There’s even a sakura charm made from cherry blossom wood included in this year’s release.
On Japan’s main island of Honshu, the cherry blossoms typically bloom around late March to early April, coinciding with school graduation and entrance ceremonies around the country. It’s a time of year that’s also popular for Kit Kat-giving, seeing as the similar sounding “Kitto Katsu” translates to “surely win/succeed” in Japanese, making it a perfect gift for students at the start of the new school year.
This year, Kit Kat is marking the graduation season with a special sakura set of chocolates, which includes four different specially marked packs dedicated to the blossoms, Japan’s long-awaited harbinger of spring.
The star of the collection is the Sakura Strawberry Kit Kats, sold exclusively at Japan’s Kit Kat Chocolatory boutique stores, and packaged in a large cylindrical tube, which is said to represent a scroll-like graduating certificate or diploma. As part of the Chocolatory’s “Special” range of upmarket Kit Kats, the new release comes with a gorgeous display of pale pink cherry blossoms on the pack.
Inside, you’ll find five Sakura Strawberry Kit Kats, wrapped up in vacuum sealed plastic to keep all the delicate flavours airtight and fresh.
▼ The individually wrapped chocolates feature falling sakura petals,
in pink, white and gold designs.
Also included in each pack is a special Kit Kat charm, which comes in the shape of a sakura flower at full bloom and is specially made from cherry blossom wood.
Like most Kit Kats in Japan, these ones come with a boxed message section on the back so you can add a personalised note when giving them as gifts.
That doesn’t mean you can’t keep these for yourself, of course, and once you try one you might not want to give any of these away, because these are absolutely delicious!
When you first bite into the beautiful pink Kit Kat, you immediately get a distinct hit of strawberry flavour. This is followed by a very subtle hint of creamy sakura, similar in flavour to sakura mochi, a traditional Japanese sweet made from pounded rice and wrapped in a pickled cherry blossom leaf.
The similarity in flavour is largely due to the fact that this Kit Kat also contains sakura leaf. Using the leaf instead of the actual blossoms creates a much more delicate hint of sakura, which is almost overpowered by the stronger strawberry notes, but by some unique stroke of mastery, the flavours end up combining perfectly to release a well-rounded blend of fruit, cream and sakura in every bite.
The other packs in the sakura-themed range feature blossoms on special seasonal packaging. The varieties chosen for the special packaging are milk, dark and iyokan, which is a special type of Japanese citrus similar to a mandarin.
While these varieties don’t contain any cherry blossom flavour, they come covered in sakura blooms and falling petals, with each individually wrapped sweet featuring special phrases to show support for exam-taking students.
The standout here is the iyokan variety, a special limited-edition flavour that adds the taste of tangy citrus to the well-known chocolate-covered wafer bars.
As soon as you open one of these, the refreshing aroma of citrus grabs your attention straight away, lingering on as you take your first bite, which comes filled with sweet and tart flavours that dance on your tongue.
If sunshine had a chocolate bar, it might very well taste like this, and the adorable orange hues on the package add to the refreshingly sweet notes found inside. This is a chocolate that will definitely bring a smile to your face, with or without the gorgeous message of support on the packaging!
If you choose to buy the four-piece set online for 1,939 yen (US$17.86), you’ll get to shower yourself – and your friends – in colourful sakura-covered chocolates in a variety of flavours.
▼ Plus, you’ll get a confidence boost,
as well as a sweet energy boost, at the same time!
The packs are also sold separately, with the Sakura Strawberry available from Kit Kat Chocolatory stores around Japan for 1,080 yen, and the multi-packs on sale at supermarkets for 324 yen.
If you’re looking to fill up your basket with more cherry blossom chocolates in Japan, don’t forget to keep an eye out for the Sakura Pocky in stores this spring too!
Related: Kit Kat Chocolatory Store List
Photos © SoraNews24