Quote:
Originally Posted by YuriTokoro
Hi.
Could you correct my English?
"Is this peculiar to Japan?"
One of my Japanese friends whose husband is American once said that when American people go to visit the home of an acquaintance, they don’t bring a calling present.
If you are American, tell me whether or not this is true.
If you are not American, do you bring a hospitality gift? I want to know if this is a custom peculiar to Japan.
I usually bring sweets or fruits which costs about 2000 or 3000 yen. This depends on our relationships.
When you have guests in your house, you need to have bought some sweets to serve your guests. If you haven’t had time to buy anything, you can serve the gift the guests offered, saying “I’m sorry; this is that you have brought.” (“Omotase de sumimasen.)
Do you have any customs when you visit an acquaintance?
Thank you!
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For me, it depends on the circumstances. If I had never been to their house before, I might take something, especially if I was invited for a sit-down dinner. A bottle of wine or flowers, or some chocolates. It's not compulsory though.
If it were just a casual visit with a friend, I might take some DVD's with me we could watch or if i'd done some baking, some of that in a tupperware box. Often I don't bring anything, but then it's more normal to return an invitation with an invitation. So I might not bring anything, but then they would visit my house another day instead.
If it's a party, I would offer to bring something when I accepted the invitation. Obviously if it were a birthday party, i'd bring a card and a gift relative to how well I knew them.
If I have a guest visiting, it's generally polite to offer them a drink, and if they stay longer, something to eat. Like if a friend of relative pops around, i'll always offer tea and a biscuit. If it's later in the evening, I'll offer other things.