14th July 2021
Ochūgen is a kind of summer gift that is usually given in July.
Only if the ochūgen label is on the present box can it be called ochūgen. Gifts are usually a set of things, usually food or drink – things like fruit, confectionery, dried noodles, meat, frozen food, juice and alcohol. Practical non-food presents such as detergents are also given.
Many products are things that you can’t buy in normal supermarkets – brand name fruit or high quality juice for example. Some gifts are expensive. For example a set of eight peaches could be over 10,000 (ten thousand) yen. Some products you could find in some supermarkets and the ochūgen price is usually higher than if you bought the same thing individually in the supermarket. Part of the money paid is for the service – for the ochūgen name, the packaging and usually the sending of the gift.
Most ochūgen is given between family members – parents to children for example. Some people also give their doctors or their temples. Companies can also give these gifts to other companies that they deal with. Not everyone sends ochūgen however. These days most of the people who do send ochūgen are from the older generation.
As well as an online ordering system, there are also special floors at ochūgen time in department stores. People choose the gifts and afterwards the staff at the store put the ochūgen paper on and wrap the gifts and usually send the gifts for the customers. The labelling of the type of ‘thank you’ on the gift box can be very complicated!
■ Do you or your family ever get ochūgen?
■ What would you like to get?
■ In my country people often give ~ as gifts.
■ Would you pay more for a label like ochūgen?
■ A popular gift in Japan, not just thinking about ochūgen, is ~ .