One of my favourite Japan stories:
Teaching fairly high level English to three female and one male students, the word "anniversary" came up. I explained and asked if anyone there was married - yeses from the man and one woman.
Zengum-sensei: "When is your anniversary?"
Woman: [immediate] "September 17th."
Man: [pause ... look at ceiling ... has happy thought, looks at watch, looks up with a smile] "Today!"
Other woman: "Ooooohhh! What are you going to give your wife?"
Man: [short pause] "Well, I got a her a chocolate chip cookie for Valentine's day* last month, that will cover it..."
Woman 1:
Woman 2:
Woman 3:
:
That chap got a clear explanation on keeping the woman in his life in his life. Next week re reported back that he had bought her a bracelet and flowers. It backfired - it made her feel bad because SHE had forgotten!
* Not actually Valentine's day, but White Day. In the land of the Rising Sun, the custom is that women give men chocolates on February 14th, but that men reciprocate on March 14th - giving the dumb buggers time to get their gifts organised and saving the trouble of figuring out who they ought to give gifts to.