Throughout the years, Nestlé Japan has released an assortment of limited edition Kit Kats that take advantage of regional and local flavors, with some highlights including premium sake Kit Kats, sushi Kit Kats, and most recently, a monthly-release batch of Kit Kats that match your birthstone. Nestlé Japan's latest effort, however, isn't a flavor but a sweet combination of the world's love for Japanese Kit Kats and Japan's gift-giving culture that results in a cool way to individualize your own Japanese Kit Kats and create a memento of your travels in Japan.

Recently installed in Kyoto's Omiyage Kaido (Souvenir Highway) is a special vending machine that sells the Travel Memories Kit Kat (Tabi no Omoide Kit Kat). From these machines, it appears (according to the pictures) that customers can purchase a variety of unique Japanese Kit Kats including premium sake, hojicha (roasted green tea), and strawberry cheesecake flavors. The main appeal, however, are packages of Uji matcha green tea Kit Kats that can be personalized with images of the customer's choosing from their mobile phone. The process of connecting and uploading a picture to be printed on the back of your Kit Kat package takes roughly five minutes, and as the back of the package doubles as a postcard, they make for great souvenirs to send to your friends as well.

The post card portion comes with silhouetted famous Kyoto scenery, along with a stamp in Japanese that says "I went to Kyoto!" for your friends to enjoy. Tourists from both Japan and abroad flock to Kyoto throughout the year to enjoy beautiful seasonal scenery and many major cultural attractions, so the personalized Uji matcha green tea flavor (which Kyoto is famous for) Kit Kat packaging is a cool and unique way to display any of the wonderful pictures a traveler is sure to have taken during their stay in the history-filled old capital of Japan.

The entire service, including your Kit Kats, costs 400 yen, and will run until the middle of April (2018). While at the moment Uji matcha appears to be the only flavor available to the service, hopefully the others stocked in the vending machine are as well, along with the countless seasonal releases to come.


By - grape Japan editorial staff.