Valentine’s day in Japan is a day where women give men chocolate and men eat chocolate.
It’s not all fun and games, as you must remember who gave you chocolate and then a month later return the gesture on March 14th, which is called White Day. Your return present should be worth about 3x the gift you received on Valentine’s Day.
Women will give chocolate to, not just lovers, crushes, and spouses, but also co-workers, bosses, friends, and family members.
So what seems like a giant ego boost is really becomes an obligation to empty your wallet later on.
It’s truly a time of year where dashing good looks are a curse…
The best Valentine’s Day gifts I’ve received has been bottles of sake. On White Day I simply bought more bottles of sake as a return gift and we all drank them together!
Younger girls will usually make chocolate by hand, as they don’t have the money to spend on expensive candy. They’ll buy wrapping paper and decorations to make their gifts cute. It’s called 「手作りチョコ」(tezukurichoko), and I think it almost means more than fancy expensive chocolate. (though I still prefer sake)
Happy Valentine’s Day world!
If you want to read about my worst Valentine’s Day check out my post: On a Valentine’s Day
Watch Yuuki shops for chocolate for her uncle and cousin:
Gaijin Chameleon 
I have to admit. I got my email and it said new post “VD” I wasn’t expecting Valentines Day. I don’t know why…
I’m clever like that… Funny, but I make you think!