Gift ideas for DD – Japan trip

[ChristmasMad1]

Hi all,
Looking for some inspiration! My DD is going to Japan for a graduation present from her dad, but I’d still like to get her something thoughtful for her birthday in November and possibly Christmas too, as it’s not long after.

Has anyone got good suggestions for presents that worked well for graduates, or gifts linked to travel (especially Japan)? Thanks in advance!

The rail pass used to only be available to buy outside of Japan so could that be a possibility ? A crash course in Japanese? Lounge Pass for the airport, new luggage, there's an app called Get Your Guide that might have some interesting ideas for an actual activity while she's there. Japan is a fabulous place.

I've already bought her a new suitcase last Christmas.

Do you have any recommendations in Japan, I could pass on?

Have a look at The Japan House website. It is a London store/exhibition type place of all things Japanese. I bought a couple of things from them last year, following a MN recommendation, and they were excellent quality.
I love Japanese tea sets, although not suitable for travel!

Depending on your budget you could get her tickets to something like team labs or Disney sea, or a night in a nice hotel or onsen ryokan

It’s not terribly personal but you could load a Suica card for her . It’s widely used to just tap payments on trains and shops .

Does she have a plan of what she’s doing in Japan? Some things like the studio ghibli museum require tickets bought ahead of time. (Or at least they did 10 years ago)

Im not sure about Japanese specific presents for travel. For a present linked to Japan you get some interesting looking Japanese subscription boxes with interesting Japanese treats.

Get her a book (from Amazon) to get Eki stamps whilst there.

Not a big gift but some personalised chopsticks could be nice, she could take them with her if she wants as they are easy enough to clean.

Portable battery pack, charging cables and plug adaptor. vaccume packing cubes. a subscription translation app or japanese learning app (although in any majoy city all signage is in eglish too).

Noise cancelling headphones (for long journeys)
travel diary
inflatable travel pillow for sleeping on the plane?

She has a vague plan but it's too early to book stuff yet

Assuming she’s going in the next couple of months it’s not too early to book stuff and if she leaves her plans vague for too long she may be disappointed. I can’t remember the time scale for booking Studio Ghibli Tickets, but that may already be too late. We didn’t visit when we were there but our travel agent recommended that we note the date the booking opened for our holiday period and get on it immediately if we wished to go as it is so popular.

You can get special books that you collect Japanese stamps in (as in ink pad stamps) that you find in train stations, museums etc.

Pandora sell charms like the cherry blossom one, geisha, lucky cat. Not sure if you can buy them in the uk. But we bought them in Kyoto and Toyko.

Boring, but a good pair of walking shoes/trainers!

Comfortable trainers for all the walking, foldable extra bag for all the goodies bought, an old school guide book like lonely planet, coin purse, clothing from uniglo if they want to blend in. Gym membership to work on stair fitness!

My teens favourite experience on our Japan trip was an afternoon dressing in kimono and having a photoshoot. We booked via Klook.com. Could you gift an activity like that?