Like compact cars and the band Cheap Trick, Kit Kat candy bars weren't born in Japan, but they sure went big there.
The chocolate-covered wafers (a U.K. creation currently owned worldwide by Nestlé) are among Japan's best-selling sweets and they have appeared in hundreds of flavors, including strawberry cheesecake, green tea, purple sweet potato, wasabi, and sake.
The country's latest innovation in Kit-Kattery can be found at Osaka's Namba railway station.
The KitKat Chocolatory, which opened in October, sort of resembles a Build-a-Bear Workshop, except that you end up with a snack instead of a stuffed animal.
Using a touchscreen, customers choose one of five base flavors (milk, white, bitter, strawberry, or matcha chocolate) and up to three toppings from a selection of nuts, dried fruit, marshmallows, and coconut.
Then, a staff member hardens your concoction with a blast of (highly photogenic) liquid nitrogen, and all that remains is for you to break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar.
Prices per serving vary depending on base flavor and topping, but are in the neighborhood of 750 yen (US$7). For 2,050 yen (US$18), Kit Kat completists can go for an all-topping version with three base chocolates and nine types of garnish.
