Valentine's Day

I figured that, since Valentine’s day is a holiday imported into Japan and yet is in many ways distinct from American Valentine’s day, that it was worth mentioning here. For starters, the tradition here is not for men to buy their girlfriends things, but for women to buy men chocolate. The chocolate falls into two categories: That which is for someone for whom a woman has special feelings (such as a boyfriend or crush) and that which is obligatory, (such as is given to bosses, teachers and the like). Frequently, if a woman really likes someone, she will make something chocolate for them, such as cake or other candies. What this means is that Valentine’s day here is very much a chocolate holiday, though I believe that there have been attempts to branch out in other directions. Every department store, bakery, and convenience store has a substantial section devoted to chocolate, the quality of which of course depends on the venue. I personally decided to pick up some chocolate for my host family at my favourite bakery, where they had some ‘raw chocolate’, which is basically very soft chocolate that melts at just above room temperature, that had black pepper in it for a little bit of interesting flavour. When I got home my host family had also bought me some chocolate, a box from a Kobe company called Morozoff, which is believed to have started the chocolate-giving tradition here in Japan. It was *very* nice chocolate. There is none left.