Goodwill Guide Gift

[Buckwheel]

My husband and I will be visiting Japan and have arranged a couple of days of touring with Goodwill Guides. I understand tipping is not appropriate when paying for services. However, these are guides who essentially provide their services for free (we are required to pay modest transportation and meal fees). 

 

Would it be acceptable to give them a small gift in lieu of tipping? 

Edited March 1, 2023 by Buckwheel

[betsey]

I hope so. I just picked up a couple of small gifts yesterday for our goodwill guides. When we were in Japan before on a cruise, I gave our cruise line shore excursion guides some Ghirardelli Chocolates ("from our hometown"), they seemed to appreciate them.

[tjcox9]

When we used a Goodwill guide in Tokyo a few years back, we did present her with a gift from our home state and she gave us a small gift also. It's really the "proper" thing to do in Japan, I believe.

[Buckwheel]

On 3/10/2023 at 11:28 AM, tjcox9 said:

When we used a Goodwill guide in Tokyo a few years back, we did present her with a gift from our home state and she gave us a small gift also. It's really the "proper" thing to do in Japan, I believe.

We purchased some tea towels with a cartoonish poster image of our state and some reusable Trader Joe's bags. 

 

Did you wrap yours? A wrapped gift is likely not to look very good after traveling that far in my suitcase. However, everything I've read is that in Japan, wrapping a gift is almost as important as the gift itself. I'm thinking of bringing some ribbon so I can at least put a ribbon with a bow around the gifts. 

 

What is your experience with gift wrapping? 

[tjcox9]

1 hour ago, Buckwheel said:

We purchased some tea towels with a cartoonish poster image of our state and some reusable Trader Joe's bags. 

 

Did you wrap yours? A wrapped gift is likely not to look very good after traveling that far in my suitcase. However, everything I've read is that in Japan, wrapping a gift is almost as important as the gift itself. I'm thinking of bringing some ribbon so I can at least put a ribbon with a bow around the gifts. 

 

What is your experience with gift wrapping? 

Wow, as I recall we just had a nice small golden box in which we put the small item and some simple ribbon as a tie. I wouldn't do any thing elaborate. Don't remember for sure, but it was something simple that we could carry with us throughout the day in our bags.