Valentine's Day and White Day in Japan: Who Gives Chocolate to Whom?

In short: In Japan, Valentine’s Day (February 14) is traditionally the day women give chocolate — to partners, crushes, friends, and sometimes coworkers. A month later, on White Day (March 14), people who received chocolate give a gift back. Today, more and more people simply buy fine chocolate for friends — or for themselves.

How Valentine’s Day works in Japan

Unlike in many countries, Valentine’s Day in Japan isn’t mainly about couples going out or men giving flowers. The classic picture is women giving chocolate, and there are names for each kind:

Type	Japanese	Given to
Honmei-choco	本命チョコ	“True feeling” chocolate — a partner or someone you love. Often expensive or handmade
Giri-choco	義理チョコ	“Obligation” chocolate — coworkers, bosses, classmates. Small and inexpensive
Tomo-choco	友チョコ	“Friend” chocolate — swapped between friends, often handmade
Jibun-choco	自分チョコ	“Me” chocolate — a treat for yourself (also called gohōbi choco, “reward chocolate”)

Koto’s tip: Giri-choco used to be a big office custom. Today many workplaces have quietly dropped it, and lots of people say they’d rather spend that money on beautiful chocolate for themselves!

Where it came from

Valentine’s Day chocolate in Japan is usually traced back to Morozoff, a confectioner in Kobe, which ran a Valentine’s chocolate advertisement in 1936 in an English-language newspaper for foreign residents. The custom only really spread from the 1950s to the 1970s, helped by confectioners and department stores, and the “women give chocolate” style became the norm.

The department-store chocolate fairs

From late January to February 14, big department stores hold huge chocolate fairs, with chocolatiers from Japan and abroad, limited-edition boxes, and long lines on weekends. For chocolate lovers it’s one of the best events of the year — and many shoppers go mainly for themselves.

Popular Japanese flavors include matcha, hojicha, yuzu, sake, black sesame and sakura, and Hokkaido’s soft nama (“fresh”) chocolate is a classic gift.

Handmade chocolate (tezukuri)

Making chocolate at home is a big part of the season, especially for teens making tomo-choco. Supermarkets and 100-yen shops set up whole aisles of molds, wrapping and kits in late January. Popular choices: nama chocolate, truffles, brownies and chocolate cookies — things that are easy to make in batches and wrap individually.

Easy matcha nama chocolate

1. Heat 100 ml of cream until steaming (not boiling).
2. Pour it over 200 g of chopped white chocolate and stir until smooth.
3. Sift in 2 teaspoons of matcha and mix well.
4. Pour into a lined small tray, chill for 3–4 hours until firm.
5. Cut into squares with a warm knife and dust with more matcha.

White Day: March 14

On White Day, people who received chocolate on Valentine’s Day give a gift back. Traditionally that meant men returning gifts to women.

• Classic return gifts: cookies, marshmallows, candy, white chocolate — and today, often accessories, cosmetics or a nice dinner.
• Sanbai-gaeshi (三倍返し): a famous, half-joking saying that the return gift should be worth “three times” what you received.
• Origins: the most commonly cited story is that a Japanese confectionery industry association set March 14 as a day to give candy in 1978, and the first White Day was held in 1980. Other confectioners also claim to have started a “return gift day” around the same time.

White Day has spread to some other parts of East Asia, such as South Korea, Taiwan and China.

Koto’s tip: If someone gave you giri-choco at work, a small box of cookies on March 14 is plenty — no need for “three times”!

How it’s changing

• Fewer giri-choco, more chocolate for friends, family and yourself.
• Men giving chocolate, too, sometimes called gyaku-choco (“reverse chocolate”).
• Gender-free — many people now simply say Valentine’s is a chocolate festival for everyone.

FAQ

Do Japanese couples go on dates on Valentine’s Day? Some do, but the big romantic date night in Japan is actually Christmas Eve.

If I’m visiting Japan in February, what should I do? Visit a department-store chocolate fair (go on a weekday morning), and try seasonal limited-edition sweets in convenience stores.

Is it okay to give chocolate to a Japanese friend as a non-Japanese person? Of course. A small box of chocolate with a short card is a friendly gesture — tomo-choco style.

Related

• Japanese Gift Guide
• Sakura Season Treats
• Matcha Brands Worth Knowing