Japan Envy: Rilakkuma Hot Cake Kit Kats

I haven’t done my Japan Envy column in a while and have gained a few new followers around the new year (thanks to all of you!), so just a quick recap: Japan Envy is my (ir)regular column where I talk about cool things/happenings that are only available in Japan that make me jealous or pine for the days when I used to live there. You can head here or click the “Japan Envy” tag at the end of this post to view previous entries in the series!

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Anyone familiar with Japan has probably heard about how the nation is famous for its wide variety of flavored Kit Kats. They’ve got everything from regional specialties, such as yuzu and pepper Kit Kats from Nagoya, to limited editions and seasonal flavors. Why these are only available in Japan and why other nations have caught on to this ingenious idea? We may never know, but foreigners have been fascinated with Japan’s unique take on the humble Kit Kat since its inception. You can even find a Japanese Kit Kat episode on NPR (complete with tastings and audio!), and at least two blogs dedicated entirely to cataloging the huge range of flavors available.

I bet you’re wondering what flavors I’ve tried, eh? Well, I’ve sampled everything from ginger ale to jasmine tea Kit Kats, but I still have a long way to go if I ever hope to live my dream of being the ultimate Kit Kat connoisseur (one of my many aspirations). Currently, I’ve got my eye on a very particular Kit Kat, one that combines my love of flavored Kit Kats with another one of my favorite things: the adorable teddy bear who loves to relax known as Rilakkuma.

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What flavor are these Kit Kats? None other than Rilakkuma’s favorite snack, the humble pancake (or “hot cake,” as they’re known in Japan). I, for one, imagine this Kit Kat tastes pretty darn good! If you’re wondering why the box is a strange shape, that’s because it’s not simply a regular Kit Kat bar, but rather 12 individually-wrapped mini Kit Kats (Japan loves miniature things).

If you’re interested in trying some Japanese Kit Kats yourself without having to pay for the plane ticket, you can go to JBox to grab a few interesting flavors such as green tea, wasabi, and black honey (now that sounds good!). What flavor would you be most interested to try?

About Anne

Also known as apricotsushi. Anne can be written with the kanji for apricot (杏), and sushi was the most quintessentially Japanese thing I could think of when I was 13, resulting in my goofy, albeit memorable, nickname.

15 thoughts on “Japan Envy: Rilakkuma Hot Cake Kit Kats”

  6. Wow, thanks for all the comments, everyone!

    ftkubota – We only have one type of Kit Kat in Australia, too! 🙁

    Alois – Sweet potato?? Man, I love sweet potatoes. That is a must try!

  7. Gosh, Japan has everything eh. I’d wanna try the Wasabi one on JBox! I can’t imagine what a spicy chocolate would taste like haha!

  8. I’ve only tasted green tea, dark chocolate, the regular chocolate. Here in Manila we have the orange, and the caramel flavor.
    Jay

  9. I love this kind of post, Anne! It’s a dream of mine to get to Japan eventually, and I can assure you that when I finally get there I’ll be looking for some strangely flavored Kit Kats 🙂

    As for which ones I’d want to try: Black honey sounds really interesting, as does the “hot cake” one! I’d also want to try wasabi, as I can’t imagine what it would taste like…

    We have quite a few Kit Kat flavors in the States these days, by the way, although none of them are as interesting as the ones mentioned here. Also, some of them seem to be limited — released for a short time and then either never again or at least not for a while.

    Anyway, some of the flavors I’ve seen in the US (and tried): Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate, Strawberry and Caramel.

  10. Daisy – I’d almost be scared to try wasabi! But if it exists, it’s something that must be experienced once, right? 😉

    Jay – Hello and thanks for your comment! Orange sounds really good, I love those chocolate orange ball things that are broken up into individual pieces like an actual orange.

  11. Glad you like these Japan Envy posts, Bryan! I need to do more… There certainly isn’t a shortage of things that are awesome in Japan.

    Actually, come to think of it, I know we have dark chocolate here, and maybe even the caramel. I guess I don’t really count those in the list of weird and wacky flavors that come out of Japan, but they still count as different flavors!

    I remember these orange ones they had for Halloween a few years back… Do they still do that? Maybe they were white chocolate, but they didn’t taste any different to me!

    I may need to hit up some of my Japanese friends for these hot cake ones!

  15. Sorry, but I’m not sure! I think they’re a limited edition thing but there might be some floating around on shelves in Japan. Sorry I can’t help!

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