Dearth of gift stores turn travellers into ‘souvenir refugees’ at Osaka airport

If you are visiting Osaka in Japan, make sure you buy your souvenirs before heading to the airport to catch a flight home.

Those who have a habit of making last-minute purchases only at the airport will find out that there is a dearth of outlets to pick up local specialities at the Kansai International Airport there.

According to a Sankei Shimbun report on Sunday, at least eight stores spanning two floors and stocking souvenirs before immigration checks in Terminal One shut for renovations over two stages in 2021.

The five-year upgrading comes before Osaka hosts the 2025 World Expo that is expected to draw many visitors to the city.

But two other stores in the airport’s Aeroplaza complex, connected to the terminal by a walkway, have also been shuttered since March 2023 because of poor sales during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Apart from Osaka, Kansai International Airport also serves travellers headed to popular destinations in the region such as Kyoto, Kobe and Nara.

Buying souvenirs, snacks or handicrafts that are unique to specific regions as gifts for family or co-workers has become a custom for most travellers in Japan.

The hardship faced by travellers to snap up gifts at Kansai International Airport has led to Japanese netizens describing them as “souvenir refugees”.

After a futile search for souvenir stores at the airport before the immigration zone, one “refugee”, who was visiting his parents in Wakayama, said: “I should have bought before going to the airport.”

The man, 51, who lives in Tokyo, told Sankei that he found only one shop after security checks.

Convenience stores and pharmacies may offer some local snacks but their product range cannot compare with that in souvenir stores, tourists said. Some have commented on social media that the authorities should do something to rectify the situation.

The tradition of purchasing souvenirs, or omiyage in Japanese, stretches back to the Edo period as early as the 17th century, said Dr Yuichiro Suzuki, curator of the Kawasaki City Museum.

“The original form of souvenirs was to share the blessings of the gods and Buddhas we visited,” he said, as cited by Sankei.

While peasants were largely restricted from moving out of their villages, exceptions were made for visits to temples and shrines, he added. Pilgrims would return to their homes to share sacred sake received at the shrines.

“In Europe and the United States, (souvenirs) are more of a memory of a trip for yourself. In Japan, it is premised on giving them to people,” added the author of Omiyage To Tetsudo, a book charting the advent of souvenirs along with the Japanese railway network.