Photo of Dominique Saibron's sweets in Tokyo: Flickr/Tim Schapker
If you think you have it rough on February 14 take heart: At least you don’t live in Japan. Chocolate advertisers introduced Valentine’s Day to Nippon in 1936 and by the ’50s, the confectionery companies were marketing exclusively to women, creating an odd custom. In Japan, only women give gifts on Valentine’s Day, specifically chocolate. Candies for your sweetheart are honmei-choko (true love chocolate), and are the most extravagant or even handmade. Since Japan is a gift-giving culture, a girl’s also got to get her bosses and male colleagues less expensive giri-choco (obligation chocolate), and as women have advanced in the workplace, buka-choko for male subordinates. There’s also the increasingly popular trend of buying tomo-choco (friendship chocolate) for female pals, and jubun-choko (my chocolate) for a little self-pampering.
The most common place to buy chocolates is in the depachika, a wonderland of luxury food stalls in the basement of most Japanese department stores. This year, well known depatos (Jingrish for “department stores”) like: Takashimaya, Mitsukoshi, Isetan, Odakyu, and Seibu have gone all out with entire floors dedicated to chocolate fairs. Takashimaya’s “Amour du Chocolat!” and Odakyu’s “Valentine World” feature nearly 100 brands from around the world. Relatively new chocolatiers, such as Brooklyn’s handcrafted Mast Brothers Chocolate, are being sold alongside longtime luxury staples like France’s Fauchon and Belgium’s Godiva.
Japanese companies are also getting in on the act. This year, wacky and nontraditional chocolate gifts are extremely popular, from chocolate lip gloss and nail polish to Tokyo restaurant menu items like: chocolate ramen, chocolate covered burgers, mole-inspired chocolate chicken, and even chocolate pizza. Other creative gift trends include “reverse chocolates,” intended for men to give to women (with the label lettering printed backwards), 80 minute, $250 chocolate facials, and even chocolate baths.
Lest the ladies be left out though—and the luxury-goods industry miss a marketing opportunity—on March 14, Japanese men reciprocate with gifts (often jewelry and handbags) for the similarly fabricated holiday of White Day.
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