Green is Stop - Red is Go

On the way back into Tokyo after a lovely Saturday excursion beyond the city, we jumped off the subway at a station in one of Tokyo's busiest and most vibrant shopping districts, Shinjuku.   We were on a mission to locate wrapping paper in order to make a gift presentable for our Sunday evening host and hostess.  (more on that later)   Shockingly, in a country where the packaging matters almost as much as the gift itself, wrapping paper is nearly impossible find!  Why?  Because store employees wrap gifts for their customers!!    

We had brought along gifts reflecting our hometown of St. Louis but no paper.  Surely one of Tokyo's largest department stores would sell wrapping paper, right?   Finally, on the 10th floor I located the "paper" department where a thorough search produced three rolls in a far corner--all Christmas paper.  I grabbed the tube with red paper and shooting silver stars, and Doug grabbed a nearby green crepe bag.   He had decided to bag it. 

Once home, I checked our helpful little book, the Essential Guide to Customs and Culture in Japan.  Here is what I learned...

1.  Properly wrapped gifts are SO important that foreigners should ask their Japanese friends to do the wrapping for them. (too late for that)
2.  Green paper signifies condolences. (go with red)
3.  Gifts are given at the end of the evening, not the beginning as in Western culture. (How do you conceal a gift until the end?)
4.  Gifts should never be too cheap nor too expensive because return gifts are expected. (No worries, we got this one right)
5.  Gifts are not opened in the presence of the gift-givers in order to save face if the gift is too paltry or too valuable. (In this case, to save my face over the Christmas paper)
6.  And by all means, as a guest in a home, do not remark excessively upon an art object or other item lest the host feel obligated to give it to you!  (how much is "excessive?")

We promptly bagged the green crepe and went for the Christmas roll.   At least the red selection matched the official St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap found inside.