Loading...

Feb 10, 2020

How's your Valentine's Day looking?

Who's planning something fun for Valentine's Day? Ladies, are you going traditionally Japanese and buying giri-choco for your office mates and such? Have you seen any fun chocolates or other seasonal treats in stores? I won't be doing much, but I'm making little baskets for my kids with some goodies, and will probably try and find a card for my husband!

genkidesu

genkidesu

Love to travel, interested in J-beauty products and consider myself a convenience store snack aficionado. Navigating the ever-present challenges of expat life, particularly about my TCK's (third culture kids).

6 Answers



  • helloalissa

    on Feb 10

    No to giri-choco! haha. We get tons of omiyage at work already and half of my coworkers are doing some kind of diet all the time. It's looking to be lonely this year as my husband will still be working on a project out of town. We don't usually do anything special just for Valentine's Day. Work as usual.

    0
  • Eli

    on Feb 10

    I will make chocolate for my husband. At my company, we don't really distribute chocolate on Valentine's day so I only make some for my husband.

    0
  • ReishiiTravels

    on Feb 10

    I won’t be doing any giri choco, but I will be making some brownies for my boyfriend!! And I might make some hamburger too!

    0
  • TonetoEdo

    on Feb 10

    Nobody's mentioned giri choco at work, so I think I'll dodge that obligation. It's midweek, so it's tough to do anything with the guy. He's a chocolate fan, so I'll dose him on the weekend.

    0
  • edthethe

    on Feb 22

    I know this is late but I will answer anyway. I didn't do anything this year for Valentine's day. I made cookies the weekend following though, so that my family could feel the love. I loved making chocolates every year when I worked in a school and I think that I might try to plan something next year that is a bit more festive than this year.

    0
  • JapanRamen

    on Mar 17

    I did not get anything (even from my partner), and in turn, I had 0 stress when White Day came around haha

    0

Awaiting More Answers

4 Answers

Inaka vs. do-inaka?

What's your perception of the word 田舎? Is inaka defined by distance from a major centre, lack of amenities, the attitudes of the residents? What do you consider ど田舎? The photo is the Edo River at Nagareyama City looking towards Tokyo which isn't that far away...

TonetoEdo

on Apr 4

2 Answers

Movie locations near you worth visiting?

The live action version of テルマエ・ロマエ Thermae Romae (2012) was shot at Nokogiriyama, Kyonan Town, Chiba Prefecture. It's one of my favourite getaways for hiking, the temple complex, and catching sea breezes. The movie is hilarious and heartwarming. Which Japanese live-action movies do you recommend, and are the filming locations worth a visit? Tell us the original title, English title, the year, and the location.

TonetoEdo

on Mar 23

3 Answers

Recent vending machine discoveries?

I always get a little kick out of finding a vending machine that dispenses something other than drinks or ice-cream. I have been seeing an increase in vending machines that sell religious items lately. I also like finding vending machines with unusual or attractive wrapping. Have you come across any unusual vending machines lately? Either vending machines that sell something other than the norm or a vending machine with eye-catching wrapping?

BigfamJapan

on Mar 21

5 Answers

What are our consumer rights in Japan?

Do you know your consumer rights in Japan? And if so, would you be willing to share anything about them? For example, what is the policy on returns? I am very familiar with my consumer rights in my home country, and they are very widely publicized back home, but information doesn't seem to be as transparent or readily available here. Or is that just me?

BigfamJapan

on Mar 15

15 Answers

What do you most associate with Ehime Prefecture?

Today, February 20th, is Ehime Prefecture Day. What do you most associate with Ehime Prefecture, what is the very first thing that comes to mind when I say "Ehime Prefecture"!?

BigfamJapan

on Feb 20

4 Answers

What do you most associate with Fukui Prefecture?

It is "Hometown Day" in Fukui Prefecture today. Whether you have been there or not, what do you most associate with Fukui Prefecture?

BigfamJapan

on Feb 7

8 Answers

Do you have a favorite mascot?

The other day, on "Strawberry Day" I wrote about "Yoshimin", the strawberry mascot of Yoshimi. I thought it might be fun to introduce a few others, so I've just written about "Tokimo" the mascot of Kawagoe. And I plan to introduce a couple of my favorites. It begs the question, do you have a favorite mascot? And how about writing a post on City-cost about your favorite or a local mascot? Pictured "Umerin" who I plan to write about next!

BigfamJapan

on Jan 17

4 Answers

Growing Mushrooms

Here's for a weird hobby. I just saw a video by an American Youtuber that I plan to watch about growing shiitake mushrooms. From what I've seen, it probably needs a bit of space. There was a local market in Fukuoka Prefecture that had a "mushroom room" where they grew and sold mushrooms like maitake and eringi. I also saw a video of a couple in Paris that built a mushroom growing shower room! The local hardware store sells "seeded" logs and shiitake mushroom growing kits. I have seen the logs around people's homes on occasion. It seems like a very odd, but sustainable hobby. Has anyone tried it, or is anyone interested to try this? I wonder how involved or beginner friendly it is.

helloalissa

on Dec 29

6 Answers

Hair Color Treatments for Greying Hair

For those of you who have colored grey hair, I'm curious about the hair color treatments available in most drugstores. They seem simpler to use than box dyes. It's been many years since I've colored my hair. It's a chestnut brown and my grey is more silver. I don't hate it but the grey is dry and making me feel like I look older than I am. I'm especially interested in the natural brands that are non-permanent. For example Rishiri Kombu sounds like a decent option. Looking forward to your recommendations and experience.

helloalissa

on Aug 3

7 Answers

Entrance ceremony clothes

Soon my kid will have his entrance ceremony at school, and I'm looking for those typical Japanese style ceremony clothes for myself. I'm 1.80m, not so skinny woman, which has huge problems to even find normal clothes in Japan. Does anybody have the same problem and might have any advice, where to get those ceremony clothes in a taller size?

BlueButterfly

on Feb 17

13 Answers

What shampoo brand do you recommend for dandruff?

I have been dealing with this dandruff situation for quite a while now and I still can't seem to figure out how to get rid of this problem. I have tried several shampoo brands/products like head and shoulders, ANGFA organic shampoo and the Honey Deep Moist Shampoo. And none of them worked so far. Some say it's because of hot shower. Well I do shower every day, but I don't use hot shower all the time. I rinse my hair thoroughly after applying shampoo and conditioner. I also tried applying shampoo every other day just to make my hair less dry but I still none of those tricks are working. If there is a product that you recommend that suits every man's budget then I would appreciate it so much.

Ekimsaido

on Jun 15

8 Answers

What's in your toshikoshi soba?

What do you put in your toshikoshi soba? One year I sauteed some chicken and naganegi to start a broth augmented with tsuyu, cooked the soba separately, and served the broth with kamaboko slices.

TonetoEdo

on Dec 30