Valentines in Japan

Tomorrow is February 14th, and you know what that means: Valentine’s Day!!! Valentine’s Day is a wonderful day of the year to spend a romantic day with that special someone. Or if you don’t have a significant other, to have a singles’ party, or mope in your home for yet another year.

Valentine’s Day is also celebrated in Japan, but not without its own quirks. Usually on the weekend or night before, girls spend a lot of time lovingly making homemade chocolates. It’s popular to put the chocolates in cute molds, throw some sprinkles on them, or sometimes color the chocolate itself. Then, they are put into cutely decorated (this IS Japan, after all) little baggies and given away. (Or for the busy woman, there are elegant displays of different types of chocolate in the grocery stores for at least a month leading up to the real day).

 My local grocery store display of chocolates

There are a bunch of different types of Valentine chocolates. They are:

  -Giri choko
      Chocolate given to male coworkers
  -Honmei choko
      Chocolate given to their boyfriend/husband/romantic interest
  -Tomo choko
      Chocolate given to friends

Working in a Japanese public school, I should give some to the principal, vice principal and maybe the Board of Education. But remembering how much fun the Valentines exchanging was back in elementary school when I was a kid, I try to give something to all of my coworkers. Last year, I had some individual packets of sweethearts shipped here. They were met with…less than ecstatic enthusiasm. But this year, embracing my newly found love of homemade food, I decided to experiment. And lo and behold:

Peanut butter cups! In Japan! If they don’t exist, make them!

(Thank you, Joy of Baking, for the recipe!)

But of course I had to put some aside for the JTEs, my English teaching buddies:

Aaaaw, how cute.

But then, I also have to give some to the Eikaiwa, the adult English class. And then...well, let’s just say that there will be NO leftovers.   >:D

In past years, I have received chocolate goodie bags from some of my female students. I already got one today, a day early! I wonder what tomorrow will bring....

Another thing of note: chocolate and gifts are only given from women to men. For the reverse, the Japanese invented another holiday called White Day, a month later. Also, people don’t send Valentine’s Cards. Or flowers, really. It seems as though Valentine’s Day was imported by the Japanese sweets industry to sell more chocolate – so what do they need flowers or cards for?