<p>It looks like DS has landed an internship for the summer in Japan. DS has always been a t-shirt & jeans kind of guy - he’s never owned a suit except for one bought at a thrift store for a high school play. From what he’s read business attire in Japan is suits & ties. Being a single mom, I really have no ideas about what he should buy or how much and I’d love suggestions. One suit? Two? How many shirts should he take? Ties? How many pairs of shoes? He was surprised to read he should bring a pair of shoes to leave at work (?).<br>
We’re hoping to get the shopping for clothes done over spring break. Its still several weeks away but I thought I might start getting some idea how much he’ll need. The internship is for ten weeks from June through August.<br>
DS is 6’2" (or perhaps taller) and really skinny(he’s wearing jeans that are 31" 36" and they’re a little big around the waist but its hard to find anything smaller that long).
Also if any one has suggestions for gifts for him to bring to his hosts, we’d love that too. We understand that its customary to bring gifts to anyone that hosts you. Thanks so much.</p>
<p>He should buy his clothes once he gets there. The fashion there, even for formal attire, is different than from here, and if he buys his clothes locally, he’ll know he’s at least buying something in-style, regionally speaking.</p>
<p>It certainly is customary to bring gifts to the host family; I’ve housed many Japanese international students, and they’ve brought items such as sake (high-class), clothing (with Japanese kana on them), mouse pads (with different types of sushi on them), mochi (the best!), and other fun things of the sort. However, a shirt with, say, an American flag might not be too trendy, as you can imagine. And sending some Bud Lite or a frozen pack of hot dogs would be more than a little tacky.</p>
<p>Perhaps one of those Barack Obama commemorative plates. :)</p>
<p>[Obama</a> Commemorative Victory Plate On Deaf Ears](<a href=“http://ondeafears.com/2008/11/13/obama-commemorative-victory-plate/]Obama”>http://ondeafears.com/2008/11/13/obama-commemorative-victory-plate/)</p>
<p>[/half-joking, half-not]</p>
<p>[Men’s</a> Suits](<a href=“Lands' End | Swimwear, Outerwear, Casual Clothing and more”>Lands' End | Swimwear, Outerwear, Casual Clothing and more)</p>
<p>Lands End. This is a great option for your son. You can make up a suit by ordering the jacket in one size and the pants in another. They even hem the pants to your requested length. You can even get a waist size 30 with a long inseam.</p>
<p>I travel to Japan on business 3-4 times a year. Everyday is suit and tie. </p>
<p>If it were me, and I were going for the summer on a college kids budget, I’d go with 2 suits - one Navy blue and one gray. I’d have 6 shirts which can be worn with either of the suits - e.g. nothing that is too oriented towards one or the other. I’d also have probably 3 ties which are also somewhat neutral.</p>
<p>Why 6 shirts? 5 days a week and one emergency in case you spill breakfast on yourself Friday morning (voice of experience there 
) </p>
<p>Seriously, 3 shirts are ready to be worn and the other three are at the cleaners/in the wash at any point in time.</p>
<p>I like the Men’s warehouse for affordable suits. Shirts - Lands end or LL Bean. Ties - look for an outlet mall near you and spend a little extra to get high quality ones - Japanese businessmen tend to have beautiful designer ties.</p>
<p>As for gifts, I try to find something local. Perhaps a coffee table book about your home region, a hat from your hometown baseball team or college, – something of that nature. I also would take two levels of gift - one for someone I stayed with and then something more at the token level for use at other times.</p>
<p>agree mostly with scualum. 2 suits, one blue, the other blue. Six shirts should be fine… all white. Buying clothes there would be a disaster! Do I need to list the reasons? Who will take your son shopping and where? How long will it take and what does he wear in the interim? Suits purchased in Japan will be very expensive. Finding clothes to fit a 6’ 2" frame might still be difficult in Japan. </p>
<p>A question: Japan was trying to save energy by turning thermostats up in office buildings and allowing office workers to remove their jackets. Is this still policy? This might argue for even more shirts!</p>
<p>I used to bring Mrs Fields cookies to Japan, but perhaps the novelty has worn off. My wife took some Japanese guests shopping and one of the things they loaded up on were … laminated shopping bags at the Metropolitan Museum store with the Museum logo on them. Strange…</p>
<p>they are not cheap!!
[The</a> Metropolitan Museum of Art Shopping Bag Miniature - The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Met Museum Store](<a href=“http://www.metmuseum.org/store/st_family_viewer.asp/familyID/{26B7F4CC-AE17-11D3-936C-00902786BF44}/catID/{194BE92C-84FD-49D0-82CA-4F4FD00603C7}]The”>http://www.metmuseum.org/store/st_family_viewer.asp/familyID/{26B7F4CC-AE17-11D3-936C-00902786BF44}/catID/{194BE92C-84FD-49D0-82CA-4F4FD00603C7})</p>
<p>No on buying clothes in Japan. Everything is much more expensive and finding a suit for a tall young guy will be impossible. For deals on suits check Jos. A. Banks - I heard they had a “buy one get one free” suit sale going on. For fancy ties check Nordstrom Rack - they always have a great selection. I’d err on the side of caution and get him *at least *6 shirts; more will be even better!</p>
<p>We brought maple syrup and maple candies last time we went to Japan. Local food specialties like chocolate would also work.</p>
<p>I think a couple of suit and lots of shirts is a good plan. I’d definitely buy them here. Things are very pricey in Japan and your son’s build will make it more difficult to find things there.</p>
<p>Agree on 2 suits and at least 6 shirts and several nice ties. Don’t forget black dress shoes.It will be very hot and humid in Japan in the summer, so get very light fabrics for the suits as he will be walking a lot outside to/from office and public transport.</p>
<p>Not sure about buying the Metropolitan Museum bags since it is regional to NY and you are in CA. Japanese love name brands and famous logos on everything. I agree on the two tiers for gifts. Some suggestions may be See’s candies, Nuts and Chews (very expensive in Japan) and Peet’s coffee (most Japanese drink coffee also).</p>
<p>Have your son read up on cultural differences as Japanese consider manners very important.
It’s going to be a great experience for him.</p>
<p>Assuming he’ll be in the general Tokyo area - it can be quite hot and very humid in the summer (think Southeastern USA) so make sure he factors this into the number of shirts he’ll bring. </p>
<p>Another thing to keep in mind - they know he’s not Japanese so they won’t be holding him to their customs (gift-giving, the art of the bow, etc.) so I wouldn’t worry about such things too much.</p>
<p>It sounds like a good opportunity for him and I’ll bet he gains a lot from this experience. I hope he gets out and explores quite a bit. Tokyo is a very safe city to wander IMO.</p>
<p>I also traveled to Japan on business often for years. It’s a more formal society in general. Agree it would be hard to find non custom suits for someone 6’2.</p>
<p>The Japanese treasure gourmet food they can’t get. Strange but true is that fruit like melons can be a big hit and I take it you’re in CA. They are name brand people, so depending on the business and whether his hosts have been in the US, they may see See’s as not as special as handmade chocolates from a special store in SF (the one that makes the beautiful truffles, name not coming to me).</p>
<p>One other item - get a box of business cards made up before he goes. While the host company may provide these, they are a fundamental part of every business meeting in Japan. </p>
<p>Name, US Address, US Telephone number, and email. Doesn’t have to have a logo or company name. Any good print shop should be able to do them for next to nothing.</p>
<p>It is very important to use BOTH hands when you hand your business card to the other person. It signals respect. This goes for the rest of Asia too.</p>
<p>Here is a pretty good link to review:</p>
<p>[Japan</a> - Japanese Business Etiquette, Vital Manners, Cross Cultural Communication, and Japan’s Geert Hofstede analysis](<a href=“http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/japan.htm]Japan”>Japan - Japanese Business Etiquette, Vital Manners, Cross Cultural Communication, and Japan's Geert Hofstede analysis)</p>
<p>Do not expect to buy anything in Japan because of your son’s size, everything would be too short for him. I would recommend a few more pair of shoes (he may be able to get away with loafers) because he’ll sweat a lot and it’s better not to wear the same pair of shoes everyday (need to let them dry out). If you could afford it, I would have a few more suits just in case if they need to go to the cleaner. I wonder if you could get away with wearing short sleeve shirts (not as acceptable in the states). Don’t forget a lot of blue and black socks. Japanese tend to be more formal than Americans - most Asians are.</p>
<p>Do not forget about a nice belt or two (good brand name ones can be found at Nordstrom Rack or TJ Maxx for not a whole lot of $$). The belt is supposed to match the shoes, the socks are supposed to match the pant color.</p>
<p>I know, putting together a whole new wardrobe is going to be expensive, but your son will get a lot of mileage out of this experience!</p>
<p>This link shows a picture of Japanese businessmen in their “business casual”:</p>
<p>[Tyler</a> Brûlé: Avoiding summer meltdowns, dressing ‘business cool’ - International Herald Tribune](<a href=“http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/10/arts/tyler11.php]Tyler”>http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/10/arts/tyler11.php)</p>
<p>Everything in Japan is way too expensive. Buy all the clothes he needs here before going.
In terms of gifts for people in Japan - I generally take something typically American. Anything with US flag or NY city logos…used to be that I could take a case of red wine which they absolutely love. But these days you can’t carry any fluids more than 100 ml with you when you fly. </p>
<p>Agree with Scualum. Everything begins with “Hajimemashte. Dozo yoroshiku” and then “Kore wa watashi no meiishi desu” as you offer your own business card to them.</p>
<p>Have him pick up a copy of ‘Japanese for Busy People’. It’s very easy to learn basic conversational Japanese with this text. Also mention - <a href=“http://www.Japaneseipod.com%5B/url%5D”>http://www.Japaneseipod.com</a></p>
<p>A great place to learn about Japanese culture and language.</p>
<p>My friend who takes groups of high school students on exchange every summer takes a good bottle of american bourbon to her host family - she says american booze is very expensive over there and valued for entertainment even if the family doesn’t drink. You would have to pack it in your checked baggage.
When my kids went on the exchange, we were prepped to have them take a little album of photos to show the host family - “this is my grandma, here are my parents, this is my dog Chelsea, here we all are at Yellowstone” kind of thing. They also took foods from our region, photobooks, regionally made products, etc.
I don’t know if it’s different at the college level, but our kids were prepped to give tokens the first night and then a larger present the last night, ie: food things at first, photo books the last day. YMMV.
My D was there in 2006, she couldn’t even afford a tshirt. Get all clothes here.</p>
<p>Oh yes, an official Mariners Ichiro jersey or just a Mariners hat will be a hit…</p>
<p>CC is great as always. Thank you all for your tips! Now I have a start when thinking about his wardrobe. Knowing DS, I think we’ll get as many dress shirts as we can reasonably pack. So two suits & lots of shirts and very nice ties. (I’m wondering if DS even knows how to tie a tie…will have to ask him). </p>
<p>Hats sound like a great gift. It was suggested he buy lots of logo items from his school but we had no idea what. All I could think of was pens. Hats and mouse pads sound great. We live not far from Yosemite so maybe we can bring some Yosemite things. </p>
<p>To apply for the internship DS had to have 2 years of Japanese at his school. I think I’d really be worried if he didn’t speak Japanese. I know he is looking into business cards. The program gave him an 88 page booklet on Japanese customs and tips on travel but not much info on what clothes to bring. </p>
<p>Now on to researching cell phones. From what I’ve heard, his iphone isn’t going to work in Japan for phone calls so we’ll have to figure that out next. </p>
<p>thanks again to everyone for the great tips!</p>
<p>Nothing beats skype for cheap, good quality phone calls home.</p>