Welcome to The Avocado’s weekly discussion of Japanese pop culture! Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and for me that means having fun making and decorating chocolate! When I was younger, I never really cared about this holiday, but now that I have something creative to do, I’ve found a lot of joy in the ritual. I know it’s silly, and not everyone’s thing, but I really enjoy choosing recipes and spending a few hours making something special each year. Usually, I keep things fairly simple and buy chocolate bars, melt them, add fillings (peanut butter, nuts, citrus, etc.), and pour into molds (I have heart shaped and square). Then it goes into the freezer. Once it’s set, the decorating happens. Who knows, one of these days I might actually make my own chocolate from scratch. But melting bars is so easy! If you’re thinking of trying this tradition this year, all you need to do is search for recipes and you’ll find lots and lots of fun ideas.

And since we are (well, I am) talking about Valentine’s Day…why not listen to miwa’s latest single, “February 14” (feat. Kawasaki Takaya) from her brand new ep Valentine’s Day is coming this year:

And, while we’re on the subject…here’s one of my absolute favorite songs, “Valentine” by Toki Asako:

And, as always…

What have you been watching/reading/playing/eating/listening to lately?

Happy Wednesday! 🙂