AJET Connect MAY 2014

GREATKIT-KATTHEADVENTURELynne Francis, Akita44 45Back in my junior year of college, I spent one year studyingleft: A delicious Kit Kat careabroad in Tokyo. During that time, I set a lot of goals: improvepackagemy Japanese, visit Tokyo Disney, and eat copious amounts ofokonomiyaki. However, there was one goal I made that I haveabove: The Kit-Kat store atcarried through into my time on JET: Try every flavor of Kit-KatSeibu Ikebukuro in Tokyothat I can find. I had read articles about such strange flavors ascheese, pineapple, and even soy sauce!The background of Kit-Kats in Japan is just as interesting as themany flavors they come in. The Kit-Kat brand came to Japan inthe 1970s through the confectionary company Fujiya. In 2000,Nestlé bought their shares. A lot of successful marketing comesfrom the fact the word “Kit-Kat” in Japanese (キットカット,kitto katto) is very similar to the phrase “キットかつ” (kittokatsu “sure to win”), which is said by school children to wishothers luck before exams.Even now, some students are given Kit-Kats before exams, andyou can purchase ready-to-send Kit-Kat packages at the postoffice or even around New Year’s as gifts. Nestlé has producedover 200 flavors in Japan alone. A lot of flavors are based aroundfamous foods from certain areas, such as Uji Green Tea for Kyoto.Kit-Kats of such unique flavors are sold as omiyage rather thansnacks you buy at 3 AM at the convenience store. Occasionally,you can find seasonal flavors such as raspberry (summer) andpumpkin (autumn) at local stores.The first flavor I ever tried in Japan was Hazelnut Strawberry. Itwas a strange combination of nut and fruit flavors. While notan appetizing flavor itself, it started my Ash Ketchum quest,collecting Kit-Kats instead of Pokémon. I only got more excitedwhen after a few months in Japan for JET, the world’s first Kit-Kat store was opening in Tokyo, and was said to sell flavors thatweren’t available anywhere else. I knew that for my quest, Ineeded to try something so exclusive. The store had beautifuldisplays of chocolate and memorabilia. The store only sold lessthan 10 different items, including a CD which came with someregular Kit-Kats. Unfortunately, they had sold out of their limitededition “sublime bitter chocolate” flavor; only so many are madeby hand daily. However, I was happy to buy some cream cheeseand chili-flavored chocolates.At the time of writing this article, I have tried thirty-one flavorsof Kit-Kats. My favorite flavor has probably been the Kyushu/Okinawa-limited Sweet Potato flavor. Its light-purple color makesit playful, and the blend of sweet potato and white chocolate isnot too sweet and leaves a good after taste on the tongue. Theworst flavor I ever had was Yuubari Melon from Hokkaido. Theafter-taste left a foul, sour taste in my mouth. However, it wasworth the experience of traveling an hour just to find a store thatsold them.With so many flavors all over the world, my journey is neverending,but it’s a tasty road ahead of me.Some of the weird andwonderful flavorsSources1. http://www.nestle.com/investors/brand-focus/kitkat2. http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/02/02/how-did-kit-kat-became-king-of-candy-in-japan/?hpt=hp_bn83. http://japanese.lingualift.com/blog/kit-kat-japan/4. http://www.buzzfeed.com/lydiah/35-kit-kat-varieties-from-around-the-world-18d7CONNECTCONNECTFOOD FOODMay Issue 2014 May Issue 2014