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Omiyage is also known as souvenirs and in Japan, they are mostly お菓子 (sweets). A person usually buys omiyage when he or she goes to a certain place. It could be the another town, another prefecture, or even another country. One of the Japanese students here at Tokiwa went to China and came back with omiyage for everyone at our dorms. I have also seen some of the Japanese students give omiyage to everyone at our dorm whenever they go to their hometowns. Omiyage is also given when two people meet for the first time. Before coming to Japan, some of our Japanese friends advised us that we should give a small souvenir to our roommates. I guess, an omiyage can be considered as an "ice-breaker" for those people who were meeting for the first time. When I gave the omiyage (Las Vegas poker chips) that I brought to my roommates, they really appreciated it and the atmosphere around us seemed a lot more relax than when I first met them. The good thing about omiyage is that it doesn't have to be fancy at all! It can be anything from pens to sweets as long as it is thoughtful :)
(The picture above is an omiyage from Sendai)------------------------------------------------------------------
Ever heard of the term "drink bar?" In the United States, a drink bar is a bar where they sell alcoholic beverages, but in Japan, a drink bar is an "all you can drink" bar. Back home in America, we only have fountain drinks where we can refill our beverages whereas in Japan, you can get refills and change your beverage from coffee to tea and from coke to hot chocolate. Most of the restaurants here in Mito (restaurants like Coco's, Saizeriya, and Gusto) have a drink bar that a person can enjoy. Since they do not have a Starbucks near Tokiwa University, Coco's has been the place where we study and I think that the drink bar is a good way to keep us awake and focus on our studies.
*Insert picture here*
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