A hard decision to take: Gifts in Japan?

[Sofaparasite]

Hi I am new in here

In the near future, I will hopefully go to Japan, yeahh.....

I am willing to take part in an exchange program andsince then I've been wondering which housewarming gifts I should bring along ^^

I live in the very middle of Europe and could provide my guest family with all the things they dream of... but what would japanese expect or want?

I am looking forward to receiving your help

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Sofaparasite

Hi I am new in here

In the near future, I will hopefully go to Japan, yeahh.....

I am willing to take part in an exchange program andsince then I've been wondering which housewarming gifts I should bring along ^^

I live in the very middle of Europe and could provide my guest family with all the things they dream of... but what would japanese expect or want?

I am looking forward to receiving your help

It depends a bit on the family you will be staying with. How many children are in the family? How old are they? Does the father or mother like to drink alcohol? Etc.

[Somisorange]

Maybe something to represent your home country? I brought silk scraf and wooden craft fromThailand, my home country, to my host family in Japan and they love it

[metalmark666]

Because I was travelling for a long time and had limited space, we took small gifts. I had a small pin badge with the Union Jack on it, and my brother had a carabineer with a Union Jack on it too. We both had a bundle of these and gave them to various people that we met and to our hosts. Whoever received them was really happy and when we went back to visit a few, they were wearing my badge and using my brothers clip.

[Sofaparasite]

well I come from a rather small country (not to say tiny one )

we don't really have one specific cultural background...
would it be okay to bring some really tasty wine, I don't want to give my host family the impression that we (in my country) are some kind of alcoholics, and that's the only thing we think about

would it then be ok to bring food with me or are they picky eaters?

[Polar]

Originally Posted by Sofaparasite

well I come from a rather small country (not to say tiny one )

we don't really have one specific cultural background...
would it be okay to bring some really tasty wine, I don't want to give my host family the impression that we (in my country) are some kind of alcoholics, and that's the only thing we think about

would it then be ok to bring food with me or are they picky eaters?

Check with your local city hall or gov't rep they should have flag/city pins.

I did it once when I went down to Cuba one time, a bit of a hassle but it was free.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Sofaparasite

well I come from a rather small country (not to say tiny one )

we don't really have one specific cultural background...
would it be okay to bring some really tasty wine, I don't want to give my host family the impression that we (in my country) are some kind of alcoholics, and that's the only thing we think about

would it then be ok to bring food with me or are they picky eaters?

Wine would be a perfect gift.

[Sashimister]

Originally Posted by Sofaparasite

I live in the very middle of Europe and could provide my guest family with all the things they dream of.

If you really believe that, you probably know very little about Japan.

[Kageboushi]

Whatever OP says there must be something that's typical about her country. It sounds like you live in Switzerland so bring them coo-coo-clocks, knives and toblerone (you get the picture).
Alcohol is pretty good though, but you have to make sure that the receivers like to drink. It seems as though a proportionately higher amount of Japanese don't drink at all as compared to Europeans.
I also recommend bringing some postcards or similar of beautiful sights etc. in your home country. These are good tiny gifts for random people that you meet, where it's the thought that counts most of all.

Hope this helps.

[MMM]

Why don't we revisit this question once you actually have plans to go to Japan, know who your host family is, know how many members there are in the family, etc.?