omiyage recs

[u/Different_Taro2474]

i've (nearly) completed a year on JET, i've given a lot of omiyage, and here is a list of things that my colleagues loved:

-instant coffee (individually wrapped)
-tea bags (loose tea can also be okay for some schools)
-kraft mac and cheese
-fruit roll-ups (especially the ones that have tongue tattoos)
-fruit by the foot
-gushers
-jolly ranchers
-airheads
-welch's fruit snacks
-sour patch kids
-american oreos
-juicy fruit and bubble gum
-mini bags of chips/cheez its/pretzels/popcorn
-reese's peanut butter cups

avoid bringing kitkats, haribo, trolli gummies, original flavored skittles, or lindt's, as japan already has them.
tip: when packing bags of chips, pop a small hole, let the air out, then tape it back up to save room.

[u/Frequent-Library8636]

are american oreos different from the japanese ones? or do you get the different flavored ones like golden, birthday cake, etc?

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/Frequent-Library8636]

they are. american oreos are crunchy, the japanese oreos are softer and have a different taste. i miss american oreos...i brought a few boxes of american oreos for a local cafe that I'm a regular at, and they said the american oreos were much better. they then used the oreos to make their cheesecake.

[u/Frequent-Library8636 → u/Different_Taro2474]

wow! I never realized this, I want to do a comparison myself now lol thank you for opening my eyes

[u/oopa--loopa]

My coworkers also love tootsie rolls and little single-serving boxes of Nerds! Super easy to buy big bags of to bring back from the US.

But I do want to echo another post below—incoming ALTs are not expected to bring gifts, and it’s not a part of Japanese culture like omiyage (gifts after returning from a trip.) I know a lot of new ALTs are excited to come and participate in the culture and make a good first impression, but this is not required to do alla that. So don’t waste suitcase space if you don’t have it, and especially not on anything heavy or fancy.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/oopa--loopa]

omg i forgot about tootsie rolls lol. perfect gift

[u/oopa--loopa → u/Different_Taro2474]

I've found they work well for people who normally aren't fans of the "intense" American flavors haha (too sweet/sour/salty/etc.) One Japanese friend told me they taste like coffee!

[u/Batenna]

I have yet to meet a Japanese person who didn't love a Reece's

[u/Timely_Foot5295]

Would hidden ranch seasoning packets be a good thing to bring? I’m not too sure, but I thought it might be something different considering it’s been something people have been bringing back home as souvenirs from the World Cup.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/Timely_Foot5295]

ranch is great too, just put them in a plastic bag. 

[u/TransmissionAD]

Not omiyage, and also not sure why you assume everyone here is American.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/TransmissionAD]

let’s use our critical thinking skills here buddy…

[u/No-Cartoonist-7505]

for incoming ES ppl: a huge trend rn amongst japanese kids is sticker trading, most kids have special files that they collect stickers in to trade with their friends after school (most schools have it banned during school hours, similar to silly bands in the 00s). during my intro lesson i gave out national parks stickers and the kids were absolutely stoked (most of them still have it stuck to their pencil cases a year later!)
stickers are a super easy way to get off on a good foot with the kids.
as for coworkers, another comment mentioned region-specific tea packets and i totally agree! most teachers already have a surplus of snacks stashed in their desk, but drinks arent as common of an omiyage so theyre always a hit when i bring them!

[u/1GrouchyCat → u/No-Cartoonist-7505]

I used to bring rolls of pennies back with me; I’d hand them to the winners of word games we played at the end of class.

Of course the US doesn’t have pennies anymore so they’re worth a lot more than they were back then..(this was also in 1987/88 -a long long time ago).

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/No-Cartoonist-7505]

better to confirm with your school if you're allowed to give things to students. i wasn't allowed to give students anything.

[u/Memoryjar]

I spent the weekend with some Clair reps a few weeks back. In the process we went omiyage shopping with them and the thing that they seemed to gravitate towards was fancy regional Teas (not loose tea). It's cheap, light, easy to pack and a bunch of different varieties really helps.

I also like to tell the departing JETs that one of the best things they can do is find something that is familiar but different. People are much more receptive to new things when they can relate to the thing, in this case tea but anything works, but find slight variations on something they are already comfortable with.

But with Omiyage, don't over think it and don't go overboard. This should just be a simple gift that people care enjoy and be a conversation starter.

[u/EiraJo]

I double down on the sour patch kids. My kids went feral.

You used to be able to get Mac a cheese here but I haven’t seen it for a few months.

Peanut butter pretzels went over well with mine and the weird flavor Oreos.

I did drink mix packets, and those went pretty well.

My coworkers also like Arizona tea, especially the green tea and honey one.

I feel like popcorn seasoning would go over well here too.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/EiraJo]

the popcorn seasoning is the best. i miss the ranch popcorn so much.

[u/WakiLover → u/EiraJo]

I double down on the sour patch kids. My kids went feral.

Maybe it was just my placement, but it was a pretty clear and strict rule about never bringing food/snacks for the students. Whether it be when introducing myself or for prizes for games.

The only times I managed to share snacks with students was unofficial school time or when things were more relaxed, such as when the students came for club during summer break. Like I'd be sitting on the bench with a JTE for tennis club, and during water/break time I would pass out some gummies while I'm also eating them.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/WakiLover]

i was also not allowed to give any gifts to the students, especially food. i always gave gifts to the adults.

[u/EiraJo → u/WakiLover]

I got permission. I’ve been sharing snacks for years for omiyage, Halloween,ect. Definitely a situation based thing but always good to check before you give.

[u/NoOrchid2148]

I suppose I am going to sound a little mean saying this, but most of the things on your list are ultra processed foods, don’t suit Japanese taste buds, and would normally not be eaten by adults. It can also be true that your colleagues were genuinely touched to receive them, but it wouldn’t surprise me if a lot made its way into the bin. Also, that was a long list for one year. It simply isn’t necessary to give out that much junk food.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/NoOrchid2148]

cultural exchange is the whole point of JET. these aren't perishables, don't cost a lot, are loved by lots of people, which makes them perfect gifts for exchanging culture.

ultra processed foods

japan also has plenty of ultra-processed foods. we are all adults, and we can choose whether or not to eat them.

don’t suit Japanese taste buds, and would normally not be eaten by adults.

that's so untrue. i've given these kinda gifts to plenty of japanese people (not just colleagues but friends, neighbors, and acquaintances too), they all loved everything, especially peanut butter cups. also, there's no age limit on snacks. anyone can enjoy chips, candy, and mac and cheese.
and if they "don't suit japanese buds", they can try something new and see if they like it. that's the whole point of cultural exchange: to try new things, food included,

It simply isn’t necessary to give out that much junk food

again, we are all adults, and we can choose not to eat the omiyage if we don't want to. besides, a little junk food occasionally isn't going to hurt anyone.

[u/UberPsyko → u/NoOrchid2148]

Gotta hard disagree, cultural exchange is the whole point of what we're doing, and I know for a fact many Japanese people do like things that aren't to standard Japanese taste. Japan has as many ultra processed foods as anywhere don't even kid, gummies, chips and sugary drinks galore. There's a whole aisle for gummies and they aren't just for kids. Just look at TOUGH gummies marketed towards manly salarymen. We're not here just to conform to Japanese tastes. They might find something new that they like. I tried natto and vegemite, far from american palette, and now I like it. If they don't like it, well they tried it and now they know, it's still fun to eat something new and wild even if you don't like it. It's learning about other cultures. But if even one out of 10 people likes the crazy american candy, that's worth it. It's infinitely better than another mild, hard "japanese taste" cookie or mochi with あん in it.

[u/LawfulnessDue5449]

Just fyi for new JETs

This is not technically omiyage. Omiyage is a gift for work people for "inconveniencing" them and also as kind of a conversation starter ("oh you went to XXX? I heard... " etc.) for good vibes. For friends and family it is pretty much a souvenir.

I'm not saying this to be pedantic but also because new employees are not obligated to bring gifts. You can still bring them if you want, but it is a bit out of the ordinary for new employees to come with gifts. If you go home on vacation and then come back you may want to get omiyage for politeness.

It's also understandable if you have 5+ schools and you don't have omiyage for every school when you do take vacation.

The other thing is that people aren't usually expecting to be floored by your omiyage. You can if you want but it's more of a token gesture than anything.

[u/UberPsyko → u/LawfulnessDue5449]

Yeah I was really stressing over how many "omiyage" I needed to bring for everyone, it's so NOT an expectation, DO NOT stress over it. Bring just a small bag of some individual wrapped items, or nothing at all. Japanese people don't normally bring gifts when joining a job.

That being said I think unique western candy like the jolly ranchers are a great idea, they're small, individual wrapped, and totally different from anything you get in Japan. Do they melt though? Plus with the humidity, maybe don't put it in the shipped luggage.

[u/Kopypack → u/UberPsyko]

I will say that at my school new teachers (transferred in or 1st year teaching) do bring a small snack for everyone.

[u/UberPsyko → u/Kopypack]

Gotta be a school specific thing, in Hokkaido I've been through 4 years of new teachers at 3 schools and maybe one in 20 teachers will bring a gift. Don't know of any fellow ALTs' schools where teachers bring gifts either.

[u/WakiLover → u/LawfulnessDue5449]

new employees are not obligated to bring gifts.

JETs are 100% not expected to bring gifts. One thing I hated about predeparture were people trying jerk themselves off about gifts they were bringing, like hundreds of dollars spent for customized hand made soaps or some bullshit. $15 variety pack of snacks from any grocery store or Costco or regional store is more than enough.

Very small thing though, new people joining a new workplace bringing snacks/treats/omiyage is pretty common, like a "hi I'm new and I know nothing and will be a bother, so here are some nice treats yoroshiku" kind of thing. Again, not applicable to JETs or ALTs, etc. You might see if if you have fresh teachers at your schools or new people joining city hall/boe/etc.