What is SHIOKURI?
In Japan, older adults often show affection through actions rather than physical touch. SHIOKURI is a Japanese cultural tradition where parents send comforting food, drinks, and daily-use products to their young adult children after they move away from home for work or college. These items include those that remind them of home and local favorites they might miss.
The following videos by the famous Japanese miso soup brand Marukome can give you an idea of how beautiful and personal the SHIOKURI box is. It will show what it feels to receive one 🥹
Didn’t you too get all teary like us? 🥹
What kind of things parents usually include in the box?
Items like instant rice to quickly make it when they are busy, Pocari drinks to be properly hydrated, cooling gel sheets to use if they catch a cold so that they don’t have to go shopping when they get sick.
Parents think of different scenarios and things their adult children may need. This is why sometimes they also include clam miso soup which is good for hangovers.
Many times parents also add extra things to fill all the gaps in the box and add some humor like random rice crackers all around the box or other snacks.
The picture below shows some of the items inside the SHIOKURI box that our co-founder’s (Miyuki) mom sent us when she asked us if we wanted rice from Akita. The date was closed to Christmas, so inside the rice bag she also added hidden random apples and Christmas sweets. This is also where Japanese moms use a bit of their own unique humor to make their adult children laugh.
How does it feel to receive a SHIOKURI Box?
Shiokuri box usually comes with a short handwritten note. As Miyuki says, “text messages feel impersonal, but a handwritten note feels warm and nostalgic, it reminds me of my mom’s handwriting. I laugh just seeing how our handwriting looks as if we were the same person”.
Even as older married adults, Miyuki's mom occasionally sends us SHIOKURI boxes. She doesn’t tell Miyuki exactly what she’s sending, so it’s always a surprise when it arrives. We love the surprise element of SHIOKURI boxes, so we sometimes take unboxing videos and send them to her.
”SHIOKURI culture reminds me of the nostalgia and motherly love from when I used to live in my hometown. It feels like a time slip back to those days” - Miyuki.
What could be inside our SHIOKURI Box?
Comforting and easy to make Japanese miso soup for the times when you are too busy to cook or too tired to go to the supermarket.
Japanese tea and paired snacks like dorayaki or rice crackers to enjoy them as a treat while getting some work done.
Ingredients for easy to make things like homemade onigiri, okonomiyaki, or soba from different Japanese households.
Healthy drinks like amazake, natto or small fish snacks to keep you healthy.
Seasonal drinks like ramune, cream soda, and sweet potato drinks to experience the four seasons of Japan.
Useful goods that make you think “I’m glad I have this!”.
Recipes. Not the ones from restaurants, but the recipes for dishes made in Japanese homes.
Last, but not least
As adults, it can get quite tough. There are moments when we really want to rely on someone. Some even have to work while taking care of their kids and dealing with a cold at the same time. Not everyone can rely on their parents who live far away as much as they used to before.
Through the SHIOKURI culture that we have in Japan, we want to be there to care for you! We want to make your daily life a little easier. We want you to experience what most tourist in Japan can’t, which is how daily live inside a Japanese home feels like.
Lastly, we think you'd also like this video below by Marukome. Miyuki and I (Hola Japon co-founders) are an international married couple and it truly moved our feelings. Isn't it beautiful to exchange cultures?