Japan loves holidays that come from the West, including Christmas and Halloween! However, Japan always finds a way to celebrate in their own unique way and with their own unique customs. The same goes for the holiday of love and all of the fun Japanese Valentine’s Day customs, especially surrounding chocolate!
That’s why we’re diving into the different levels of chocolate and some recommendations for each level!
Japanese Valentine’s Traditions Explained
Let’s do a quick rundown of Japanese Valentine’s Day customs. Much like other western countries that celebrate Valentine’s Day, the holiday of love involves plenty of gift-giving and dates. However, gift-giving in Japan goes a bit differently, being more one-sided, and the name of the gift-giving game is “chocolate”.
Valentine’s Day in Japan sees women all over the country of varying ages buying or making chocolate treats for the men in their lives with no expectation for men to give gifts to women (on the day).
This tradition is the center of the holiday here and is most likely due to a translation error from long ago. However, it’s become huge here and has some cultural significance, allowing Japanese women to express their feelings more easily than in a society where people don’t talk about their feelings so openly.
Don’t worry. Men don’t get out of gift-giving completely, with men giving gifts on March 14th on White Day. White Day acts as a sister holiday where men reciprocate based on the value of what they received and their feeling towards the person.
The unique points don’t end there. The gift of chocolate may always be appreciated in the West. However, the quality or the amount of time and money that goes into chocolate matters in Japan. Based on the chocolate treat you give, you can enforce your relationship as acquaintances or friends, reveal your crush, or show appreciation to a lover.
Let’s dive into the levels and some great examples of each one (that we actually sell).
Valentine’s Chocolate Levels
Giri-Choco
Giri means responsibility or obligation, making giri-choco a type of chocolate that you give out of a sense of obligation. This typically goes to male classmates or coworkers who you really don’t have anything special with (whether romantically or platonically).
This usually comes in the form of buying an affordable box or bag of chocolate that is easy to pass out, like mini Kit Kats. However, there’s an interesting movement in Japan against the practice of giri-choco, especially in offices, with it being potentially expensive and possibly creating awkward dynamics in the office.
Recommendations
When looking for a giri-choco level gift, something easy to distribute is the most important. With that in mind, check out these suggestions!
Nestlé Valentine's Day Kit Kats
They come in a pack that’s easy to distribute! You can impress with a bag of limited-edition flavor Kit Kats as well, like these strawberry gâteau chocolat ones!
FUJIYA LOOK Chocolat a la mode
Here’s another bag with individually-wrapped pieces, but they have a tasty variety of flavors. The one in the link specifically has ganache, praline and chocolate sauce fillings!
Meiji Milk Chocolate/Meiji Strawberry Chocolate
These packs of mini chocolates are great for a whole class or office and come with 24 wrapped pieces of chocolate!
Tomo-Choco
Tomo, as it’s written, means friend. So, tomo-choco is a tasty chocolate treat that goes to your friends or family! It doesn’t just have to go to your male friends, with plenty of Japanese women giving this level of chocolate to their female friends as well!
This chocolate is a bit nicer than giri-choco, usually being a little more expensive or just being handmade altogether. However, it won’t be quite as nice or time-consuming as the type that goes towards a crush or a partner.
Recommendations
The things to keep in mind with tomo-choco are value, quality, taste and trendiness. These recommendations are perfect for that!
Regional Kit Kat Box Varieties
These more exclusive regional varieties make for a great friend gift. They have a nicer packaging, unique flavors and are easy for your friends to share as they please. And with flavors like Mt. Fuji Blueberry Cheesecake, Okinawa & Kyushu Purple Sweet Potato, and Tokyo Island Lemon, they’re sure to please.
Mary Chocolate Co. Kanade Strawberry Chocolate
This stylish box of chocolate is another great option with 12 pieces of cute chocolate triangles and a tasty strawberry theme. It’s also still in an affordable range for many people.
Mozoroff Truffle Assortment
Who doesn’t love a good chocolate truffle? These high-quality truffles are great for a friend and are easy to share if they choose to.
Kyoto Veneto Chocolaccha Matcha Chocolate
If your friend loves Japanese green tea, this is a great option. It has tons of Uji matcha flavor in a tasty chocolate form, that is just perfect.
Afternoon Tea Tea Cup Chocolate
Probably the trendiest suggestion is this super cute tin of chocolates. It’s been popular on social media in Japan thanks to its cute tea cup shape and tasty flavor.
Honmei-Choco
Honmei can be translated as ‘one’s heart’s desire’ or ‘true feeling’, so this level is reserved for those you want to share genuine affection towards. This level is usually the most expensive or time-consuming, with people spending on more luxurious chocolate brands or making a whole chocolate treat.
Despite the price, plenty of women buy this level to help themselves to express their feelings to their crushes or partners. That’s part of the reason why it’s more expensive or time-consuming, as it’s an easier way to say, “I really like/love you.”
Recommendations
Honmei is usually the most expensive of the types, but this is because quality and exclusivity tend to be a part of this. Let’s take a look!
HACCI Honey Chocolate Collection 2025
This tin has a cute design and contains tasty honey chocolates complete with cute pop-y images! It has a slightly higher price point but comes with plenty of chocolate for your honmei to enjoy.
Imperial Hotel Grand Chef Snoopy Stick Chocolate
If you have a crush or partner who likes Snoopy or just cute things in general, this box of chocolate is a great option! It’s the least expensive of our honmei-choco recommendations, but the packaging is super cute and the chocolates look and taste amazing!
Disney Godiva Valentine's Day Chocolate Assortment
Godiva is already a popular brand, this specific box is a special collab with Disney and comes with a super cute Mickey Mouse pouch, box and chocolate patterns, perfect for a Disney fan!
ROYCE’ Nama Chocolate
This popular Hokkaido chocolate brand is a great honmei-choco gift. Similar to a ganache, this premium chocolate treat melts in the mouth and comes in a good-sized box that your crush will love!
White Day
Like we mentioned, White Day falls on March 14th and is the return holiday, where men give women gifts, usually white gifts. The gift value is dependent on two things: the value of the initial gift and the feeling you want to convey.
No gift in return is like an outright rejection. The same value generally means that you appreciate the gift, and for younger couples or those in a tight spot, it’s definitely enough to reciprocate the feeling. However, typically, if you want to tell the person that you feel the same way without a doubt, you’ll give back 2-3 times the value of the initial gift.
It’s not clear where this 2-3 times rule comes from, but some speculate it’s a way to make up for the amount of money or time women spend on all the chocolate on Valentine’s Day.
Some great options for White Day include things that use white chocolate. Our Frantz Kobe Chocolate Covered Strawberries and Umeda Cheese Labo Cream Cheese & White Chocolate Cookies are two great examples of tasty treats. Meanwhile, more out-of-the-box options exist as well. For example, we love the NEWYORK Perfect Cheese, a lang de chat-style cigar cookie with a dessert cheese filling that is absolutely lovely!
Other Choco Types of Chocolate
Jibun-Choco
Jibun is used to describe the ‘self’. That means that this is a treat for yourself. Whether you just want a small treat or a luxurious flavor experience is all up to you.
Gyaku Choco
Gyaku generally means opposite, and gyaku-choco is used to describe when men give women chocolate on Valentine’s Day in Japan. This idea is becoming more and more popular as more young people opt to exchange gifts on the day and ignore White Day. The same principles above apply to gyaku choco, too!
Now you’re well-equipped for your own Japanese Valentine’s chocolate experience! And remember—from giri-choco to honmei-choco, MiauMall has you covered!
