Top 12 Japanese Items that are Perfect for the Holidays

The festive season is just around the corner and so with that said, we’ve rounded up 12 of the best Japanese items that are perfect for the holidays. Whether you’re looking for a special gift for someone or want to serve some uniquely Japanese sweet treats at your holiday party – check out our recommendations below. 

Takamura Hamono High Speed Steel Gyuto Knife

If you’re looking to carve your turkey with a kitchen knife that will seriously impress your dinner guests, then look no further than the Takamura Hamono High Speed Gyuto Knife.

This artisan Japanese knife contains a blade made from Super Gold, a kind of high-quality steel that has top scores in all four categories when it comes to knives – hardness, toughness, abrasion resistance, and rustproof. 

The polished wooden handle is light in weight and makes using the knife comfortable and easy to use. There is also a bolster situated between the blade and handle which prevents it from accumulating dirt and makes it easy to wash.

Takamura Hamono have been making premium Japanese knives for more than 60 years and have a reputation for creating high-quality products to a professional standard and with an unrivalled cutting performance. 

Rokkatei Marusei Butter Sandwich Cookies

For delicious holiday snacks with a difference, these Japanese cookies are a unique sweet treat that’s rarely found outside of Japan. The Rokkatei Marusei Butter Sandwich Cookies are a rectangular shaped sandwich cookie – featuring two biscuits held together by a creamy filling that contains raisins and butter-based cream made in Hokkaido. The smooth, rich sweetness of the cream complements the sourness from the raisins. 

This popular Japanese sweet and classic Hokkaido souvenir has been around since 1977 which is also reflected in their fun individually wrapped retro packaging. 

Shoyeido Kyozakura Japanese Sandalwood Incense Stick

If you can’t make it to Japan for the holidays, then bring a bit of Japan into your home instead with these high-quality Shoyeido Kyosenko incense sticks. The incense comes in a sandalwood fragrance with a touch of cherry blossom, so you can sit back, relax, close your eyes, and imagine you are visiting a peaceful Japanese temple during sakura season.

A perfect accompaniment when practicing meditation or yoga, burning incense has many other benefits such as increasing calm and focus, and helping to reduce stress and anxiety. Each carton contains around 490 incense sticks making them great value for money too.

Kuretake Tortoise Shell Japanese Fountain Pen

If you have any writers in your life this beautiful Japanese fountain pen would make the perfect gift this holiday season. 

This kind of pen is called mannen-kefude in Japanese, which is a hybrid of a calligraphy brush and a fountain pen suitable for calligraphy, lettering, sketching, outlining, inking illustrations, and ink washing.

The Kuretake Tortoise Shell pen offers a comfortable writing experience (although it may take a little practice) and has a luxurious appearance with its metallic casing and black and gold tortoise shell design. The pen is handmade by skilled craftsmen in Japan’s ancient capital, Nara, and is presented in an attractive and elegant wooden box.

Bunmeido Tokusen Gosan Japanese Handmade Castella Cake

Another sweet treat that would make a wonderful gift or party favor, these Bunmeido castella cakes are sure to be a hit. Castella is a kind of sponge cake that originated in Portugal and was introduced to the Japanese port of Nagasaki during the 16th century by traders and missionaries.

It has since become a signature dessert belonging to the region and is one of the most popular Japanese sweets or wagashi. It consists of a moist and fluffy sponge with a crunchy and sugary bottom layer. Bunmeido is one of the three leading castella cake manufacturers in Nagasaki.

The cake is beautifully presented in pre-cut slices within a luxurious paulownia wooden box wrapped in golden paper, making it ideal to gift to someone.

Noda Horo Enamel Butter Dish with Wooden Lid

For any wannabe chefs or home cooking fans out there, this stylish enamel butter dish is sure to spruce up any kitchen. The compact butter dish is made with a white enamel body and has a wooden lid. Enamel is the perfect material to store butter due to its great cooling capacity, corrosion resistance, and it prevents odors from escaping. 

Both functional and stylish, the butter dish also serves as a chopping board by using the wooden lid to cut the butter. Noda Horo is a famous Japanese enamel maker that was founded more than 80 years ago and is well known for their quality enamel containers.

Yoshikawa EAトCO Nulu Butter Knife

If you’re into kitchen gadgets, then you’ll love this clever Japanese butter knife that instantly turns hard butter into thread-like strands which can be easily spread onto bread. The Nulu Butter Knife is made entirely from stainless steel and features an angled handle to make it easy to run the knife flat across the butter.

The blade on this butter knife can also perform several functions. On one side the blade features a perforated edge so it easily shreds curls of butter from the butter slab, whilst on the other side the knife’s edge is serrated so it can be used for spreading butter or scraping off parts of burnt toast. 

Oigen Nambu Iron Kettle Tetsubin Kangetsu Arare

During the cold winter months, there’s nothing better than curling up with a hot drink, and this rustic cast iron kettle will help with that whilst adding a touch of Japanese style to your home. 

The Oigen Nambu Iron Kettle is made of cast iron and features a pouring spout with a steel handle crossing over the top. The arare pattern of raised dots and shape is inspired by the round moon. 

Nambu ironware is famous around the world not only for its fine quality and simplistic beauty, but also for its high durability. The Nambu iron kettle is held in particularly high regard and is certified as a Traditional Craftwork of Japan.

There are also said to be health benefits to using the Nambu iron kettle. Drinking water boiled in the kettle supplements iron in the diet, and the water is said to taste milder and improve in quality through repeated use.

Imabari Towel Bath Towels Set

Whether you’re having guests over during the holidays or searching for a gift for the home, this Japanese bath towel set will add a luxurious touch to any bathroom.

Imabari in Ehime Prefecture is famous throughout Japan for its high-quality and soft towels which have a high-water absorbency. It has been the center of towel production in Japan for more than 120 years and the design on the white bath towel set features an attractive jacquard pattern with waves. It also comes packaged in an aesthetically pleasing wooden box if you’re planning to purchase it as a gift. 

Satake Titanium Coating Hocho Japanese Knives Set

This set of three Japanese knives are made from titanium coated high carbon steel to ensure extra durability, resistance to corrosion and making them more hygienic. Satake are a well-known Japanese knife manufacturer who combines years of craftsmanship with modern design. 

Included within the set are a santoku knife, petty knife, and a meat cutting knife. A petty knife is a small knife designed mainly for cutting smaller items such as herbs, small fruits, or vegetables, whilst a santoku knife is a traditional general purpose Japanese knife well suited for chopping, dicing, and cutting a wide variety of items from meat and fish to vegetables.

Teraoka Organic Shoyu Japanese Barrel Aged Soy Sauce

This naturally brewed soy sauce made in Hiroshima uses traditional barrel brewing methods in the production process. This particular product is Teraoka's flagship soy sauce, handmade and aged in century-old kioke wooden barrels.

This soy sauce is made with Japanese organic whole soybeans, Japanese organic wheat, and solar salt and is fermented in wooden barrels for three years to create a superior and rich umami flavor.  It is a certified organic soy sauce free of preservatives, seasonings, and alcohol, and is ideally paired with foods such sashimi, cold tofu, grilled fish, and steaks.

Todai Luxury Ice Cream Spoon Copper

Attention all ice cream lovers – you never need to wait again to scoop the ice cream from the tub after removing it from the freezer with the Todai Ice Cream Spoon! 

This innovative ice cream spoon has an elegant and luxurious design that makes light work of cutting through even the most solid of ice-creams!

The spoon handle is long enough to reach all parts of a large container of ice cream whilst still remaining narrow enough to fit inside a small pint-sized container. The spoon’s front features a sharp edge to help cut through ice cream.

This Japanese ice cream spoon is available in three different plating finishes; gold, rose gold, or silver, and is made of copper which looks stylish whilst also providing antibacterial qualities.