I didn’t buy many things while I was in Japan but I did pick up a few fun things. First of all, Kit Kats! Did you know that Japan has made Kit Kats in over 80 flavors? There are crazy flavors such as soy sauce, sweet potato, earl grey tea, lemon vinegar, watermelon, and grilled corn… just to name a few.
The name “Kit Kat” is similar to the Japanese phrase “kitto katsu” which is a good luck phrase roughly meaning “I hope you win.” Because of this, Kit Kats are especially popular as a gift given to a student before an test at school. Hmmm… eating Kit Kats for good luck? I think I could do that 🙂
I found two different flavors of green tea Kit Kats: Uji Matcha and Sakura Matcha The Uji Matcha (on the left in the photo) is my favorite. It tastes like a Starbuck’s green tea soy latte in a candy bar form!
I strolled through a grocery store while in Japan and bought some Japanese chocolate and treats and also found green tea noodles. Green tea noodles are available here in Korea but I wanted to try the Japanese version. Turns out that they are thicker and less sticky than the Korean noodles that I’ve tried. Green tea noodles do actually have a slight green tea taste and they’re green! How fun is that?
Another great item that I saw in many places is Japanese Washi Tape. This is a thin, semi-transparent, printed masking tape that is perfect for crafts, scrapbooking, homemade cards, etc. You can buy it in online stores such as cutetape.com. It’s so fun and inexpensive that I found it hard to limit myself to just a few packs.
