Imagine your sweetheart’s face when she opens her lovingly wrapped present…
…only to reveal a pile of delicious grubs. Boy, will she be thrilled!
The Stag Beetle Larva Chocolates are available in packs of two for 440 yen (US$4), which Komatsu suggests giving as giri-choco. Giri-choco are chocolates that women are socially obliged to buy for men that they don’t really have any special feelings for such as co-workers or classmates. But for that really special person Komatsu says the five-pack selling for 1,100 yen ($10) is the way to go. Then, there’s the ten-pack pictured above for 2,200 yen ($21). We don’t really know what that’s meant for… Conjoined twins perhaps.
If you log-on only to find the larvae chocolates sold out then you might want to try the Adult Beetle Chocolates for 1,000 yen ($9) each.
Sure the babies are always cuter but I’m sure even one of these little arthropods will warm even the coldest of hearts. It does seem a little lonely though, doesn’t it? Okay, how about the Stag Beetle Cake Lovely Pack for 2,000 yen ($19)? It has one adult beetle and two larvae.
If these gifts seem strange to you, then you might not be aware that Valentine’s Day in Japan is only for women to give men presents. Men are to return the favor on White Day which is 14 March. Most guys in Japan will have fond childhood memories of raising these insects and such a gift would actually come across as very touching.
However, if you wound up with one of those weird Japanese guys in your life who never got into these insects, don’t sweat it. Komatsuya’s got the next best thing – yakisoba!
That’s right. Japan’s version of a cheeseburger in terms of deliciousness and questionable nutrition is now available in the Kimi Yakisoba Cake for only 500 yen ($5)! You’ll notice that the yolk in the “fried egg” is shaped like a heart, in which a deliciously hidden pun (“yolk” and “you” both translate phonetically to “kimi”) tells him “you = ♥.”
With this line-up of goods it should be no sweat getting your guy something sweet this February. However, you have to act fast. Quantities of all these items are limited and very popular. Miss out and risk having to get him something gross and unromantic… Like flowers – blech.
Source: DeNA via Entabe (Japanese)