March 14th is known in Japan (as well as in China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam) as White Day. Just like her older sister, Valentine's Day, who arrives a month earlier inspiring women to give chocolates to men, White Day was invented by the confectionery industry in the early 70s as an excuse for men to return the favor with white chocolates, hence the name of the holiday. In both holidays, there's a distinction between chocolate given "by obligation," known as giri-choco and chocolate given to one's true love, known as honmei-choco

Although white chocolates are the traditional gift of choice, recent years have seen other kinds of gifts gaining popularity, such as marshmallows, cookies, and for couples, even non-edible items like jewelry and lingerie. This year, Chou Chou Crepe, a company operating 6 crepe shops in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, as well as a successful e-commerce business, proposes something entirely new: a crepe bouquet!

A crepe business striving to bring the spirit of French food in a way that is palatable to Japanese customers, Chou Chou Crepe has developed a reputation for their delicious creations. According to their press release, the crepe bouquet is based on the concept of combining motherly affection and the sweet indulgences that many women enjoy. In addition to fresh fruits, chocolate and nuts, the pride of their crepe bouquet lies in the crepe wrapper and their whipped cream. Each crepe in the bouquet contains a light, chewy batter made from isoflavonol-rich soy milk, and a whipped cream made with "authentic Hokkaido cream" selected by their cooking experts from among several dairy farms for its rich milky taste.

For those living in Japan or planning to arrive on or before March 14th, you can receive your crepe bouquet by special cool delivery if you place your order before 12pm on Monday, March 12th, JST. (If you want it to arrive on March 13th, you need to order before 12pm on Thursday, March 8th, JST). The crepe bouquet and Chou Chou Crepes entire line of crepes, pies, cookies and other confectioneries will continue to be available online after that.

Details

• Name: "Hanataba Crepe Bouquet" (five crepes) 花束クレープ
• Price: 3,240 JPY (exc. tax and delivery)
• Ingredients: cream, dairy product, flour, sugar, maltose, glucose, milk, eggs, butter, vegetable oil, gelatin, dairy protein, salt, vanilla beans
• Online shop page (in Japanese): LINK

If you can't wait for White Day but just have to get your crepe fix, then you may be interested in hopping on a train to hot springs town Nasushiobara to try some of their famous Toteyaki crepes made with every possible ingredient under the sun, sweet, savory and even sushi.

Also, for those single people who hate V-Day and W-Day with a vengeance, you may want to join the anti-romance revolutionaries who marched on Valentine's Day for their annual "Wipe Out White Day" afternoon get-together at Eden Cafe this Saturday, March 10th from 11am to 4pm.