Every year on Valentine’s Day in this country, women all over buy (or make) boxes of chocolate for the men in their lives… not just their husbands or sweethearts, ALL the men, including friends and co-workers. One direct side effect of this is the chocolate fairs that pop up in every department store where women go to battle with each other in searching for the best chocolates. It’s so crazy that chocolate companies are complaining this year because Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday, they are worried about a significant drop in sales since women don’t have co-workers to buy for. In any case, there are still a ton of girls out there duking it out for the champion chocolate and we went out to taste the carnage.
We headed to Yokohama to have dinner at a hotel offering a buffet that included a chocolate waterfall for Layla to experience. Before heading up to the restaurant though, we stopped off at the chocolate paradise to check out what chocolates were out this year. Luckily we’re a bit early in the season that the elbows weren’t so pointy and the shoppers not so vicious. Even still, at first, Layla was a bit nervous with all the people dashing about… but after getting a sample or two and realizing there was free chocolate on toothpicks to be had, Layla quickly ignored the crowd, instead focusing her attention on the ladies behind the counters. I can safely say her eyesight is 20/20 or better — she can spot a sample tray from 100 meters!
There were all kinds of chocolate to be had in all different shapes and colours. Chocolate carved as animals and flowers was quite popular, as was chocolate in various spacy colours. The most interesting things we saw and tried was chocolate-covered caviar. Luckily, it tasted like chocolate to me. Layla was getting right into it though – she tried some with rum, some with champagne, and even one piece with ginger in it. Regardless of what it was, she seemed to enjoy it, always wanting more.
After getting our fill of chocolate samplers, we headed up to the restaurant for dinner. Who says dessert always comes after the meal? The buffet was pretty standard fair, but it was the first time Layla really understood what a buffet meant. It wasn’t until we were eating dessert and she stole my ice cream that she figured it out… I kept taking little bits of ice cream until she finally got mad at me, so I said fine and went and got another one. The wheels were just turning when I came back to the table with a fresh cup of ice cream… it didn’t take long before she got up to get her own fresh one. Smart kid, that one.
When dinner was finished, Layla got it in her head that she wanted new shoes. We’d promised her some in the hospital and for whatever reason she remembered… so we went down to where there were kid’s shoes for sale — unfortunately, it was right beside the Disney store. Shoes were quickly forgotten as the kid found something more interesting to shop for. Right beside the Disney store was the toy department, so needless to say, shoes were not bought… at least, not Layla’s shoes.
Tamie, inspired and anxious to buy shoes, figured that if Layla wasn’t getting a pair someone ought to… and that someone was her. We went to the ladies’ shoes floor (yes, it’s an entire floor devoted to shoes) and spent a lot of time looking at rows upon rows of shoes. I kept Layla entertained (or more precisely, my camera did) while Tamie kept herself entertained. Check out the pics she took in the gallery.
Two pairs of shoes bought, and we were done. The stores closing was a good sign that we should head home, so we headed to the train and came back home.
Next week is Valentine’s Day and we’ll be out again at another chocolate fair, I’m sure. I need to make sure Tamie gets some good chocolate for the favourite men in her life. 
Click here for pictures.