shuriken-top

It’s cheap, easy, and it makes their Naruto dreams come true.

The Japanese custom of giving gifts known as omiyage after you’ve come home from traveling somewhere often applies in reverse too: sometimes you bring gifts with you to give to people in the place you’re traveling to.

Figuring out what presents to bring along to your travel destination can be a real pain, but Japanese Twitter user @dekopon_to_love recently posted an easy, cheap way for Japanese people to bring an awesome gift that foreigners will love (translation below).

https://twitter.com/dekopon_to_love/status/802523927947812865

“Stockpiling a bunch of origami shuriken when you go traveling abroad makes it real easy to give gifts. It depends on the country of course, but whenever I give them to people after they give me directions or help me out somehow, they really seem to like them. One time I gave one to a taxi driver along with the tip, and they were so excited they rolled down the window and threw it. Before I could even pick it back up, a kid ran by and took it. I was shocked.”

That may sound a bit silly, but honestly receiving origami as a little present is really awesome. I once had a taxi driver in Okinawa who gave me an origami frog for seemingly no reason that he’d made, and I still have it today.

I can only imagine what someone in a country outside of Japan would think after getting an origami shuriken from a Japanese person. It would be a shock, in a good way, and they’d probably wonder if they just received a “throwing star” from an actual Japanese ninja.

Other Twitter users chimed in with their own experiences:

▼ “When I was abroad (in Erromango in the Vanuatu Republic), the kids loved getting origami four-pointed stars and paper pistols. I recommend trying those too.”

▼ “That is a great story. When I was at a San Fransisco food court, I turned some leaflets into origami cranes and shuriken and suddenly people started crowding around.”

https://twitter.com/dasusorin/status/802745949982339073

▼ “When I was a kid I made an origami crane on a plane and gave it to a stewardess. She loved it so much she brought me a Godiva chocolate box from first class. Even though I was little, I saw the huge power little presents can have.”

Seems like giving origami gifts is the way to go if you want awesome things to happen. To find out how to make your own shuriken, check out our article with downloadable templates. And if you really want to make some Naruto dreams come true, maybe you can start learning how to fold some 3-D anime origami.

Source: Twitter/@dekopon_to_love via My Game News Flash, Hamusoku
Top image: Pakutaso