How I Celebrate Valentine's Day in Japan Vs in The United States

In today's article I'll talk about how I celebrated Valentine's Day in The Unites States, and how I'm celebrating Valentine's Day in Japan.

In the United States

When I lived in the United States, I was still fairly young. I was still in school for the most part. I spent only one Valentine's day in the US when I wasn't in school. I wasn't in any relationship while in college, but I went out with my friends. It was always fun for me to hangout on Valentine's day.
My friends and I would usually go to Olive Garden because we loved it, and it’s the best place to go on Valentines. We would get there, and since Valentine's day is a busy day, we had to wait in the car for about an hour. We would ear our dinner, have desert, and of course we drank wine. After we finished dinner, we would go to the movies. It was chill and fun. I had no complaints. I didn’t have a lot of money to spend, but I always made sure that there was enough saved for Valentines.

Valentine’s Day in Japan

Valentine’s day in Japan is normally about giving chocolates. Girls make chocolates and give them to the boy that they like. If the feelings are reciprocated, then the boy will give the girl chocolates on White day. White day is on March 14th. Of course, we don’t have any such holiday in the United States.

Girls and women usually make the chocolate for men even when they are working full-time. So, girls and women will start giving chocolates from middle school, all the way up to adulthood. You can also give chocolates to friends in Japan, but they don't need to be homemade. Homemade chocolates are special for the person you like.

It is quite different from the US. In the US we start to celebrate Valentine’s day in elementary school. We give out Valentine’s day cards and bring snacks and food for a party. There is no such celebration in Japan. They only give out chocolates, and like I stated, this tradition starts from middle school.

Once you get married in Japan, the woman usually doesn't give chocolates anymore. They basically don't celebrate Valentine's day after marriage. But even when they are in a relationship the women may still give chocolates to her boyfriend. This is again a little different from the US. Married couples may still celebrate Valentines day with a gift or dinner and a movie, or all the above. Maybe some women will be mad at their husband if they don’t at least receive chocolate on Valentine’s day. Plus, I always saw those HUGE teddy bears at Wal-Mart during this time of the year. So, gifts are important to us in the US.

How I Have Celebrated Valentine's Day in Japan

I'll be honest, I moved to Japan in March during my first year. The next year, I don’t really remember how I celebrated Valentine's day at all. I think I had moved to a new apartment at that time and I was starting a new job, so I was too busy.

The next year I was in a relationship with my husband. I traveled to visit him in the Philippines. It was so much fun! We stayed in a hotel, and we went into the ocean. I can't swim, but we did an activity where they put a heavy helmet on you to give you oxygen. The helmet also keeps you from floating away. It was amazing and romantic.

Last year we didn't do much of anything because we had just moved. And this year.... Well we already celebrated. Our anniversary is close to Valentine's day, so we celebrated both at the same time. We had a delicious dinner. I also made chocolate covered strawberries.
My husband will buy me a new coat for my gift. That's about all. But I will say all in all, it's a pretty good Valentine's day. I'm happy to be with my husband and I have good health LOL.

I hope you have a fun Valentine's day. Just relax and enjoy, even if you are celebrating with your friends. Until next time.