Rin✿ Valentine's Day?

Hello, everyone!
I had something I wanted to write about today,

but since there wasn't any proper lighting for photos,

I decided to keep that for another time.

So, for today's post (which is quite late, I apologise),
I thought I'd talk about the closest holiday...

Valentine's Day!
Yes, I know it's early... But I absolutely
can not wait for it, I love it so much!

The cute decorations, the yummy chocolate...
I'm so excited!

We can all guess about how Valentine's day is
celebrated in western countries, but what about in
more foreign places? Specifically, Japan?

In Japan, much like in America, Valentine's Day
is a day for you to shower your sweet-heart with chocolates,
but... Probably not flowers! In Japan, Valentines Day is when

the women give chocolate to the men, and making home made chocolate is very popular, and it usually
means a lot more than buying some.

I'd really like to teach you about the types of chocolate

that are typically given in Japan!

First, you have "giri choco" (gee-ree cho-co), which means
"obligatory chocolate". This is usually not very decorative chocolate, in my experience, and is given to men who you have no love interest in, such as your boss, co-worker, and male friends.

The second is "honmei choco" (hown-may cho-co), which means
"true feeling chocolate". This is my really beautiful looking usually,

because this is given to the man that women like as more than a friend, such as a boyfriend or husband, and on special occasions, some people might even give them to a boy they have a crush on as a 告白 (confession)!

However, my favourite kind of chocolate on Valentine's Day
is called "tomo choco" (toe-moe cho-co) which is "Friendship Chocolate". This chocolate is given to men and women with which you are good friends with, and is usually cute! The last time I was in Japan, my friends and I all made this chocolate together when they got out of juku.

With all the chocolate to buy in Japan, especially ones that are
nicely arranged, it's safe to say that stores are usually crowded this time of year, and usually with very pretty decorations to make the chocolate look even more tempting ♡

So, that's about all I can give you on Valentine's Day in Japan!
Of course, it's much more exciting when you're participating than when you're just looking at photos (and also nerve wracking if you've got a crush!), but I hope that maybe you've learned a little bit, too! Oh, and one more thing...

You may be wondering, at this point,
"What do the guys give the girls in Japan on Valentine's day?"
And my answer to you, is nothing.

That's right, girls don't receive anything on Valentine's Day, and sure, that might seem unfair now... But, the truth is, girls get a whole day to their own, too, just like the men do!

Each year on March 14th is "White Day", which is just like Valentine's Day, only for us this time! The presents are pretty much the same, on guys tend to give their girl friends gifts such as lingerie and cute items along with chocolate; I've been told even a dinner date if they can get off work/school soon enough!

How fun is that? I personally love White day, heehee!

Until next time♪

xx

Rin