KitKat: The Most Popular Souvenir-Snack from Japan

When it comes to souvenir-gifting, KitKat is among the top choices for both domestic and international tourists alike. It’s not an overstatement to call KitKat a confectionary phenomenon. Available in every taste imaginable, KitKats are not just the trendy kind of popular. Their legacy of unique flavors has been around for over a decade, and it’s obviously here to stay.

There are over 200 flavor variations to date that has been produced by KitKat over the past 15 years. The large variety of flavors are simply fun to collect and discover. Strange flavors are in abundance. Stuff you won’t even expect to make it into popular confectionaries such as the sake flavor and wasabi. The Japanese KitKat have perfected the mastery of. flavor varieties.

Kitkat in Japan comes with a variety of limited edition goods. These limited edition flavors can be brought back with popular demand. Before the explosion of innovative, unique flavors, Kitkat Japan only has strawberry and green tea as their limited edition series. Now, those flavors have been made into regularly produced KitKat available in virtually any stores and supermarkets you come across in Japan. The green tea flavor now even comes with several variations, including the regional variation and even airport limited special edition.

KitKat in Japanese is pronounced as “Kitto Kato”, which sounds like a play of words on “Kitto katsu!” or in Kyushu dialect “Kitto katsu to!” which means “We will surely win!” There is a tradition of gifting KitKats to students taking major exams; the national exams or the university entrance exams, for example. In this way, KitKat is sometimes considered as a “good luck” charm. Parents are also known to gift their kids KitKats before their exam as a form of support.

There are regional specialties that are totally worth hunting if you love these confections. There are even airport limited edition flavors. Regional specialties comes from the Japanese tradition of bringing back “omiyage” or souvenirs whenever someone traveled. In Japan, it’s expected to bring back omiyage to family members and even coworkers. These regional specialties especially benefited from this souvenir-gifting tradition from domestic travelers, and of course, tourists who specifically hunt for these unique flavors only available in Japan

Some of the regional specialties include Kitkat Tokyo Banana only available in Tokyo, Kitkat Tochi-Otome Strawberry, KitKat Shinshu apples, KitKat Mini Tamara Honten Wasabi from Shizuoka and Kanto, KitKat Itohyuemon Roasted Tea from Kyoto, Kitkat Mini Adzuki (red bean) from Tokai – Hokuriku, et cetera. The variation is a seemingly unlimited when it comes to KitKat!

Japanese KitKats have their very own stores known as KitKat Chocolatory. Although These aren’t the KitKats you’d buy nor the place you’d visit if you’re on a tight budget. KitKat Chocolatory is essentially a fancy chocolate boutique. But it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re especially intrigued by it and/or have loved the variety of Japanese KitKats you’ve tried so far In January – February 2018  KitKat Chocolatory Ginza store offered a taste of Sublime Ruby Chocolate (Dreamy Ruby KitKat) along with hot cocoa—a set you can enjoy at the KitKat Chocolatory cafe.