Valentine’s Day is a little different in Japan than in the West: girls are expected to hand over bundles of chocolate—and other gifts—to the males in their lives, so much so that many chocolate companies make half of their annual sales in a matter of days. There’s the obligatory chocolate: giri-choco, and then there’s the chocolate intended for the dude who really matters: honmei-choco. But are the guys really into it? In the U.S., forty percent of women in the U.S. report chocolate cravings, while just 15 percent of men get the itch. So ladies, instead of bowing to the almighty cocoa bean this year, why not get into something … Continue reading Exploring Joetsu: Ame ya, a taste of history