Japanese Souvenirs For An Otaku Or Others

You are in Tokyo and have to bring back souvenirs for an anime fan.  What do you bring them?The traditional list of souvenirs is always good, but here is a short list of character goods that could be good souvenirs.  If you know what their favourite anime series is or what the hot new anime series are then your job is easier. Hello Kitty, Evangelion, Gundam, One Piece, Naruto, Pretty Cure are some popular series.

Anime Souvenirs  / Tostzilla

Anime Themed Souvenirs

1. Mugs and teacups with an anime character on it.
2. Anime pen / mechanical pencils.  Pencil boards with character art.
3. Anime figure keychains, cell phone straps, and especially iPhone cases.
4. Folding paper hand fans with anime character art.
5. Anime T-shirt.
6. Anime / hobby model magazine if there is a special figure or item bundled with it.
7. PVC anime figure (the modern version of a doll / statuette).  These can be quite expensive.
8. Buy a Figma, Revoltech, or Nendoroid anime / mecha figure (These are cheaper than the full PVC figures).  Also think of Gundam models if they are into robots / mecha.
9. Anime chopsticks such as Star Wars lightsaber or Evangelion pilot plug themes.
10. Anime stuffy - Totoro, Ponyo, Bleach, Naruto, and other anime characters.
11. Anime towel, face cloth, pillow, etc.
12. Canned bread, canned oden, canned ramen (I hear the noodles in these are now being used as diet food).  Get these in Akihabara - the Anime Centre sells some of these.
13. Canned coffee or other souvenir drinks (need to pack these good of course).
14. Any kind of Japanese snack like Pocky, odd flavoured chips, chocolate, gummy candy, gum, etc.
15. Japanese instant noodles/instant miso soup, cup noodles, especially cup noodles you make yourself at the Cup Noodle Museum in Yokohama.
16. Japanese face mask for colds / allergies
17. Train souvenir or something Yamanote Line related.
18. Nifty high tech device / watch / headphones or accessory of some sort.
19. Jpop music CDs, especially limited edition singles with nice artwork from some show.
20. Expensive Blu-ray discs if you are from Region 1 (North America).
21. Anime clear file or stationary.

Regular Souvenirs

1. Stationary or office supplies.  Japan has an amazing variety of paper products such as fancy origami paper, notepads, notebooks, papers, etc.  They also have an amazing supply of pens, pencils, stapleless staplers, erasable pens (Frixion brand), and other art supplies too.
2. Traditional ceramics such as tea sets, bowls, etc. (need to pack these good).
3. Traditional toys such as koma (a spinning top) or kendama. Games suchs as Go or Shogi.
4. Food models and keychains.  Fancy a bowl of ramen that will last a hundred years?
5. Bento lunch boxes
6. Fun masks that you wear at festivals.
7. Traditional Japanese doll.
8. Duruma doll for luck.
9. Meneki Neko lucky cat in all forms shapes and sizes
10. Yukata
11. Paper hand fans
12. Wagasa - paper umbrellas / parasols
13. Nice chopsticks
14. Ukiyo-e Prints or other artworks.
15. Paper lantern or vinyl lantern like you see hanging outside restaurants.
16. Noren curtains that you see hanging in Japanese restaurants to separate the kitchen from the rest of the establishment.
17. Japanese kitchen knife (don't take this as carry on - big bad no no. Pack it or lose it).
18. Furin glass chime.
19. Koinbori - fish kites.
20. Sake (pack well - don't want it breaking in your luggage and there is no carry on unless you get it at the airport).
21. Traditional Japanese snacks or food. e.g. Tea, dried squid, dried fruit, rice crackers (senbei), etc.
22. T-shirt
23. Traditional hand crafts (woodwork, lacquer ware, iron teapot, masks)