I appreciate the thought, not the gift...

It never happened to you? Then throw me the first stone!

In Japanese, there is a special word for that: Arigatai meiwaku. Litteraly, the "embarrassment that you have to thank for".

The thing is, while being very much happy to know that I was part of your thought while you were abroad, I really do, I just do not know what to do with the small souvenir. Look at this miniature car (it could be anything else). I like cars. I mean, real one. The one you can ride. I would accept a Ferrari, or a Jaguar anytime. It does not mean I like miniatures. If I was a child, I would play with it, for sure. But well, I cannot really display it home, can I. That's the kind of souvenir that you want to avoid.

So, if you have a significant other, a friend, a daughter, a colleague, to please back home from Japan, do not purchase perfume at the airport but take the time to drop by the small shop in front of the Kabuki in Ginza, in the basement, on the other side of the road where they sell a mountain of funny accessories that are "usable" or, better, by Atelier Shinji in Ginza. www.ateliershinji.com.

Shinji is an artisan working silver. He makes beautiful things inspired by nature and by Japan. It is a family business and Shinji and his wife are always welcoming and sweet. His son and his partner are also artists and they are making really beautiful things!

All my friends are happy, and I know from the patina of the silver, that they wear these accessories more often than the day they meet me!