Are you looking to spoil someone on Valentine\u2019s Day this year? Although more of a Western tradition, Valentine\u2019s Day is becoming bigger in Japan, especially with the growing expat community who usually mark the 14th of February down in their diary as a special day. Here\u2019s what to expect in Kumamoto, along with suggestions of places to go for a romantic date and where to buy gifts.<\/p>\n
Valentine\u2019s celebrations in Japan are a little different from what westerners might be used to. It all started back in the 1930s when chocolate makers began advertising their products around the Valentine\u2019s Day concept, with promotions mainly aimed at the foreign community. However, in Japan, the ladies traditionally buy chocolates for men. This can be for partners or love interests but extends to close friends, work colleagues, and even family members. Men then return the favor a month later on White Day, which falls on the 14th of March.<\/p>\n
Different types of Valentine\u2019s chocolate exist in Japan, each aimed at a different kind of recipient. These are:<\/p>\n
If you want to find some fancy chocolates to surprise a loved one or a friend in Kumamoto, you can try any of these outlets:<\/p>\n
Quon Chocolate<\/strong> Website:<\/strong> https:\/\/quon-choco.com\/shop\/<\/a><\/p>\n National chocolatier supplying a range of luxury products suitable for Valentine\u2019s Day and White Day gifts.<\/p>\n GODIVA Tsurura<\/strong> Website:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.godiva.co.jp\/boutique\/store\/s55106<\/a><\/p>\n Department store specializing in Belgian chocolates, truffles, and other sweet products.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for a special place for a Valentine\u2019s date, there are plenty of great spots in Kumamoto, such as Kumamoto Castle<\/a> and the glorious Suizenji Jojuen Gardens<\/a>. A popular thing for couples to do on this day is going out for a nice meal. Indeed, many restaurants across Japan find themselves fully booked around this time.<\/p>\n There are many fine restaurants throughout Kumamoto. If you\u2019re looking for specialists in Japanese cuisine, look no further than Keika Ramen Honten<\/a>, one of the city\u2019s most renowned ramen eateries. If you fancy something with a bit more of a westernized menu, check out Caf\u00e9 Restaurant Chez Irie<\/a> close to Hikarinomori station. This place offers up fine culinary choices, including sirloin steak.<\/p>\n Read this guide on Kumamoto restaurants<\/a> for more suggestions.<\/p>\n akira yamada<\/a>, CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Are you looking to spoil someone on Valentine\u2019s Day this year? Although more of a Western tradition, Valentine\u2019s Day is becoming bigger in Japan, especially with the growing expat community who usually mark the 14th of February down in their diary as a special day. Here\u2019s what to expect in Kumamoto, along with suggestions of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":5456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[94,43,85],"tags":[89,489,465,466,468,155,209],"class_list":["post-5455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-and-dining","category-kumamoto-2","category-miscellaneous","tag-february","tag-kumamoto","tag-kumamoto-city","tag-kumamoto-dining","tag-kumamoto-prefecture","tag-march","tag-valentines-day"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5455"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49863,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5455\/revisions\/49863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n3-15 Kamitoricho
\nChuo Ward
\n860-0845<\/p>\n
\nB1F, 6-1 Tetorihoncho
\nChuo Ward
\n860-8586<\/p>\nWhere to Go for a Valentine\u2019s Day Date<\/h3>\n
![akira yamada<\/a>,](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Valentine%27s_Day_Chocolate.jpg\"){kind=link}