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'Chocolate refugees' ask for a sweet donation on Valentine's Day

5 Comments
By Philip Kendall

Valentine’s Day. It may well be little more than an excuse for chocolate manufacturers to line their pockets, but its popularity in Japan seemingly knows no bounds. For those men in relationships, the day is usually one filled with gifts of fondue toilets and creepy girlfriend-shaped chocolates, but for the singletons out there it’s just another day to feel unappreciated.

But not these young men. Rather than spend Feb 14 without a little somethin’ sweet, they donned sunglasses and face masks and descended on Tokyo’s Machida station asking for chocolate donations from passers-by. And, would you believe it, they were actually kind of a hit with the ladies.

“I just saw these guys at Machida station!” said one Twitter user, “They really want chocolate! Haha”

Holding hand-written signs reading such things as “Please give us chocolate!”small groups of men could be seen in and around the station asking for sweet donations. And judging by the amount in their hands, they were doing pretty well, too!

Similar groups of "choko nanmin" or “choco refugees” were spotted last year in Nagoya station. Perhaps spurred on by the surprisingly warm reception they received, these jokers tried their luck in Tokyo. Word of their presence quickly spread online where hundreds of Twitter users cheered them on.

Here are some typical reactions from Japan’s heart-warmed Netizens:

“What the!? This is so cute!”

“So sweet. I’ll give you some chocolate, guys!”

“Bless ‘em. I’m heading to the station right now!”

“Awww. I want to give them some.”

Not everyone online was quite so touched, however. One Twitter user felt that the guys’ behaviour was altogether too desperate, and had these words of advice:

“This is kind of embarrassing! Give it up, guys.”

As well as these young men did, something tells us that we won’t be seeing rows of girls asking men for chocolate come White Day on March 14…

Source: 秒刊 Sunday

Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Photo of Distinctly Impious Monks Causes Outrage Online -- Starbucks Japan Serving Cups of Cheer -- Kids Cause Mayhem at McDonald’s

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5 Comments
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Good luck to them. Even better if they get an offer of something you need to take off more than your mask to enjoy. As a teenager, there were very few depths I wouldn't sink to.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Fair play. Speculate to accumulate and all that!

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I got some chocolate, and a couple honeys, as well. Very generous ladies.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I'd rather give chocolate to guys who were capable of making eye contact.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

how is that in japan women give men chocolate instead of men giving it to women like the rest of the world? i always wondered how it got switched around. still begging for chocolate on valentine's day is really sad. that's what halloween is for 8p

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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