Chrismtas Shop Til You Drop – Top spots for unique Christmas presents from Oki this year
Let’s address the elephant in the room. We know Halloween and Thanksgiving are up first, but Christmas is just around the corner and with it the need to find a present for no doubt 100s of family members. With that in mind, Total Okinawa has put together some of our favorite spots for finding unique or fun gifts, as well as some of our star finds from across the island.
Hamby Town
Hamby Town just across from Foster and behind Araha beach often feels overlooked now we have big new malls like Rycom but it has a couple of hidden gems which make it worth checking out for some gifts. First up, it has a branch of Muji on the ground floor; a pretty good sized one, that is chock full of useful Japanese homeware, clothes, toiletries and food. It’s a great choice for people who love the simple aesthetic of Muji. The food and snacks are surpisingly good. Our star buy though was this cordless ultrasonic aroma diffuser for 3990 yen; with a mind boggling arrary of essential oils to purchase separately to make a useful, fragrant gift. https://maps.app.goo.gl/FWCw7DmfD7cnn3XY6
Don Quijote
By now you are probably familiar with Don Quijote and it’s crazy bargain stacked stores. It’s a great choice for finding quirky presents as well as Okinawa themed items or Japanese food and drink.
We found these quirky Japanese themed socks which are perfect as stocking fillers. They also have well priced designer items if you’re looking for something more fancy as well as a huge variety of Okinawa themed food, drink and clothing. Orion beer t-shirts anyone? https://maps.app.goo.gl/G3CV69TeUCJ245M58
Rycom
One of our favorite go to destinations for Christmas present shopping is Rycom shopping mall, as it truly has pretty much every type of present you could need all under one roof.
For children there is a large Toys R Us on the top floor above Jusco, with a wide selection of Japanese & American toys. Jusco itself on the floors below has a good home wares department as well as a really good alcohol selection. If you’re looking for a bottle of awamori or sake this is the place to visit. The photo shows the amazing selection of local Okinawan produced awamori by different breweries with some aged three, five and more years like a fine whisky, all beautifully packaged in traditional bottles.
If you have a relative who loves tea, then stop by the Lupicia shop just outside Jusco. They have an amazing arrange of Japanese teas including beautiful sets as well as some that are exclusive to Okinawa.
If you’re after more food gifts, then Kuze Fuku & Co. has you covered. This store on the ground floor has an astonishing array of cooking ingredients and snacks with good value gift boxes you can either preselect or make up yourself. It’s the place for unique ingredients you won’t find anywhere else like chestnut jam for example. A lot of the labels are Japanese only, so take a translator app. A perfect gift for a foodie!
If you’re after all things cute then a stop on the top floor of Rycom is in order with a variety of shops selling anything “Kawaii”. If someone in your family is a fan of Hello Kitty there is a Sanrio shop selling all manner of kitty themed items.
Whether you have a gift in mind or need inspiration, Rycom is bound to have something suitable! https://maps.app.goo.gl/pkWnhAwUEbEwmkEz8
