Valentine’s Day is near the corner and I am very excited about it. Not because I get to shower my love with gifts and candy, but because she gets to do it for me! That’s right! Here in Japan, it’s the Men that get the goodies!

Unlike the traditional Valentine’s Day, Japan splits it into two days. February 14 is Valentine’s Day for the men to get gift and March 14 is called White Day and this is the day women get gifts. And what is even better about Japan’s Valentine’s Day is that you don’t have to just buy chocolate and gifts for the man you love, but you can do it for any man!

Fathers, brothers, friends, and even co-workers are all given the joy of receiving a chocolate on this day. There is two types of chocolate given to the men, giri-choco which means obligation chocolate and honmei-choco which means homemade; from the heart. So Hiromi is going to be busy buying about 20-30 pieces of chocolate for her male friends and co-workers and I of course, get the good stuff. Also, sometimes, the chocolate given to the men whom they love is white vice brown and I might even get some clothes or a tie. I am hoping clothes.

Also the packages are nice too. Meiji is a popular candy company here in Japan and when it comes to holidays, they create elaborate packages and neat designs. Cross your fingers and hope I get a giant Pikachu chocolate!