One chocolatey snack that Japan is well-known for is KitKats. Although they are originally a British creation, Japan has truly worked its magic and made its own unique KitKat flavors that you won’t see elsewhere. Many Japanese people take pride in their country’s ability to take the best of foreign ideas and uniquely adapt them to Japanese culture, and KitKats are no exception!
To be fair, aside from being delicious, KitKats do have a leg up in the Japanese candy market due to their uniquely marketable name.
In Japanese, ‘KitKats’ translates phonetically into 「キットカツ」, which sounds like the phrase 「きっと勝つ」 or, “(You will) surely win.” For this reason, they’ve become a popular good-luck snack to give to anyone taking on a challenge, like an important test or sports match. Who doesn’t love a pun for encouragement? KitKat has even released the original flavor with special packaging covered in motivational sayings. Each KitKat has its own message like, “Hang in there until the end!”, “It’s okay! Don’t worry!”, or “Believe in yourself!”
But what makes Japanese KitKats so special? The flavors of course! Japan probably has more unique KitKat flavors than any other country, and even releases special limited-time seasonal flavors throughout the year. Even if you’re not a big KitKat fan, it can be fun just to experiment by tasting all of the interesting flavors, with names like ‘adult sweetness dark chocolate,’ and ‘sakura and roasted soy bean’.
One popular TikToker, Leannuh47, does just that in a short series of YouTube videos on her channel. Some flavors are clearly amazing – who doesn’t love strawberry? – while others are more reminiscent of the dangers of Every Flavour Beans, e.g. wasabi. Check out her videos for an honest review of some of the most popular flavors from an American perspective. My personal favorite? 焼き芋 – roasted sweet potato.
If you haven’t yet given Japanese KitKats a try, have a taste-test with some friends! Good or bad, no matter what, you’ll surely win.
How many KitKat flavors have you tried? Which one’s your favorite? Let us know in the comments!
Photo by Matt & Chris Pua on Unsplash.
