Omiyage

The Japanese have an important custom of giving omiyage (souvenirs) to friends and colleagues after taking a trip. There are whole stores devoted to these small gifts and almost all train stations and airports carry sections of it for last minute shopping. The small treats (usually regional candies, cookies or cakes) are individually wrapped and come a variety of package sizes, but usually about 10 or 12 to a box. They are usually reasonably priced so it is easy to pick up a few boxes of cookies when coming back from a trip. I find the practice of giving omiyage quite nice. I picked up a few boxes of cookies in the Sapporo airport to give to the teachers in my area of the staffroom and then I put the rest on the coffee table in the middle of the office. Teachers thanked me and people who were eating them seemed quite pleased. I was happy- I got pleasure out of giving. They were happy- they, I suppose, received some pleasure from receiving- and that is the part that I don't really understand. Random cookies, cakes and candies show up on my desk or in my mailbox at least weekly. I rarely know who the treat is from, where it came from or what it is. Sometimes it is delicious but often it is some red bean concoction that I try to force down without tasting. I don't mean to be ungrateful. I really do enjoy it when I happen to be at my desk when someone is passing them out and they tell me about their trip or why this particular cookie is special to that area. But the randos that show up on my desk- I just can't figure it out. Hasn't it lost some meaning when I cannot even properly thank the person? Right now there is a half eatten miso flavored sweet bun sitting on my desk. I ate the first half of the bun while the giver was watching and pretended that it was delicious. When she left, I folded up the rest as if I was saving it for later (it was a big bun). But truthfully, I think miso is best left in soup.