TOKYO : In Japan, Valentine's Day is a time for women to give chocolates to men.

The practice began in the 1970s.

With support from local chocolate retailers, it has now become a countrywide festival.

Every year, Japanese department stores hold a month-long chocolate festival for Valentine's Day.

Mitsukoshi in the dazzling Ginza shopping district of Tokyo is no exception.

Spreading across three floors, the retailer offers 100 brands of mouth-watering candies.

There are chocolates filled with the famed Moet et Chandon champagne and fairy-shaped chocolates.

There's also an assortment of chocolate which is said to have the stamp of approval of the Grimaldi family of Monaco.

The chocolates do not come cheap but boxes of them have been flying off shelves a week before Valentines.

Those who are buying are mainly women.

"It's for my husband," said a Japanese woman in her 20s.

"It's for my father and people in my company," said another Japanese woman.

On February 14, Japanese women tend to purchase gifts, especially chocolates, for their loved ones, co-workers and male bosses. But more recently, women are starting to buy chocolate to pamper themselves.

"For me, my budget is about 1,000 yen to 2,000 yen. For my co-workers, it's up to 1,000 yen," said one Japanese woman.

With so many varieties of chocolates to choose from, it could take hours to find what you want.

But you can get help from the advisors called "chocolat concierge."

"I've been asked to recommend chocolates with unique fillings. I recalled there were chocolates with Japanese pepper and chocolates with soy sauce. They are unique so I recommended those," said Mayumi Yamashita, a chocolat concierge at Ginza Mitsukoshi.

According to the Chocolate and Cocoa Association of Japan, sales of the sweets at this time makes up about 12-13 percent of annual chocolate consumption nationwide.

Next month, it will be the men's turn to give gifts to women on "White Day". - CNA /ls