As an American, when you hear Valentine's Day, February 14, you think of hearts, chocolates, cards, and flowers. Men usually buy such gifts for their significant other. However, there are instances where women buy gifts for men, and family members and friends also exchange gifts.
When it comes to Japan, however, things get a little unique. It's said that Valentine's Day gained traction in Japan shortly after WWII. Newspapers began to run advertisements that stated, "Valentine's Sale". This was an attempt by distributors and confectionery companies to introduce Valentine's Day culture to Japan and boost sales. Therefore, there isn't any religious significance to Valentine's Day in Japan.
At that time, chocolate was not the "standard" Valentine's Day gift, and instead it was cosmetics and clothes. Men gave gifts to to women and people were also encouraged to give gifts to family and friends. It wasn't until the later half of the 50's when chocolate began to raise in popularity as the quintessential Valentine's Day gift.
It is said that there was another advertisement that circulated which stated, "A day when women give chocolates to the men they like and confess their feelings", and from that began the culture of women giving chocolates to men on Valentine's Day to profess their love.
Times have evolved however, and today there are several different "kinds" of Valentine's Day chocolates that can be given!
本命チョコ | My Favorite's Chocolate
"Honmei" or "My favorite" chocolate is chocolate given from the opposite sex (usually female to male) to the person that they genuinly have feelings for, such as a crush. This chocolate is to convey that you have feelings for the other person, and if reciprocated, you'll hear about it on March 14, or White Day!
義理チョコ | Obligation Chocolate
"Giri" or "obligation" chocolate is chocolate given out of...obligation. Japan is a gift giving culture, and it can seem rude to not give anything on Valentines' day. So, this is chocolate given by, usually females, to friends, coworkers, etc.
友チョコ | Friend Chocolate
"Tomo" or "friend" chocolate is chocolate exchanged between friends, usually females. Nowadays, it can be said that "tomo" chocolate is more popular than "honmei" chocolate!
マイチョコ | My Chocolate
"My" chocolate is chocolate bought and given to yourself. It can be called "gohoubi chocolate" or "treat myself chocolate"! I can personally attest to participating in this tradition every year ^_^!
逆チョコ | Reverse Chocolate
Since there is a strong culture of females giving chocolate to men, when it is reversed, it is called "gyaku" or "reverse" chocolate. March 14th is called White Day in Japan, and this is the day where men give chocolates in return to the females that confessed on February 14th. If you gave a chocolate and didn't get one in return on March 14th, it could be said that "They're not interested".
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Now, how did I spent Valentine's Day? I went to the movies! Although I have been living in Japan for four years, I've never once been to the movie theaters, which is such as a shame because I love movie theater popcorn. It can be said that is the ONLY reason I go to the movies, but this time I actually wanted to go see a movie. I wanted to see BTS「Yet to Come in Cinemas」!
BTS Yet to Come in Cinemas was released in Japan on February 1st, so perfect timing for an Army right, especially with BTS being on their two year hiatus. I fell in love with BTS during their Wings Tour in 2017. Actually, I wasn't a fan at the time. It was my sister who got me into BTS and I tagged along to their concert in Newark, New Jersey. I was supposed to just be her camera man during the concert, but I remember hearing Cypher 3 at the time and was like, "Wow, these guys are really talented!". I kind of fell off after arriving in Japan in 2018 and just generally fell out of K-pop overall, but I met an Army by chance in 2021, and it rekindled my interest and love in the group!
So, of course, when the movie came out, I was like, "Hey, let's plan a Valentine's date to go see it!" and we did. I was worried because I didn't know if movie theaters in Japan were different than in America, but everything went smoothly.
We first booked our tickets online on the movie theater website. We went to T-Joy Yokohama, which is basically connected to Yokohama Station and is super convenient. I think you can book your tickets up to 2-3 days in advance and choose your seats.
As for the BTS movie, there were three options. Option 1: Watch the concert in silence. Option 2: Watch the concert in silence but you can bring your light stick, towels, and other merch. Option 3: Cheer and bring light sticks, etc.
Once you select the type of show you want to see, you then sign-up on the website, select the seats, and pay online. At least for T-Joy, you can pay by Suica, Credit card, U-Next points and Amazon pay. If you don't want to pay online, you can pay at the kiosk on the day of the showing, but you must pay at least 15 minutes prior to the showing your tickets will be canceled.
We chose the 2nd option, and all we had to do was go up to the kiosk, scan the phone, and two tickets were printed!
Now, the refreshments! I was very curious. At least at T-joy, there weren't any boxed candy, nachos, or slushies. However, they did have your standard bucket of popcorn (butter and caramel options) and large size sodas. In addition to that, they served fries, chicken, hot dogs, and even churros! You could also get alcoholic drinks and some location even have ice cream crepes.
I ended up getting the butter popcorn and a soda and was pleasantly surprised to have it handed to me in a plastic holder which I found conveniently connects to your armrest. There was also a gift shop with movie merchandise too.
When it came time to go inside, we just scanned our ticket and walked toward the assigned theater. Because we were seeing BTS, we were given a post card as a gift.
After the movie, we went to eat lunch and exchange chocolates. I enjoyed the concert so much, I'm going again for White Day, but we are going to go to a 4D showing, so I'll report back what that was like in a future post!
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