Packing Omiyage: What to Buy?

When you go to a new place, it is polite to bring omiyage, or gifts, with you to give to people that you meet or will be working with in the future. Going to Japan through the JET Program means that you will be meeting  A LOT of people and it is polite and respectful to give something to them, especially if they are important or superior to you (think the principal at a school or your supervisor). Because of the wide breadth of people that I will be meeting, my mom and I have been gathering various omiyage over the summer. Here are a few that will be going into my suitcase:

Sticky Notes 

Sticky notes are a teacher's best friend and because they come in so many different shapes, sizes and colors, they are very handy gifts. I bought these cute Hawaii-themed sticky notes from Don Quijote and thought that they would be useful omiyage for the English teacher at my junior high school. 

Little Trinkets with a theme

I've been told that keychains and other small trinkets make wonderful omiyage and bought a couple to give away. The cute ribber slippers are actually erasers! I've never seen them before, but thought they were absolutely adorable and had to buy some :) The Hawaii-themed keychains were pretty cheap, so I might go out and buy some more. These were bought from Don Quijote as well :)

Coffee  

At the JET Q&A Session, a former JET told us that coffee is one of the best gifts to bring when we go to Japan because the teachers at the school(s) can share it in the staff room. Many tourists often buy Kona coffee when they visit Hawaii so bringing a couple bags of the fragrant coffee for teachers is usually greatly appreciated. 

Macadamia Nuts 

The ever popular mac nuts definitely make it on my list of omiyage to bring! They come in a variety of flavors, making them a delicious snack to much on during the day :) You can buy these from a wide variety of stores-- I think my mom bought these from Longs when they were on sale. 

Other omiyage that people have told me are useful to bring are pancake mixes, pencils and stickers (especially for students), and local candy. Do you have any that you will be bringing that haven't been mentioned? :)

Getting Ready: A Couple of Books to Read

JET Handbook and Japanese for JETS

I recently received both the JET Handbook and the Japanese for JETS in the mail and opened it as soon as I could. The JET Handbook has nearly everything you need to know before going to Japan: pre-departure, appointments, insurance, taxes, work, living in Japan, safety in Japan, support systems and even a section on leaving JET. I would pay special attention to the designated insurance and tax sections because the book covers so much and answered many of the questions that I previously had. The entire book is written in both Japanese and English-- Japanese on the left side and English on the right side. Because there is so much information that is given throughout the book, I jotted down notes that I felt would be very useful so that I wouldn't have to flip through the book to find the information again. 

The Japanese for JETS book is another very handy resource to have on hand, especially if you have not taken Japanese before. Included is a poster which has not only the hiragana and katakana chart, but also basic greetings and phrases that you will often find yourself using in Japan. There is also a numeral chart that will help you remember how to count in Japanese. The book itself is very user friendly in that it is written completely in romanji to make it easier to pronounce words and phrases. However, there is also hiragana and katakana to make the transition of reading romanji to Japanese characters easier. The vocabulary that is introduced is written in romanji, then hiragana and finally an English translation/meaning is given. Below are some examples from the book:

mada heta desu           まだへたです         still poor at

sono tonari                  そのとなり             next to that 

The book also includes two CDs that enable the user to practice listening to and speaking in Japanese by using the dialogue provided. I suggest using the CDs, even if you have already taken Japanese classes because it exposes you to a good amount of Japanese speaking. Happy reading and listening! (: