Valentine’s Day is not far-off, and Japan is starting to get into “chocolate mode,” with lots of TV news pieces discussing the trends in chocolate this year. For reasons unique to Japan, February 14th has become a day for women to show their devotion to the men in their lives by giving them chocolate, a custom I’m rather happy with, being a guy and all. For casual giving there are hundreds of prepackaged chocolate gift boxes sold in stores, and often female office workers will give small boxes of giri choco or “obligation chocolate” to male co-workers or bosses to make them feel happy. Girlfriends, wives and daughters will often make handmade chocolates for their special men to show their love and thank them for working hard. If you’d like to give this a try this year, we’ve got a selection of chocolate molds and related products that you can pour melted chocolate or cake mix into, and J-List also sells dozens of amazing chocolate treats from Japan, from Japan-only Kit Kat varieties to Pocky and much more.
Japan is starting to think about chocolate.
