First and foremost, I need to go back to Hirashimizu Pottery in Yamagata to get another beautiful hand-made tea set.
I got two decorated tins, a tea scoop and some green tea at a shopping street in Yatsushiro. My host mother also gave me some sencha. I can probably go to a tea shop anywhere to replace these items, or I can find them online.
I had a little wooden doll, a kokeshi. I think I bought it at a souvenir shop just outside Suizenji Park in Kumamoto City, but I could be mistaken. In any case, I know where I can get one online.
I’d like another charm from Todaiji in Nara. The one I got on our honeymoon contained a blessing for “gaining knowledge”. We also need to get Sean another cute cat statue from there ;>
When we were in Yatsushiro we went to a warehouse that had lots of discounted home items. I got a coffee set (why? I don’t drink coffee) that happened to match a set of dishes my host mother gave me. You can see some of the coffee cups to the left, as well as the creamer for my tea set and some coasters. Unfortunately I don’t seem to have a picture of the teapot and cups :(
I also got one of those dolls that are usually displayed in glass cases from that warehouse. It was in somewhat bad shape, and only cost me 500 yen. The owner kept trying to convince me to buy the 1500 yen doll. I liked the face on this one, though.
This last thing is kind of silly, but I like it. It’s a little stuffed animal I got out of a bear claw (or, as they call them in Japan, “UFO Catcher”). According to the tag he was a hamusutaa. A hamster in a raincoat! Genius.
There are probably other items, but these are the main ones I could think of today.