Omiyage from Hakone

Like every region in Japan, Hakone has specialty omiyage (gifts) that are available *only* in Hakone. If you're looking for gifts or souvenirs, here's what to buy in Hakone.

-- Hakone Yosegi Zaiku. This intricate woodwork dates from the 1600s, and is a rare art form found exclusively in Hakone. Artisans use the natural colors of wood from various local trees to create intricate, detailed, geometric patterns. The patterns are sliced into paper-thin sheets and used on the famous "puzzle boxes", which require a tricky series of 12 moves to open! The highlight of my trip was randomly running into one of the artisans in his workshop. He showed me all the steps to make the puzzle box, and he gave me some of his "reject" puzzle boxes because they didn't pass his very stringent quality control! That was an amazing experience, and I now recommend every visitor to Hakone to purchase this type of woodwork! View http://www.hakonemaruyama.co.jp/about_yosegi-e.htm for more details, or see the "Yosegi" entry on Wikipedia.

-- Kokeshi dolls and other wood crafts. The arm- and leg-less wooden kokeshi dolls are easy to find in Hakone. Both traditional (dentou-kokeshi) and creative/contemporary (shingata-kokeshi) dolls are available in shops throughout Hakone. Wooden toys, boxes, and other gifts are also widely available in Hakone.

-- Manju. Hakone is known for its manju, and manju shops abound in the central shopping area. Most shops make their own manju, and tourists can observe the assembly line in some shops. The manju is typically individually-wrapped and sold in boxes of 10 or 12, which makes for an easy-to-transport and nice-looking gift. Most unique was the charcoal manju at Usagi-ya, which contains real charcoal and is pitch-black in color. The charcoal manju had a chewy, sticky consistency, and a bit of an earthy taste, with red bean in the center... Delicious!

-- Kamaboko (fish cakes) and Tsukemono (pickled vegetables)