Unique Japanese Gift

A nice way to discover the exotic world of Japanese cuisine (sake in this particular case), is with this seven-piece sake set. The bottle measures about 7 inches (17.7cm) tall, and the cups are 2.25 inches (5.7cm) tall. The set is handcrafted in Japan.

AsianArtMall.com deals exclusively in Asian Arts and Crafts. Most of the products are directly acquired from the artists or production houses. This allows AsianArtMall to offer their items at affordable prices, without compromising on quality control. Some of the products are even custom made for the company, and only available on their website.

They have a special "For Her" section too, which features jewellery imported from Thailand, Bali, Japan, and China. Each piece is hand selected for its uniqueness.

AsianArtMall has full-time buyers which are located throughout Asia. If there's a product somewhere out there, they'll be able to find it.

PS: Sake Bar Hakkaisan is a place where you can read more about the art of drinking/appreciating SAKE.

Martial Arts Supplies

Black Display Samurai Sword Set

KarateDepot.com has a huge collection of goodies for the martial arts practitioner and/or enthusiast. This samurai sword set can be used for actual practice, or as a decoration for one's home.

The set comes with three beautifully crafted stainless steel "sharp" swords -- they are crafted to look and feel like authentic samurai swords. The scabbards are polished black lacquered wood, and the gold coloured handguard against the black handle catches even the smallest glimmers of light.

The swords included are the Katana (general term for single-edged sword), Wakizashi (similar to but shorter than a katana), and Tanto Black (has a thick pointed blade) Display Samurai Swords.



A real Wakizashi-style sword mounting, Edo period, 19th century


There are also gift items like the really cute Karate Bear. The plush bear from Boyd's Bears stands at 8" (20cm) tall and is dressed in an authentic karate uniform with a black belt. The bear is of the same quality and attention to detail that Boyd's Bears is famous for.

KarateDepot's whole range of martial arts supplies includes uniforms and sparring/training gear, to exercise equipment like leather jump ropes and deluxe exercise mats.

China Gifts & Crafts

Glass wall clocks, glass fruit bowls, and glass ashtrays. These are some of the attractive products which you can get from China Gifts & Crafts.

Their high quality glass products are hand-painted, roasted to give a curved-shape (at the corners), then finally put into a stove under high temperatures to be fused. All the processes such as color matching, painting and furnishing are completed by hand. The materials used are non-fading, non-toxic, and eco-friendly.

I found their products very tasteful and liked the wide range of floral designs very much. They're slightly whimsical, which makes each piece unique without being too stark. The products would be more of a complement than contrast to one's home decor.

Handcrafted Journal

Before there were blogs, there were journals.

Some stats: at 111, the world's oldest man (Mr. Tomoji Tanabe of Tokyo) upkeeps a daily journal. In a recent scientific study, psychologists determined that putting feelings into words produces therapeutic effects in the brain. Something which practitioners of mindfulness meditation have been doing for millennia.

Maybe you know someone who still journals, the old fashioned way - it *is* more private! Not to mention all the benefits as listed above.

You could get him or her an authentic, beautifully handcrafted journal from Nepal. There are a couple of wirebound journals too for someone with more fastidious habits, whereby they'd prefer ripping a whole unwanted sheet off instead of having a messy, scribbled and re-scribbled page amidst their lokta/recycled papers (the type of paper that SoulfulLiving uses for its paper products).

SoulfulLiving also has unique gift baskets - you can even mix and match items to create your own gift basket. Thoughtful consideration goes into each of their themes and combinations, which are aptly named to the likes of "Tranquil Meditation" (one of my favorites, looking at the colors is soothing enough), "Awakening" (for energizing), and "Om Mantra".

Something funky about SoulfulLiving is that you can select your favorite gift wrapping from eight colorful and fun specialty wrapping papers. These papers are hand crafted in India and Japan.