Almost every year I do a department store tour around Valentine’s Day, but honestly it’s getting a bit stale now.. It’s not for anyone else — I’ve always just bought whatever I wanted to eat myself, and when there’s nothing worth buying like this, it all feels a bit pointless. Well.. probably because I’ve already tried just about every high-end chocolate there is..

Jean-Paul Hévin

Looks great.

The department store event

VESTRI looks like the good one this year.

There weren’t many of the chocolates in the blue packaging left..

Plenty of people, even with the coronavirus going around.

This kind of atmosphere..

Desserts from Tartine

The packaging was pretty, so I took a photo.

Like this..

Like this..

Like this..

Apparently it’s the sister brand of Audrey, the shop famous for desserts shaped like rose bouquets. Nothing to do with Tartine the bakery..

The case

Venchi in Ginza…

This place is so famous it really deserves a post of its own.. but I couldn’t be bothered.. It’s an Italian chocolate shop, apparently. At a glance it looks less like a chocolate shop and more like a fashion brand selling handbags. No wonder women love it, right? People were queuing up and buying chocolate by the armful.

Display items

Nothing that particularly tempted me..

The chocolates sold by the gram are the best value.

Lots of flavors, and the designs are pretty too. The boxed ones are nice as gifts, but they’re pricey.

It works like this.

The variety really is huge. The prices aren’t much of a burden either, so give it a go..

On display

Expensive chocolate tastes better than average anyway.

Gelato

The gelato is famous too, so I tried it, and it’s pretty good. Not sure it’s a February kind of flavor, though..

The packaging

They really are good at design..

Volkswagen chocolate, a collaboration with Morozoff

Too cute not to buy..

The design

Charmingly done. The taste is probably ordinary, but that hardly matters here.

The bag

They really put a lot of thought into the design.

The tin

The chocolates

I ate one the moment I opened it, so this is the photo I ended up with..

Throat lozenges

Having a bunch of different flavors in one bag makes them easier to get through.

ROYCE’ chocolate

I bought chocolate and they handed me a pack of tissues. Felt like I’d scored a rare item.

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