The Great "THIS IS AMERICAN" Box Tread

[NotoriousTIMP]

Hello ETSers, I have a small request for you all and figured it would be interesting to see what we come up with. I've made a new friend via the internet that lives in Japan. After chatting for a bit we have decided to mail each other a box full of stuff that you can only get from our respective countries. If you were in my shoes, what would you put in said box that would be unique for a early 30's Japanese woman? It can be anything since she is sharing this box with her friends and family. So far I have the following items going in (some of which are things her and her friends requested):

cut and pasted from her email

whole wheat flour (for me)
bacon jerky (my coworkers loved it!)
cheeze flavored popcorn (my friend told me it was much better than Japanese one)
pickled asparagus (for my mother)
jelly beans (my sister's children really loved them. lycoris flavor is their favorite. Is it good? I didn't have a chance to try it)

What I plan on adding

Dunkin' Donuts Original Blend Coffee
Lays Potato Chips (one of the weird flavors)
Local organic soup
Mexican Coca-Cola
and a few other things (I cant remember what they are and I dont have my list near by)


Think of things that are very American (its actually harder than I thought) that you can't get outside of the US. Also, is there anything that I should request from Japan that is a 'must have' item?

[allegro]

Chocolate-covered pretzels
Trader Joe's re-usable grocery bags
Maple syrup

[NotoriousTIMP]

Oh I like the idea of the reusable bag idea!

Ive been informed from a friend that candy bars are looked down on and that I should skip on them. So now I'm just thinking of non-food products since I don't want to offend her family. Do you think I could legally send a bottle of wine? It would be kinda cool to have one from one of the famous vineyards.

[Millionaire]

A hamburger from In and Out, Shake Shack, or Five Guys is so American that Toby Keith would look like V.I. Lenin if he stood right next to one, but unfortunately is would be pretty gross by the time it got to Japan. Hmmmmm...outside of a gun, I can't think of anything non-perishable that wouldn't be available over there.

As far as the receiving part, theres this instant ramen called Nissin Chikin Ramen where you put a raw egg on top(a very fresh egg, of course), pour the hot water in the bowl, cover it, and let the heat cook the egg and ramen for several minutes. I think its really good, especially when you garnish it with onions, chilis, or whatever you want on your ramen. Looks like this:

Theres also this thing thats basically a hot water bottle that you fill up with boiling water, put a cover on it, and put it under your blanket at night, and you don't have to use your heater while you sleep:

[Baphomette]

Why not send more obnoxiously gourmet stuff? Like, instead of the Lays, send her Kale chips. And instead of Mexican coke, do something like Tapatilo sauce. She says her sister's kids love licorice, so maybe a box of Red Vines? Also, a friend of mine who frequently visits Tokyo says coffee creamers are the way to go. (Don't know if he's actually kidding about that or not.)

[millionmilesaway]

a football, pita chips, sprinkle on popcorn topping, favorite cleaning products like lysol wipes or magic erasers, locally made soap, dog/cat treats if she has a pet

[Dra508]

'Merican flag. You know the little ones you see at parades.

[Sarah K]

Peanut butter.

[allegro]

Oh I like the idea of the reusable bag idea!

They're evidently highly-coveted in Japan.

[allegro]

This is interesting. Old Bay seasoning, wow.

[ibanez33]

I've got nothing to contribute but I do feel compelled to point out that misspelled "thread" in your title Also this box of goodies does sound pretty cool. What weird flavors of Lays would we have in North America that Japan doesn't have, though?

[NotoriousTIMP]

*BUMP* My Mystery box from Japan came in today! I thought I would share with you what she sent me (for those of you who care). Also, to @ibenez23 - I *may* have had a wee bit too much to drink when I posted this originally. Right now I'm finsihing off a bottle of Chianti so bare with me if there are spelling errors.



little heart bubble wrap



AWESOME stationary on rice paper.



mystery gift #1



nicely packaged too



HANDMADE Teacups! AWESOME....I told her how I drink tea almost nightly so this is a perfect gift.



the whole sha-bang (minus the comcast remote)

[NotoriousTIMP]

she went as far as to get my dog a gift! Its a warmer pillow kinda like what @Millionare posted



Record Coasters = BADASS



A friend of mine asked for Mountain Dew flavored dorritos and this was her reply. Personally, I think these will be better than the dorritos



I had originally asked for Mega Man stuff but she didn't understand who I was talking about. After a few messages back and forth we found ourselves on the same page. Mega Man is known as Rockman in Japan (I should have remembered that) so she went out of her way to grab me a model of the guy. This thing is BADASS and I will post photos once I build him (most likely wont happen until after my move at the end of the month).



straight from the source



pumpkin flavored kit kats and green tea flavored kit kats behind it



I forgot what these are called, but they are THE BEST snack ever when drinking beer.

[NotoriousTIMP]

The sword is a letter opener and the ninja start is a fridge magnet.



more Rockman stuff!



and thats it! Thanks to everyone who helped out. We're thinking about doing a round 2 here shortly. Does anyone have any requests?

[Baphomette]

Dude... Are those super thin Pocky?? You lucky bastard.

And wow - what an amazingly sweet, well-thought out care package!

[allegro]

oh, man, G's coworker scored a bunch of those green tea Kit Kats online and THEY ARE AWESOME. He said they were they were hard to get.

[icecream]

Those green tea kit Kat's are amazing. You should try and get C.C Lemon. It's a great lemon soda packed with vitamin C.

[NotoriousTIMP]

I managed to put Megaman together this morning

[Dra508]

You got some great booty there. I'm quite curious what you ended up sending out.

[NotoriousTIMP]

It was pretty much everything in the first post. Most of it was requested by her friends or family and then I tossed in a few things I thought would be kinda cool. She loved the EOS lipbalm and @johnbron 's fiance makes these AMAZING flower pieces from kimono fabric.....