Wh-Huh?

Today I brought in omiyage for the teachers at one of my elementary schools and met with an unexpected reaction. Omiyage are gifts, given to people when you've gone somewhere cool and come back home. Omiyage reflect or embody the place you've gone: either a local specialty product that's made or grown in the place you've been to, a postcard from a famous place, or some regional paraphanalia. Most often omiyage take the form of a small confectionary, perhaps molded to resemble some notable personage (often humourously) or else printed with the name of the place, usually containing a special local ingredient or made in some traditional fashion. Think of it as if they made tiny New York cheesecakes in the shape of IHeartNY t-shirts (actually, that's a good idea...beats Manhattan clam chowder anyway).

Usually you'll get omiyage at the office; it's a work culture here (excepting women of child-rearing age), and the idea is a staple--everyone work so diligently here that whenever anybody gets to go away for a weekend, it's a big enough occaision that they bring back omiyage for all the other people in the office. It's pretty cool actually, though it gets pricey. But imagine that in your office, every week or two weeks you'd get a little snack on your desk from someone who'd gone away somewhere, and then you get to ask them about their trip and everything. "Oh, you brought me a buckeye! You must have gone to Ohio! You know, my son went to school in Ohio. Now he's in Japan, but apparently 'ohaiyo' means good morning over there, so he's never really gotten out."

I've been doing some traveling wth Sayo-chan recently (in October we went to climb Ishizuchi-san, guardian mountain god of Western Japan, then later to Kochi city for a friend of her's wedding, and this past weekend to Kyushu together for a getaway...Flickr pictures to come soon), and I've been trying to do a good job of bringing back omiyage for my schools and dojos and places. Everyone is really surprised and really touched, and everyone likes asking me about where I've gone. I think no one expects to get omiyage from foreigners, or at least not from me (which is fair, it's not like I've been doing this regularly for the 15months). Today's school got a set of reeeeeally good wagashi (old-fashioned Japanese sweet cakes) from Kyuushu, and when I was passing them out the vice-principal says, "Wow! You didn't have to do this!" 'I know, but I thought it would be nice,' I tell him. "Josh, your life is so difficult! Don't you go worrying about buying us gifts! You funny boy! You go on vacation and you just go have fun, you!" Yay Japan.