Japan Time

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Valentine's Day...Japan style.

In Japan, Valentine's Day is kind of the opposite of the States. Women give gifts to men (usually chocolate) and women get pretty much diddly-squat. But, a month after Valentine's Day is White Day, which is when men give return gifts of chocolate to women. So, for the past month or so, stores have been filled with chocolate and other Valentine's Day type things for women to choose from for those special men in their lives. And if words can't express just how much they love those men, there's plenty of Engrish to help them out:

The small print says: "Valentine's Day is an important day in year once. Please spend happy Valentine's day."

"Have a nice day! Your smile is so beautiful. I will give you a heartful present."

"a first-class cook seasoned these dishes with advanced techniques and highest class materials. please enjoy this 'tastiness.'"

And if that special man doesn't like chocolate, have no fear. There are other options available for that perfect Valentine's Day gift:

How about a bowl of Japanese type food with heart-shaped...meat? Fish shavings? No one can be sure.


Or maybe some deep-fried Valentine's Day goodness? Maybe potatoes...but probably fish. This is Japan, after all.

And of course, the stores waste no time in reminding men that they own their special women big time in a month:

This was on the back of a Valentine's Day sign.


So, on a personal note, my Japanese Valentine's Day was pretty good. I started the day with a video Skype chat with Michelle and Laura, which was awesome. We ate together (breakfast for me and dinner for them) and caught up on things.
Then I headed to work. There are no adult classes this week so I had a bit of a vacation. I only had two interviews with potential students the whole day, so I spent most of my time organizing my room and preparing for next week.
After work, I went home, ate dinner, and then some students and my manager came over to hang out. I haven't really had many visitors to my apartment yet, so it was really fun to be a host.
My friend Mallory back in the States sent me a package last week and included some Valentine's Day candy, which I shared with my guests. They were very intrigued by the candy bracelets (apparently not very popular in Japan):



Thanks, Mallory!




Michelle and Laura got back online and we chatted with them for a while. It was really fun to introduce them to some of my Japan people and chat about Japan and the States:




I hope your Valentine's Day was great, too! Happy (belated) Valentine's Day from Japan!

Kenichi, Yukako, Michiko, Yousuke (who has hayfever, hence the mask), and me

1 comment:

Kori said...

Hahaha, I love the heart shaped fish nuggets. :-) That's interesting how they do Valentine's Day and "white day". I've never heard of that. Then again the only stuff i know about Japan is what I've learned from watching Naruto..... Which is an awesome show by the way, lol. I know how you feel about anime. Do any of your friends like Naruto? If so, tell them I say Hi and I think they're awesome. :-) I think you're awesome too! Miss you. Hey, can you email me your mailing address please? korilavire@hotmail.com. Love you!