Gift wrap can transform an everyday object to something more special and thoughtful, and nowhere else is this custom taken more delicately than in Japan, where the style of wrapping varies from item to item. “We love the emphasis on gift-wrapping in Japanese culture: It not only makes the experience of accepting the gift better, but also of giving the gift,” says Angélique J.V. Chmielewski, a frequent traveler to Japan and co-founder of the specialty home and gift shop Nalata Nalata, which stocks a curated assortment of crafted goods from all over the country. “The value of the gift is not as important as the manner of presentation. If you’re offering money, it typically is inserted into an envelope that has a decorative rice-paper cord knot on the front, called a mizuhiki. For objects, there are cloths called furoshiki that are available. They evolved from a need to wrap items for protection during transport centuries ago, and became a part of how items are offered to friends and family.”