 Omiyage is commonly translated to the word "souvenir", which we all know are things you buy during your travels and bring home with you. They can be for yourself or to give your friends and family. In Japan, if you happen to work at an office, it is standard practice to buy souvenir chocolates or other sweets and take them to the office as a gift for coworkers, to thank them for their help while you were away on a business trip or for vacation.

You might want something special if you visit Japan but, among Japanese, these are their favorites.

携帯ストラップ Keitai Strap (Cell Phone Strap)

Japanese love collecting tiny things; the art of Netsuke has been known for years. Instead of Netsuke attached to a wallet, the trend is now to attach straps and /or decorative items to a cell phone -- there is a large market in Japan for these straps. (Note: "strap" can mean an actual strap you slip your hand through, or a toy or trinket.) Japanese call cell phones "keitai denwa (portable phone)". The word "phone"is dropped. So in everyday life your Keitei is your cell phone. Keitai straps, according to my observation, should be one of the top items for a souvenir.

In the photo above, Kitty-chan (known as "Hello Kitty" in the US) is holding the Sky Tree. A strap that is designed so that Kitty is attached to some local item is "ご当地キティ Gotochi Kitty". Gotochi refers to a pertinent area of interest so it implies "local". The words of "Gotochi ______" mean a local item. For example, "Gotochi gourmet" means what the visitors want to eat during their trip. "Gotochi straps" are favorite souvenir items to collect or give as a gift for friends and family. Gotochi Kitty-chan straps are quite highly collected items and there are so many different kinds. You'll find at least a couple of them in shops inside the airports and stations or the gift shops in the tourist attractions. Of course Kitty is not the only one. There are so many different characters attached to the local representing items. Quite a few areas have their own characters. And like the image above "Hatsune Miku Kitty-chan", there are items not related to the local area but are special and usually depicting a popular character.

Actually these are an evolved version of old days' key chains. You'll also see a variety of old fashioned Gotochi key chains (Japanese call this a "kii horudaa (key holder)"). Keitai straps are a really favorite souvenir item all over in Japan. These little items are not expensive and usually small, so they are an ideal souvenir of Japan.

Sweets

Local original sweets are also a favorite Japanese souvenir. Often they are neatly packaged individually, which make them handy to give to coworkers as well as to eat by yourself or with your family and friends.

Here are the top Tokyo souvenir sweets you can buy inside Tokyo Station and at Narita and Haneda airports. Note: I'm not a sweet eater so most of them I've never eaten. Sorry, I can't give you a good review.

銘菓ひよこ Meika Hiyoko

Hiyoko means chicks, the "Meika (famous sweet) Hiyoko" or simply "Hiyoko" is a long time Tokyo souvenir sweet.
A similar item is raccoons, ぽんぽこたぬき Ponpoko Tanuki is more known by me. Both are sold in Narita and Haneda airports. They are sweet bean based, so they may not be too popular for Western tastes, but Japanese love these. You'll find quite a variety of similar sweets which are made with sweet beans and shaped like animals or flowers; they can be purchased all over Japan. This actually originated in Fukuoka in Kyushu, but is known as a Tokyo sweet since the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 when the company started selling them in Tokyo.

ショコラヴィヨン Chocolat Vion

Actually I don't know how to spell this item. These are chocolate covered cookies from Shiseido Parlor. Shiseido is a known cosmetic producer but they originally was a drugstore. In the drugstore there would be a soda fountain, named Shiseido Parlor. So the descendent of this business still remains. You can find a luxurious cafe in the headquarters building as well as in a few branches. The shop part of the business sell them. The original location is in Ginza.

舟和いも羊羹 Funawa Imo Yokan

This is a Japanese version of a sweet potato delicacy. It's made of sweet potato, a long time souvenir sweet of Asakusa. Yokan is a molded square shaped bar, usually made of sweet beans but this is made of sweet potatoes. This is not sold in Narita.

東京ばな奈 Tokyo Banana

It seems to be the best known Tokyo souvenir sweet; everyone knows about it but I wasn't familiar with this treat for a long time, so I think this may be more of a recent favorite. The official website celebrates their 20th anniversary. It's a butter cake with a banana flavored cream filling. I've never tried this so I have no idea what it tastes like. But I would guess that most Westerners will like it. The manufacturer's headquarters is in the Suginami Ward of Tokyo.

東京スマイルマカロン Tokyo Smile Macarons

Macarons are pretty popular sweets in Japan in recent years. I have no idea what these taste like. If you're curious see the linked wikipedia explanation to figure out what it is. I just liked the smilie guy with the colorful pieces -- they are sold in Haneda Airport. It seems they do not have a shop in Narita and I'm not sure the shop in Tokyo Station sells the ones with smiles and hearts. The main shop is in Ginza. They have many shops all over in Japan. Pictured are the Tokyo Smile Macarons.

Here's another heart shaped Macarons from サマンサタバサ Samantha Thavasa. This is a high fashion apparel brand that mainly sells bags and jewelry. They have a shop in Haneda and sell sweets and serve cafe items inside the shop. I believe it is a Japanese business but this website shows a lot of advertising photos with the Western models. It looks odd but it is pretty common to see the Western models in Japanese publications and TV commercials, although they have no relation to the foreigners nor any foreign language information availability.

All of the above items are from Tokyo. Please send us a request and we can furnish information on souvenirs from a particular locale in Japan that you're interested in.