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?

2010’s Top Baby Names

My daughters were born in the early – mid ’90s, so it’s not really relevant to me but it’s still interesting to see how the most popular names people chose for their babies changes over time.

The most popular names of my generation are no longer popular with today’s parents.

When I was born, the top five boys names for American babies were:
Michael, David, James, John and Robert.
The top five girls names in America that year were:
Lisa, Michelle, Jennifer, Kimberly and Melissa.

At the same time, the top five boys names in Japan back then were:
Makoto, Hiroshi, Osamu, Naoki and Tetsuya.
For Japanese baby girls, it was:
Akemi, Mayumi, Yumiko, Keiko and Kumiko (names ending with ～子 (-ko) used to very popular for girls in Japan…now, not so much).

These days, I guess those names are considered “old-fashioned” in both America and Japan.

In America, the top five boys names for babies born in 2010 were:
Aiden, Liam, Noah, Jackson and Ethan.
For American baby girls:
Sophia, Charlotte, Ava, Addison and Olivia.

This year (2010), the most popular baby names for boys in Japan were:
Ren, Hiroto, Souta, Yuuma and Sora.
For Japanese baby girls in 2010:
Yua, Yui, Aoi, Hina and Riko.

Tokyo’s high quality of life

I just found that Monocle magazine ranked the “World’s Most Livable Cities (Quality Of Life)”.

Their criteria was:

• Safety / low crime
• International connectivity
• Climate
• Quality of architecture
• Public transportation
• Tolerance of others
• Environmental issues and access to nature
• Urban design
• Business conditions
• “Pro-active policy developments” and
• Medical care

Tokyo ranked as the third most livable city in the world.

Their entire Top ten “most livable cities” are:

1. Zürich, Switzerland
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Tokyo, Japan
4. Munich, Germany
5. Helsinki, Finland
6. Stockholm, Sweden
7. Vienna, Austria
8. Paris, France
9. Melbourne, Australia
10. Berlin, Germany

Tokyo runs like clockwork and its service culture beats any competition.

–Monocle magazine

Personally, I think Tokyo should be number one! Especially in regards to safety, international connectivity, tolerance, access to nature, business conditions, medical care, and public transportation.
All of those are top-notch in Tokyo!