Tokyo: Bittersweet Symphony

Gourmet chocolate in Japan is usually associated with the obligatory truffle assortments purchased for male co-workers before Valentine's Day. But recent television programs extolling the cancer- and heart-attack-preventing nutrients in rich, dark chocolate have elevated the confectionery to the status of red wine. It's good for you and you can be snobbish about it. Product placards in the top chocolate shops and cafs now list where the cocoa bean was grown as well as the percentage of cocoa in each mouthwatering morsel. The latest varieties have that distinct Japanese twist: fillings range from the requisite green tea to more quirky innovations...