Many thanks for joining Tokyo Free Walking Tour at Asakusa on February 15, 2025. We welcomed 2 guests from Australia. It was a tremendous opportunity for us to meet wonderful guests from many countries and share interesting conversations. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached so that you can remember the fun times we had during the tour.
In Japan, Valentine’s Day on February 14th is a special occasion when women give chocolates to men. There are different types of chocolates:
- Honmei Choco – Given to romantic partners.
- Giri Choco – Given to colleagues or male friends (non-romantic).
- Tomo Choco – Exchanged between female friends.
Exactly one month later, on March 14th, Japan celebrates White Day, when men give return gifts to the women who gave them chocolates. Common gifts include cookies, marshmallows, or white chocolate, and they are sometimes expected to be worth two to three times the value of the original chocolate. This tradition was started by confectionery companies in Japan in the late 1970s and is still popular today.
A Korean friend told me about an additional tradition in Korea called Black Day, celebrated on April 14th. On this day, singles who did not receive gifts on Valentine’s Day or White Day eat jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles) as a fun way to acknowledge their single status.
We enjoy sharing cultural insights like these with our guests from around the world. If you’re interested in learning more about Japanese traditions, why not join one of our free walking tours?
Once again, thank you for choosing Tokyo Free Walking Tour during your precious time in Tokyo. In case you happen to be back in Tokyo, please join another one of our tours. Your feedback is important and helpful to us. If you enjoyed our tour, please consider posting a review on TripAdvisor/Facebook, etc. Your comments will help contribute to higher-quality tours. For more information about our tour, please visit our website at https://tfwt.jp/top/asakusa/, https://www.facebook.com/TokyoFWT or Tokyo Free Walking Tour at https://www.tripadvisor.jp/ .
(Posted by Yutaka)