" Omiyage"

 In Japanese culture, "omiyage" holds a lot of importance. One is required as part of social etiquette to bring back gifts for one's friends, family and colleagues from a place that you visited on a personal or work related trip. One generally gets these beautifully wrapped gifts that specially represent the place you visited. For people at work it could be some sweets or other famous food items particularly from the place of visit which have been equisitely packed. In India too we follow thattcustom but more so with friends and family. But in Japan one has to maintain that formality and etiquette of gift giving at work place too. One can find omiyage shops easily at various places in Japan and even at shops in subway stations or airports for last minute gifts shopping. They are already so finely packed that one does not have to bother about gift wrapping.

As a Japan exchange teacher, I always carried back gifts from my country for my friends, neighbours and colleagues so as to make it known to them that I appreciated them and they were in my thoughts on my trip away from them. In fact even when joining work for the first time , I carried small gifts for my bosses and neighbours as part of introducing myself and my country to them. The gifts could be small but what matters is the thought behind it and the warm gesture. I would take Indian handicrafts items , accessories, Indian teas, silk scarves or sweets for people .  I would try to carry back small gifts for all my team teachers in Japan and all my colleagues later in Napa Valley in States though in States it is really not required to do so specially at work. Nevertheless I enjoy giving gifts ! But sometimes because of baggage restrictions on an international trip,  it is advisable to carry something big or collective that everybody could share instead of individual gifts. It could simply be a big box of local sweets or a box of famous tea or something that everyone could share at work. 

Gift giving or gift exchanging is an integral part of Japanese culture. And it is equally important as to how you present those gifts and how you receive them with appreciation. There are a lot of etiquettes involved and I just love that !

On another note it is also important to say that not everyone can acquire the art of gift giving and gift receiving in the most thoughtful way as it is not that simple as one thinks in certain cultures. Many things have to be carefully considered and wisely selected even when buying gifts specially in dealing with certain nationalities particularly in the Diplomatic community. It requires great cultural sensitivity too. For example in certain cultures some numbers and colours are considered inauspicious on certain occassions. So one has to keep all that in mind when picking up gifts or the way you give it. We shall get into that later at another time ! For now just enjoy the pleasure of gift giving and gift receiving ! It is the thoughts behind it that counts after all !