Valentine's Day

So, Valentine's Day in Japan is a little different from what people do in Europe. Apparently, the custom here is that girls give small boxes of chocolate to guys - and not only guys they are romantically interested in, but basically everybody. There seem to be two different kinds of chocolate boxes, one being reserved for the romantic interests or partners, and the other for everybody else.

Of course, the chocolate industry is very happy about this custom and produces special (meaning extra expensive) chocolates just for Valentine's Day. I managed to buy two boxes for less than half price - I went to the nearby convenience store around 11pm, and apparently there is very little demand for them once Valentine's Day is (nearly) over. The packaging is super fancy, of course, and they give you a small paper bag (with matching design) for each box you buy.

As for the taste, at least the ones I got are very nice! Pretty decent chocolates, especially for the Japanese standard of chocolate ;-)

And because the chocolate industry likes the profit they make on Valentine's Day, they invented a payback day: the guys are supposed to return the favor exactly one month later, on March 14th.