Japan Has a Kit Kat Flavor for Nearly Every Region — Here Are Some of the Coolest Flavors

While Americans have to settle for a small handful of Kit Kat flavors, Japan's convenience stores and Kit Kat Chocolatory shops stock a vast, awe-inspiring range of flavors, from yuzu wine to pudding to seasonal wonders like sakura mochi. That's why Japanese Kit Kats, which come in over 400 flavors, inspire cultish devotion among candy lovers (and make the all-time best food souvenirs.) In fact, for nearly every prefecture in Japan, there is a distinct Kit Kat flavor, meaning that you could do a Kit Kat tour of Japan.

Tsunagu Japan breaks down everything you could ever want to know about Japanese Kit Kats, once a British chocolate export, and we bet there are some super regional collections you've never heard of.

"The flavors are based on carefully chosen local ingredients or delicacies that represent the very essence of a region," reads the guide. "For example, Kyoto's Itokyuemon matcha, Hiroshima's momiji manju (maple-leaf shaped steamed cake), Okinawa's beni-imo (purple sweet potato), and Nagoya's azuki bean sandwich all utilize the flavors and treats that represent the regions from which they are based."

Limited edition flavors are always coming and going, too. According to Tsunagu Japan, Nestle Japan has dropped Kit Kats with flavors like baked potato, cough drop, and edamame. In December 2020, we wrote about a new Whisky Barrel Aged Kit Kats, made from Ghanaian cacao nibs aged in Scottish whisky barrels.

"The Kit Kat, in Japan, pushes at every limit of its form: It is multicolored and multiflavored and sometimes as hard to find as a golden ticket in your foil wrapper," the New York Times once raved. "Flavors change constantly, with many appearing as limited-edition runs. They can be esoteric and so carefully tailored for a Japanese audience as to seem untranslatable to a global mass market, but the bars have fans all over the world [...] All this helps the Kit Kat maintain a singular, cultlike status."

If you're interested in doing some Kit Kat tourism, you're in luck. Earlier this month, Japan opened its borders after three years of tight pandemic restrictions. According to Bloomberg, the country is accepting vaccinated visitors from 68 countries, no visas needed.