万花筒2008-02-17:Bizarre Valentine's Day gifts（在线收听）

Forget the candy, jewelry or romantic weekend in the country. In Japan, Valentine's Day gifts that are a little yucky, are all the rage

Ah! Valentine’s Day, flowers, diamonds and bugs. Maeko Miola can't contain/ the giggles thinking about giving her husband this, these confectionary critters are all chocolate, shaped into / bugs and worms. It's the hot item in Japan for Valentine’s Day, these buyers traveled an hour just to buy the bugs because everywhere else were sold out. 

“I want to surprise my boyfriend with something unusual.” Says Haruka Azuma. “Unusual is what drives Valentine’s Day sales in Japan.” says FCON, the makers of this chocolate. No fruits, no both. 

“So it looks like a strawberry, but there's chocolate inside.” “Yes. We sucked out the air by vacuuming. Then we pushed the chocolate in. First time eating banana like this, right?” 

What may explain all this is that in Japan Valentine’s Day is a day when women buy gifts for men. So that may explain why those gifts that are kind of strange and a little creepy, are so appealing. But is this what men really want? Yoshihiro Tsukihashi says he’ll pass on the creepy chocolate. “I think it’s horrible.” He says. “I'd be scared to get this.” He warned his girlfriend. A few hours later, the store shelves said empty, the goods / bought up by devilish wives and girlfriends. 

So maybe in Japan, women don’t receive Valentines. But these ladies will tell you. “The pleasure really is in the giving”. 

Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.