Has anyone noticed in recent years how the whole concept of Valentine's Day in Japan isn't what it used to be?
"Morisagatteru" (It's lost its fizzle") is how many women would describe that day of supposed candied hearts and declarations of love. Maybe it's just me (yes, I may as well admit it), but it feels like Valentine's Day has become a slightly tiresome occasion on which women must distribute packets of giri-choco (obligatory chocolates) to work-related males and the men in the family.
One of my girlfriends, whose kareshi-inaireki (history of being boyfriendless) has hit five years, says that Valentine's has turned into a day on which she presents her father with seven new pairs of identical dark socks (one for each day of the week).