If you have a boyfriend, you usually give him chocolate. You could buy an expensive box of chocolate, such as Godiva, or you could do it the way I think most men prefer: tezukuri (handmade) chocolate. I didn't actually make it myself, but if you do, I heard it's really easy. You just melt some chocolate bars, add cream, stir it up, let it harden somewhat, cut out hearts and other shapes using cookie cutters, and let it fully harden.
Women also give out giri chocolate, or "safety" chocolate. I think you can give it to your friends who don't have girlfriends, and I think that coworkers also give it to each other. That area is a little fuzzy to me, but I keep hearing about all these salary men who come home from work with their briefcases stuffed full of chocolate. If the salary men are giving each other chocolate, then it's not an exclusive from women to men exchange, so I'm not quite sure how that works. But a briefcase full of chocolates sounds like a deal to me!
Hey Nozomi-sensei :)
ReplyDeleteGiri-choco can also be called "duty chocolate", because women who work in offices have to give it to all the men in the office, whether they want to or not. Women can give it to single guys they know, but as far as I know, the only way sarariman get giri-choco is from the OLs (the "office ladies", who as I understand it mostly make tea and do secretarial work) and any women who work at the company. It's not very fair, since the women are obliged to give giri-choco to all the guys, but as I understand it, on White Day the guys only have to give back to the women they like.
ところで、I am so jealous of your getting to go to the moss garden...I've been to Kyoto but not there-- I've only read a beautiful magazine article about it.
頑張ってね！