Yes, there are still several weeks left until Valentine's Day, but conscientious gift-givers don't have to wait to start their shopping. Every confectionary and supermarket in town has chocolate on display, prettily wrapped in colored paper and a ribbon. From the high-end, high-priced European imports to the cheap and chalky mass-produced variety, it's all there, packaged up and waiting to be given to that special someone.
One odd aspect of Japanese culture is its exuberant adoption, followed by total reinterpretation, of Western holidays. For example, while the Valentine's Day displays in the Kroger I shopped at in Nashville were a solid aisle of red and maybe a little pink, you can see that the color options here are much less limited. Another, maybe the most striking, difference between U.S. and Japanese Valentine's Day practice is that here in Japan, the whole point of the day is for women to give chocolate to men. Not other gifts, even flowers or heart-shaped candy, only chocolate. Not just boyfriends, but all the men in their lives, from dads to bosses. (The chocolate you give to your boss and co-workers is called "
giri-choco," which means "obligation chocolate" - how romantic!) Men reciprocate with white chocolate (not exactly a square deal if you ask me) on March 14, White Day, so the shops get to put on beautiful white-chocolate displays as soon as Valentine's is over.
There's a strong Martha Stewart strain in many Japanese women. Here's a supermarket display of all the special paper baking supplies and gift boxes you could ask for to make and deliver a homemade chocolate treat for the really important man in your life. Save the factory-wrapped gift boxes for the boss.
Yes, there are still several weeks left until Valentine's Day, but conscientious gift-givers don't have to wait to start their shopping. Every confectionary and supermarket in town has chocolate on display, prettily wrapped in colored paper and a ribbon. From the high-end, high-priced European imports to the cheap and chalky mass-produced variety, it's all there, packaged up and waiting to be given to that special someone.
One odd aspect of Japanese culture is its exuberant adoption, followed by total reinterpretation, of Western holidays. For example, while the Valentine's Day displays in the Kroger I shopped at in Nashville were a solid aisle of red and maybe a little pink, you can see that the color options here are much less limited. Another, maybe the most striking, difference between U.S. and Japanese Valentine's Day practice is that here in Japan, the whole point of the day is for women to give chocolate to men. Not other gifts, even flowers or heart-shaped candy, only chocolate. Not just boyfriends, but all the men in their lives, from dads to bosses. (The chocolate you give to your boss and co-workers is called "giri-choco," which means "obligation chocolate" - how romantic!) Men reciprocate with white chocolate (not exactly a square deal if you ask me) on March 14, White Day, so the shops get to put on beautiful white-chocolate displays as soon as Valentine's is over.
There's a strong Martha Stewart strain in many Japanese women. Here's a supermarket display of all the special paper baking supplies and gift boxes you could ask for to make and deliver a homemade chocolate treat for the really important man in your life. Save the factory-wrapped gift boxes for the boss.
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