lifeup
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 43
CIR Experience: 4th year
Location: Hiroshima
|
Post by lifeup on Apr 16, 2015 13:37:34 GMT 9
Every year we have guests from consulates and embassies come to my city’s main festival, and one part of it involves giving the guests a commemorative gift. I’m sure there are similar events in other cities, so I was wondering—what sort of gifts are given to foreign officials to represent your city/town/prefecture? What have you thought about them (are they actually things people have been happy to receive, or are they just kind of cheap/boring things)?
For a few examples, last year we gave little tote bags made with kasuri designs, and the year before we gave pairs of geta that my city produces. The bag was fine, though I thought the design was kind of plain (it kind of just looked like a Japanese-style bag you can get elsewhere, and the bag was a little too small to be super useful, I thought), and the geta were also a nice idea, but…well, most of the guests probably had feet too big to wear them, so they just become an item to display, not to use.
I get a say in what gift we give, but we’re limited to only products that my city produces (so even if they’re produced within the same prefecture but by a different city, it’s a no-go). We’re still choosing this year’s gift, so I thought I’d get some ideas from you guys on what does/doesn’t really work as a good gift.
|
|
|
|
Post by snell_mouse on Apr 16, 2015 13:43:04 GMT 9
We have an entire file cabinet full of various gifts...ranging from T-shirts and plastic tumblers to lacquer plates, fancy cut glass cups with the city on them, hina doll-type things, etc. etc. I haven't seen them all so I don't really know what all we have, even.
For example today for our visit from exchange students, we gave them a lacquer plate and they gave us a framed piece of artwork.
In general I think the gifts we give are mostly just for display, not for use (though we did give the kids t-shirts), and they're Japanese-y in some way.
|
|
Ｈ Ｅ Ｙ
it's time to stop posting
Posts: 1,906 
|
Post by Ｈ Ｅ Ｙ on Apr 16, 2015 13:46:31 GMT 9
pen if they are RYUGAKUSEI
postcard if they come in groups of 50
small plate if they are important (sister city people)
a bigger plate if they are more important (consul generals , ambassadors)
etc
|
|
|
|
Post by telly on Apr 16, 2015 14:03:01 GMT 9
Since it has to be something that is made in your city, and maybe by extension something your city is famous for(?), what stuff do you have in your city? What foods are something people buy? Any crafts? Pottery?
|
|
G-Rex
Dead Stargod 
killed SAKAMOTO LYOMA with crappa sushi
hi
Posts: 7,198
CIR Experience: Former CIR
|
Post by G-Rex on Apr 16, 2015 14:18:00 GMT 9
we do a bunch of Nishijin silk stuff, like neckties and handkerchiefs for men, stoles (those scarf things?) for women
清水焼 ceramics, including 抹茶碗s and small plates, often with seasonal stuff. pretty generic for anyone
we have 北山杉 pens, because the kitayama cedar is the official tree of kyoto prefecture
...
among other stuff. we have a whole lot, and we usually try and tailor it to who we're giving it to. for example, we have really nice fans too, but we don't give them to chinese people cos it's some kind of taboo or something idk, but western people like that kinda thing
chinese people like red things, so we have like a stock of red ties and stuff
tl;dr silk and ceramics
|
|
Ｈ Ｅ Ｙ
it's time to stop posting
Posts: 1,906
|
Post by Ｈ Ｅ Ｙ on Apr 16, 2015 14:22:55 GMT 9
OSARA with SAKURA on it because we know SAKURA is every cities flower.
|
|
|
|
Post by Shimanchu 2024 on Apr 16, 2015 14:25:31 GMT 9
We just have a bunch of boring, yet extremely well-designed pamphlets.
|
|
|
|
Post by telly on Apr 16, 2015 14:31:31 GMT 9
I agree with the idea to tailor it to whoever is coming. If they live in Japan, ceramics can be nice, as well as consumables like food or sweets. Clothing can be good for people for travel back to outside of Japan.
|
|
lifeup
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 43
CIR Experience: 4th year
Location: Hiroshima
|
Post by lifeup on Apr 17, 2015 11:21:01 GMT 9
Thank you for your answers! Since it has to be something that is made in your city, and maybe by extension something your city is famous for(?), what stuff do you have in your city? What foods are something people buy? Any crafts? Pottery? My city’s famous for roses (but not producing items made from them, so no rose oil or things like that), but unfortunately most of the things made here are things that can be found anywhere (in Japan or abroad), like mugs with rose designs, preserved roses, etc. And then the unique things we have (like koto) are too expensive to give as gifts (there are mini-koto we sometimes give as 表敬訪問 gifts, but this time there are a bunch of people at once and they all have to receive the same gift, so no budget for that). There are lots of foods that we could give, but in this case they want something that lasts, so it can’t be all food, unfortunately. We’re probably going to go with a small piece of tatami that can be used as decoration, but since it’s kind of plain we’re going to look for a small preserved rose display that can go on top of it. And if there’s extra money left over, a small bottle of the sake produced here. Hopefully that’ll make a good gift… for example, we have really nice fans too, but we don't give them to chinese people cos it's some kind of taboo or something idk, but western people like that kinda thing Oh, that’s a good point. Are there any other taboos like this? We’re having Thai and Korean guests…any gifts that are taboo for them? (Quick google says no handkerchiefs for Thai guests…that was one thing we were thinking of for the guests/spouses that the important people are bringing, so I guess that’s out…) |
|
G-Rex
Dead Stargod
killed SAKAMOTO LYOMA with crappa sushi
hi
Posts: 7,198
CIR Experience: Former CIR
|
Post by G-Rex on Apr 17, 2015 11:35:38 GMT 9
for example, we have really nice fans too, but we don't give them to chinese people cos it's some kind of taboo or something idk, but western people like that kinda thing Oh, that’s a good point. Are there any other taboos like this? We’re having Thai and Korean guests…any gifts that are taboo for them? (Quick google says no handkerchiefs for Thai guests…that was one thing we were thinking of for the guests/spouses that the important people are bringing, so I guess that’s out…) sometimes it's worth a google on like "[country] gift taboos" or something along those lines ("etiquette" "do's and don't's" etc) usually there's nothing really bad, but the main ones are like, clocks/fans to china/taiwan (not sure about other asian countries?), while i think for the whole of asia reds and yellows being good colours for wrapping paper, while blacks and whites aren't so good, (un)lucky numbers (4 unlucky, 7 lucky) etc i feel like there are more taboos associated with asian cultures than there are with western ones (or maybe it's my ignorance, who knows) so it's always worth a google if you're thinking of ideas or unsure. you can usually find a bunch of sites with etiquette rules, although i'm not sure of the sources |
|
|
|
Post by telly on Apr 17, 2015 11:45:10 GMT 9
Roses, huh? Is there some place that sells stuff made out or with roses? Like a flower arrangement?
|
|
|
|
Post by むちゃRABU❤ on Apr 17, 2015 13:16:52 GMT 9
this is a good thread. i should have made something like this when i was actually ordering gifts last month.
i ordered FANS. i cant give them to chinese people? oh crap ):
edit: quick google shows.
you can give them fans.
|
|
lifeup
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 43
CIR Experience: 4th year
Location: Hiroshima
|
Post by lifeup on Apr 17, 2015 17:15:50 GMT 9
Roses, huh? Is there some place that sells stuff made out or with roses? Like a flower arrangement? Preserved flowers are just usually what we go with (that way they last longer than just a bouquet of roses), it’s just…you can get then anywhere, including abroad, so they kind of lack that “Japanese-ness” guests from other countries would probably expect. They’re probably what we’re giving this year as a gift anyway, though. I was hoping to get a nice vase (that way it’s related to the roses, but could still be something Japanese-y), but when my coworker and I went searching for gifts today we couldn’t find anything that would work…the nicest thing I found was a bizen-yaki vase, but since that’s something Okayama’s famous for we can’t give it as a gift from our city.  Fans would be nice, too, but not unique enough to my city to give as gifts. Is no one else’s city this picky about things? Even when we had pens and vinyl tote bags made for our sister city, the design had to be printed at a location within the city even though it would’ve been much cheaper to just order them online. |
|
|
|
Post by hinats on Jun 30, 2015 13:21:34 GMT 9
This is slightly different than the original topic of this thread, but I thought it was related enough to post in the same location instead of making a whole new thread for it.
The ambassador from America is currently touring our prefecture (it was a secret until she got here but now we can talk about it) and the 地域ブランド対策室長 at my city hall wants to send her some of our famous products in an effort to promote our city. We have a sister city in America with a long history and many ties to the country.
He asked me to look into the policies regarding sending gifts or packages to the American Embassy, Consulate, Ambassador etc.
I am currently poking around the US Embassy website but I'm not really sure where to start looking for policies regarding mailing packages to the Embassy or Ambassador? Has anyone ever done something like this before?
|
|
|
|
Post by telly on Jun 30, 2015 13:39:21 GMT 9
This is slightly different than the original topic of this thread, but I thought it was related enough to post in the same location instead of making a whole new thread for it. The ambassador from America is currently touring our prefecture (it was a secret until she got here but now we can talk about it) and the 地域ブランド対策室長 at my city hall wants to send her some of our famous products in an effort to promote our city. We have a sister city in America with a long history and many ties to the country. He asked me to look into the policies regarding sending gifts or packages to the American Embassy, Consulate, Ambassador etc. I am currently poking around the US Embassy website but I'm not really sure where to start looking for policies regarding mailing packages to the Embassy or Ambassador? Has anyone ever done something like this before? Just give them a call or mail them, I'd say. Also, I always have to smile when I see this thread, because "Gift" means "poison" in German... |
|
|
|
Post by miscreative on Feb 23, 2016 10:32:49 GMT 9
adding my experience to this thread.
i am never a part of the planning process but here is a list of some of the stuff we gift. the common theme is stuff made in the area/city/prefecture even if it is something that can be found elsewhere. simply the fact it was made locally (usually by artisans) gives is a quality that a mass produced item doesn't
-cloth products (eg. small bags for like chopsticks) made from local, handmade, wind/water resistant cloth
-sake (I am in Niigata...)
-handmade chopsticks
-日本酒 (did i mention i live in Niigata? seriously. this is our go to)
-rice, rice products
-coffee (grown in a different region but taken thru a special process here? idk how to explain it... but apparently it is 名産物)
-locally grown tea (we are the furthest north tea can be grown which apparently makes our tea special? like, a lighter, less harsh flavor? it's good tho)
-postcards, etc with designs/images of things from our area
|
|
moso
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 40
CIR Experience: Former CIR
|
Post by moso on Feb 23, 2016 10:48:54 GMT 9
We usually give like iwami kagura masks which I guess is a little fancy but we don't get that many visitors so.. either that or like products made from this type of handmade paper we have here (sekishu washi)
|
|
|
|
Post by CaptainSeery on Feb 23, 2016 15:59:49 GMT 9
For our sister city delegation, we're planning on giving each person a 環境マイスターセット which contains local organic tea, soap, postcards made of handmade paper, an エコバッグ and a glass made from a recycled bottle. All are locally made and represent how our city is trying to be environmentally hulemdoly now.
We're also hoping to get sensos made with the name of the city, etc. written on it. We want to get the homemade paper guy to make them, if he can. If not maybe uchiwa? They seem easier to make but I feel like I would be happier with a senso.
|
|
