Last week, Rei, asked me if I wanted to go to Tachikawa to shop for a Valentine's Day gift for David. Yes!!! Valentine's Day, even though it is one of those commercialized holidays, its the one I've always wanted to celebrate. There's just something romantic and magical of receiving a secret valentine that I can only imagine makes your heart pitter-patter off the chart! You see, I was one of those girls that would watch the other girls receive secret candy grams and florist made bouquets delivered during class from some secret admirer, <sigh> just holding my breath that one of those beautiful flowers would be mine.. it didn't happen *sniff* :)
Fast forward - I am finally married to a man that I have loved almost my whole adult life and knew that someday we would marry. This year will be our first Valentine's Day physically spent together, EVER! Flashes of past daydreams dancing in my head imagining what kind of Valentine's Day we would have..it was going to be romantic and, well...magical. Imagine my surprise when David came home to tell me that he specifically liked Dark Chocolate, but I could forgo the flowers. I'm like..WHAT are you talking about??!! He quickly, and very happily, I might add, that in Japan the men receive flowers and chocolate, not the women. I thought he was joking because he knows I can be quite gullible, but I was not going to fall for this trick. Unfortunately,
Rei confirmed this sad bit of information. No it's true...the men receive all the pretty valentine flowers and chocolate.
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This past Wednesday, Rei and I went to Tachikawa. I could not believe my eyes, this is no joke, the japanese women take their Valentine's Day shopping seriously. It looked like an end of season clearance sale at Macy's. Counter after counter, kiosk after Kiosk was a bevy of chocolates! Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, truffles, bon-bons...and women everywhere. It was a chocolate haven and I suspect that some of those women pushing and sampling couldn't help but make a few hidden purchases for themselves! Sales ladies passed out chocolate samples like the perfume lady in front of Macy's, only instead of being nauseated by the smell of perfume, we were nauseated from sampling too much chocolate! In fact, this trip reminded me of buying perfume. I liken this experience the same as trying to find the best chocolate to finding the perfect scent but because you've smelled so many, you can't remember which one was your favorite. I knew David liked dark chocolate, but which one? There were just so many to choose from. In the end, I selected one that was sprinkled with 60% dark cocoa over Dark Belgian...ooh so yummm.
But wait...what about the girls?? We get a marshmallow. Yep, it's called White Day and its celebrated in March. Apparently, the men give their sweethearts a marshmallow, hence the white. I don't know who's bright idea that was but I'm with Rei, screw the marshmallow..I want chocolate!
Giri (girl) choco as the day is called. As for the marshmallow in March, think of it as a "Peep" day, one someone in our family would greatly appreciate! (M.S., you know who you are)
ReplyDeleteNo! No! No! There is just something soooooo terribly wrong with this picture!!!! And who says you have to do as they do??? I would protest. Without your Valentines chocolate, you just cannot survive!! ;-) I do bet he shared with you though, didnt he? Yummo!!! I really do not get the marshmellow thing, unless you can get it drowned in chocolate!!!!
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