Happy Valentine's Day!

The day for lovers has come and gone, and as I've reported before, generally the ladies give the guys gifts on February 14th in Japan. Some of my kid students bring me presents, and I wanted to show my "haul" for this year and to say thank you again!

There is a gift from one of my adult students in there too. And before you read anything into that, know that in Japan many people give gifts to friends and coworkers - there is a Japanese expression for that but I can't remember it! I do know the term "obligation gift" - a gift given in return for a gift received. And yes, I will be giving obligation gifts in return on March 14th.

I ended up with eight gifts, if I kept track properly. And they should all be visible above. Chocolate and sweets of any kind is awesome, so I'm going to enjoy these for a while!

The wrapped package under the Gaufrettes tin had Star Wars chocolates. Godiva and other fancy chocolates are always welcome, but these are quite unique so I thought you'd enjoy seeing them!

Happy Twin Tail Day!

I'm pretty sure I posted this video to this blog before, but in honor of Twintail Day I thought it would be a great way to kick off this post.

You see, Japan loves having special days in addition to all of the holidays it celebrates. The Kobe Beef Burger I tried last week was released on January 29th. 2, 9. Ni ku. Niku. The Japanese word for meat. Get it?

And 2/2 is a bit easier, what with all the "2" s of course. Recognized as an official Day by the Japan Anniversary Association since 2012, Twin Tail Day is a chance to show off the growing popularity of what might be the cutest hairstyle ever. Check out some pics on Twitter with this link . And before you ask, yes, there IS an official Twin Tail website  (in Japanese) .

When I think of twin tails in America, all that comes to mind are Pippi Longstocking and Punky Brewster (wow, I forgot all about Punky Brewster until just now). But yes, a very large number of girls and women wear their hair in the various twin tail styles.

Did you know there are three styles of twin tails?

Sailor Moon (way above) and Mayu Watanabe of AKB48 are two good examples of the rabbit or crescent style. These tails come from a high point on the head.

Pippi Longstocking and idol / actress / singer Yuko Ogura are representative of the traditional style, starting around ear height.

And finally, the country style is a lower tail set, originating around the neck, and the Twin Tail Project identifies Anne of Green Gables as an example.

Do not ever say this blog is not educational!

Which is your favorite style, or favorite twin tail wearer? (This should make for interesting comments ...)