Valentine's Day in Japan

If you are in Japan on Valentine's Day, you might be surprised to find out that those cute and fancy chocolates that you see displayed prominently in supermarkets and shopping malls are actually meant for guys. I mean, here, the girls are obliged to give chocolates to the guys. Crazy as it may sound it is true, although my wife swears she will never get accustomed to this marketing ploy.

Every year, today, the girls will present something to the guys, secretaries to bosses, female colleagues to male colleagues etc. And yours truly did savior something sweet today, courtesy of the girls in the laboratory. Called the giri-choko (義理チョコ) from the words giri ("obligation") and choko, ("chocolate"), these gifts are meant for co-workers. What is termed as the honmei-choko (本命チョコ) are chocolates reserved for loved ones.