Most popular Mothers Day gifts

Tomorrow (2014 May 11th) is 母の日 (Mothers Day ).

Did you buy your mother a gift?
At least say 「お母さん、ありがとう！」 (“Thank you, Mother!“)

What are the most popular gifts that people buy for their mothers on this day in Japan and in America?

As I’m sure you can imagine, the types of gifts that Japanese people buy for Mothers Day are quite different from what is commonly bought in America!

Here is a list of this year’s top ten Mothers Day gifts in America and then a list of this year’s top ten Mothers Day gifts in Japan:

 

Top Ten Mothers Day gifts in America

#10 – Flowers

#9 – Candles

#8 – Gift card (gift certificate)

#7 – Gift basket

#6 – Home spa treatment

#5 – Home decor items

#4 – Chocolate or other sweets

#3 – House plants

#2 – Perfume

#1 – Spa treatment

Top Ten Mothers Day gifts in Japan

#10 – 「バスグッズ」 (Bath items)

#9 – 「花」 (Flowers)

#8 – 「ネックレス」 (Necklace)

#7 – 「傘」 (Umbrella)

#6 – 「名入れグッズ」 (Personalized items) (This wine bottle says “Mother, thanks for everything” and her name.)

#5 – 「家電」　(Home appliance)

#4 – 「財布」 (Wallet)

#3 – 「バッグ」 (Handbag / purse)

#2 – 「キッチングッズ」 (Kitchenware)

#1 -　「マッサージ器」 (Massaging item (massage chair, etc))

What are popular Mothers Day gifts in your country?

ママ、ありがとう！

今日は母の日 (Today is Mothers Day).

Last year at this time, my kids made a “Mothers Day” dinner for their mother.

Today we’re gonna buy a 「母の日ケーキ」 (“Mothers Day cake”) from 不二家 (“Fujiya Confections”).

(I put a couple photos of one of this company’s shops on this post that I wrote about the “Kabuki Theatre”).

In Japan, young children commonly give their mother a handwritten card for Mothers Day.
But after that, it’s common in Japan for people to give their mother flowers on this day.

How is Mothers Day commonly celebrated in your country? What will you do for your mother today?

神田祭り

As I mentioned in the previous post (Click here to see it), for 母の日 (Mothers Day) yesterday my wife and I went on a date and then our daughters prepared a delicious カレーライス (Curry & Rice) dinner!

It was a very nice day.

For our date, my wife and I first stopped by the 神田祭り (Kanda Festival). (Click here to see my short mention about this festival on my Festivals In Tokyo page).

The 神田祭り (Kanda Festival) is one of the three biggest festivals in Tokyo.

From there we went to 吉祥寺 (Kichijouji) in western Tokyo and looked around there.
We had a late lunch at the very popular 「いせや」 (Iseya) restaurant.
This restaurant is famous for it’s やきとり (skewered chicken). It’s not a fancy-type restaurant like those in 表参道 (Omotesandou, Tokyo) or 六本木ヒルズ (Roppongi Hills)…it’s a blue-collar kind of place.
But the food is very good but not expensive…so they have many customers. (Actually, I feel more comfortable in working class type places than in five star restaurants. It’s my style.)

We had a good food…and a few beers. 🙂

After lunch, we looked around some more…then we went home to enjoy the wonderful dinner that my daughters made for Mothers Day!

It was a very nice day.

Here are some photos from the 神田祭り (Kanda Festival):

Making カルメ焼 ("Karume-yaki")

母の日

今日は母の日 (Today is Mother’s Day).

Happy Mothers Day to my mother, mother-in-law, and my wife! ♥

My wife and I are going out on a date today…and while we’re gone, our daughters are gonna cook dinner as a gift for their mother (my wife and I will home in time for dinner).