Gift Ideas for Japan Lovers: What Do You Get For Someone Who Loves Japan?
I’m aware this is a pretty niche post, but as our love of Japan and all things Japanese is well documented, I thought I would publicly answer a question that a reader asked me last week: what do you get for someone who loves Japan?
We fairly consistently visit Japan each spring, which means that every Christmas the gifts that we give to each other, and to the boys, are related to Japan. Often this includes experiences to enjoy while were in Japan, practical or useful gear to use on our trip (you can read my full Christmas gift guide for travellers, which is packed full of ideas) or Japanese trinkets and food stuffs that remind us of our favourite place in the world.
If you’re shopping for someone who’s obsessed with Japan – whether they’ve already visited or dream of going one day – then you’re in the right place.
Here’s our complete Christmas gift guide for Japan lovers. This post is packed full of gift ideas for Japan lovers, gifts that will bring a little bit of Japan into their home….or make their next trip to Japan even more magical!
- Experience Gifts For Japan Lovers
- Foodie Gifts For Japan Lovers
- Thoughtful Japanese Gifts
- Gifts For Kids Who Love Japan
- Why Experience Gifts Mean More
- Wrapping Up: The Perfect Gift For A Japan Lover
- Further Reading
Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!
Experience Gifts For Japan Lovers
Experience gifts are our favourite types of gifts – because memories last so much longer than things!
If your friend or family member is planning a trip to Japan then experience gifts are a brilliant idea. You can easily gift them via Klook, which has an incredible range of Japan tours and attraction tickets.
BUT it’s worth noting that many tickets in Japan can’t be booked months in advance (things like Disneyland Tokyo can only be booked 60 days before you arrive, for example). So i’ve rounded up a list of experience we love that you can book up to a year in advance, making them perfect for festive gifting. We’ve tried (and even gifted!) many of these ourselves, so they all come highly recommended.
1. Samurai and Ninja Museum Experience. Is there anything better to do in Japan than dress up like a Samurai? This would make a great gift for kids in particular. We loved every minute of this experience, and we all learnt something new too. You can book tickets up to 6 months in advance, but book now to avoid disappointment.
2. Sanrio Puroland. My love of all things Sanrio is well documented. But if you’re visiting Tokyo with a Sanrio or Hello Kitty lover (adult or child) they will LOVE this beautiful theme park with a twist. You can book these tickets 6 months in advance, book now to get the best prices.
3. Mount Fuji Tour. You can’t visit Japan without visiting Mount Fuji: it’s the spiritual heart. Mount Fuji tours can be booked up to a year in advance (we’ve booked ours for April already!) and they’re an amazing gift. Check availability and book yours here.
4. Akasusa Sumo Dinner Show. This is a little pricey, but I HAVE to share this with you guys, because this is actually what i’m buying Mike for Christmas this year! He’s always wanted to do it, so I decided this was the trip to make the dream a reality. Check availability and book tickets here.
5. Universal Studios Japan. Universal Studios Japan tickets was the first experience gift we ever gave to our kids: because why play Mario Karts on the computer when you can play it in real life? Tickets can only be bought 3 months in advance, so we gave the kids place holder tickets, then ordered them when we could. Check availability and book tickets here.
6. Akihabara Anime and Gaming Adventure. Love all things anime and gaming? Nerdy and proud? Then this is the tour for you! My kids (also in the nerdy and proud category!) love Akihabara. This half day walking tour shows you everything you need to know about this fascinating part of the city – and you can book a full year in advance. Check availability and book tickets now.
🎁 If you book these or ANY experiences via Klook then use code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get an additional 5% off all ticket prices.
💡 Pro Tip: If you want to have a physical gift to give then you could design and print your own tickets! Alternatively find a small keepsake that matches the theme of your gift (for example a Hello Kitty plushie for Sanrio Puroland tickets) to gift alongside the experience.
Foodie Gifts For Japan Lovers
You can never have too many Japanese snacks in your life – food gifts aren’t just a great choice for foodies, they also work well for travellers, or minimalists, who don’t want a lot of unneccessary stuff in their lives.
I love Japanese food: and the rituals that go with it. In fact, I think eating Japanese food is one of the things I look forward to most as soon as we land in the country. These are my favourite foodie Japanese gifts:
1. Japanese snack box. Mike and the kids all have sweet tooths, so these boxes filled with kitkats, poki sticks and other treats are always a huge treat . This 30 piece set is £26.99 and you can order it here.
2. Traditional hand painted sake set. Even if you don’t love sake, these sets are so aesthetically pleasing that they’d look amazing in your kitchen! Prices for these vary wildly but I found this beautiful one for £13.99 here.
3. JapanEasy classic and modern Japanese cook book. This is a great book, with recipes so easy to follow that even I can do it! Buy the book for £16.76 here.
4. Rice cooker – Ok so this is a bit of a practical gift, but once you’ve eaten perfectly cooked Japanese rice, there really is no going back! Buy this model at an affordable £28.49 here.
5. Matcha set – To me, the taste of matcha is the taste of Japan. And this beautifully presented matcha set has everything you need to make the perfect tea. Currently on offer for £23.77, you can buy this here.
6. Sushi making set – The boys actually got their dad this exact set for Christmas last year and it was such a good gift for all of us, because it means we can have sushi whenever we want it! It was also a steal at just £19.99 from here.
💡 Pro Tip: If you’re looking to buy a bigger gift then you could bundle all/some of these items together to create a “Japan at Home” hamper – I did this for Mike last Christmas (with some smaller bits like new chopsticks and canned drinks from the Asian supermarket) and he absolutely loved it!
Thoughtful Japanese Gifts
These are the perfect gifts if you’re looking for something beautiful and meaningful – there’s no real theme to these gifts, but they all celebrate Japan’s craftsmanship, traditions or aesthetics that we just love.
I am often told how difficult I am to buy gifts for: I really am an experiences over stuff person! But if you want to give someone who loves Japan something special that would remind them of their favourite place then these would be some of my suggestions:
1. Furoshiki wrapping cloths. Eco friendly and so pretty, I fell in love with these on my first trip to Japan. You can use these as gift wrap too, so you could either gift them, or use them to wrap your gifts. You can order these here.
2. Japanese hanging lanterns. I saw these and fell in love – I would love to have them in my dining room. And at £10.99 for the pair, they’re a great budget gift too. You can order these here.
3. Japan With Kids: The No-Fuss Family Guide For First Time Travellers. I LOVE travel books and travel guides, and I think they make great gifts. So how could I not use this opportunity to promote my own? It’s a great book and written by yours truly! Order yours here.
4. Japanese Caligraphy Set. I learnt to do caligraphy when I was living in Beijing in my early 20s and its such a fun and relaxing hobby: it would be a wonderful gift for someone with an interest in Japan, looking to try something new. This is a budget set priced at just £12.99 making it perfect for beginners. Buy yours here.
5. Brightening Japanese Face masks. The first thing I stock up on when we land in Tokyo are my Japanese and Korean skincare products. Give someone the gift of great skin for just £8.99 – available here.
6. Kokeshi Dolls. These dolls aren’t just for kids! I have one of my own that sits on our mantelpiece, and whenever I look at it, I’m reminded of the place I love the most in the world. This one is a little more expensive than others available, but worth every penny as it was hand crafted in Japan. Buy yours here.
💡 Pro Tip: If you want something more personal, frame a photo from your Japan trip. Mike did this for me with a personalised frame and a photo of our visit to Sanrio Puroland in Tokyo! Include a handwritten note about why Japan means so much to you – this will make the gift even more special.
Gifts For Kids Who Love Japan
I almost forgot to include this section – but noone in the world loves Japan more than my kids! So what do you get for kids who love Japan? It’s almost too broad a topic to put into one post – but here is a selection of the gifts my little Japan-enthusiasts have on their Christmas wish lists.
(I’ve stuck with stocking filler prices, because Christmas is expensive enough, and because that’s what I’ll be gifting my own boys this year)
1. Sushi Go! Card Game. A Fun card game kids and adults will enjoy. This has clear appeal to Japan enthusiasts AND is a great travel game for playing on the go. Priced at £12.99 you can buy this here.
2. Japanese Pokemon Cards. Honestly, the number one thing on my boys wish list this year! If your kids are interested in Pokemon and/or Japan, this is a perfect stocking filler. You can buy these here for £13.99 for 3 packs.
3. Origami kit for kids. The ancient Japanese art of paper folding, origami is such a fun thing to do – and much harder than it looks! These kits break it down and make it easy for kids to learn. £11.99, buy here.
4. Training chopsticks. My boys both learnt to use chopsticks with these, and they come in a great range of fun designs/animals so they loved the novelty of them! A great budget stocking filler at £5.29 for 3 pairs. Order yours here.
5. Wooden sushi play set. For the youngest family members! Our kids loved wooden food and their play kitchen when they were younger. They would have really loved this addition to it! £9.99. Order yours here.
6. Lonely Planet for kids: Tokyo City Trails. This is the exact book my oldest got in his Christmas stocking before our first trip to Japan and he’s read it again and again. £8.27. Order yours here.
Why Experience Gifts Mean More
I know not everyone will have the opportunity to visit Japan (it’s A LOT of money, and just not in the realms of possibility for so many families) I wil say that if you are going to Japan next year, consider an experience gift this Christmas. There are over 10,000 to choose from and you can check them all out here!
After visiting Japan as a family, and especially as i’ve got older, I’ve realised its the experiences you have that stick with you, and my interest in physical gifts has really waned. Seeing the cherry blossoms in Kyoto, watching the boys faces light up as they saw the neon electric town of Akihabara for the first time, eating shoulder to shoulder with the locals. These are the things we’ll remember for the rest of our lives – more than any action figure or lego set.
That’s why I always recommend experience gifts over things to anyone who feels the same way. They’re just as exciting to recieve, and they’ll never end up forgotten in a drawer!
Wrapping Up: The Perfect Gift For A Japan Lover
Whether you choose to go out to a sumo show or make sushi at home, tickets to the kawaii wonderland of Sanrio Puroland or a kokeshi doll to remind you of your happy place, I hope you find the perfect gift for the Japan lover in your life. This selection of gifts should inspire and showcase everything that I think makes Japan so magical – it’s creativity, kindness, and attention to detail.
From my family of Japan lovers to yours – Happy gifting and happy travels!
Further Reading
Still looking for the perfect gift for that special person in your life? Whether they love Japan or they just love to travel, and whether you’re looking for gifts for kids, adults, and everyone in between, i’ve got the perfectly curated gift guide for you:
🧳 The Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide for Travellers in 2025
🎁 Christmas Gift Guide: Christmas Gifts For Travelling Kids
Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Do you like to get things wrapped up early, or do you leave things to the last minute? I’d love to hear all about your present plans and your Christmas traditions in the comments below!
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Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!
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