I saw this sign at a local sweets shop on my way from home last night. July 7 is Tanabata in Japan and celebrates a romantic tale of two star-crossed lovers who can only meet once a year. So the Valentine's Day connection kinda makes sense (although Valentine's Day in Japan is more about giri choco and reciprocity than romantic love). At first I thought that the photo was of tako yaki and I wondered why a sweets shop would be selling tako yaki? But then I remembered an article from last year about a study that suggests being able to make tako yaki gives one an advantage in being attractive and more successful in the game of love.
"Want to be popular with the ladies/men? Be good at making takoyaki, study says"
URL: https://soranews24.com/2019/01/08/want-to-be-popular-with-the-ladies-men-be-good-at-making-takoyaki-study-says/
However, a closer inspection of the of the product in the photo shows that it is a sweet egg tart. Oh well. Another lesson about rushing into assumptions in anthropological research...
For more on the celebration of Tanabata in Japan, see "七夕 @ 機物神社 (Tanabata Festival at Hatamono Shrine)" @ VAOJ.
URL: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2012/07/tanabata-festival-at-hatamono-shrine.html
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